Photo: Brenda Gottsabend – CC License

While many of you are getting ready for the long Labor Day weekend, why not set aside some time to apply for the U.S. Department of Justice Honors Program? Frequently voted one of the Best Places to Work in the Federal Government, the Department of Justice leads the nation in ensuring the protection of all Americans while preserving their constitutional freedoms.

If this sounds like something for you, check out the full post on PSJD. (Application deadline: September 8, 2015)

Photo: Brenda Gottsabend – CC License

Attention recent grads and 3Ls!

Like criminal law and passionately litigating on your client’s behalf? Then this is the job for you! The Public Defender Services (PDS) for the District of Columbia is looking for an attorney to work with them in their Trial Division. This attorney would be expected to provide legal representation to individuals facing a loss of freedom in criminal, delinquency, and mental health matters in the DC justice system.

To qualify, you must have a J.D. or an equivalent degree from an accredited law school by  June 2016, be a member of the DC bar or eligible for reciprocity admission to the DC bar, and excellent research, writing, and oral persuasion skills. Applicants must also be willing to make at least a 3 year commitment to PDS.

Interested? Check out the full post on PSJD. (Application deadline: September 4, 2015)

From our friends at EJW:

Last month, we announced some very exciting news about a new justice AmeriCorps program that will fund legal assistance to unaccompanied immigrant children facing deportation. The new Immigrant Children’s Defense Corps is an initiative of that program, and we are now recruiting fellows to begin by Dec. 1!

About Immigrant Children’s Defense Corps

The Immigrant Children’s Defense Corps is an initiative of the new justice AmeriCorps program. Through this initiative, Equal Justice Works is partnering with Catholic Legal Immigration Network (CLINIC), Kids In Need of Defense (KIND), and the U.S. Committee for Refugees and Immigrants (USCRI) to place 55 legal professionals – lawyers and paralegals – in 14 cities across the United States.

We have created a separate website, joinjusticeamericorps.org, with more details on this new initiative, including how to apply and how you can help support the Immigrant Children’s Defense Corps.

Applications are now being accepted

Interested individuals should apply as soon as possible and must be ready to start Dec. 1! Applicants should submit materials directly to the host organization(s) of interest. A list of host organizations and their contact information is available at joinjusticeamericorps.org.

Special opportunity to meet our host organizations

We have set aside a special room at our Conference and Career Fair Oct. 24-25 for host organizations to interview and network with any recent graduates interested in applying for positions this fall. Law school professionals and current students also are invited to stop by and learn more about the program and our host organizations. You can learn more about Conference and Career Fair on our website.

Recent graduates do not have to register for the entire event to take advantage of this opportunity. Fill out this form to sign up for updates, and let us know if you’ll be attending.

NEXT STEPS

• Interested individuals should apply directly to the organization of interest and sign up to receive updates.
• Click here to view host organizations organized by state.

Additional information about this new initiative is available at joinjusticeamericorps.org. Feel free to email us at justiceamericorps@equaljusticeworks.org with any questions about the program.

Uncle Sam is now seeking applications through Oct. 15 from students and recent graduates of advanced degree programs for the next crop of Presidential Management Fellows.

The prestigious program is open to those who will have received an advanced degree between Oct. 1, 2012, and Aug. 31, 2015. Candidates go through a rigorous application process, which includes in-person interviews, and finalists will be notified of their status in spring 2015.

The extremely competitive PMF program, formerly known as the Presidential Management Intern program, gives current graduate and doctoral school students and recent degree recipients the opportunity to work for two years at a federal agency, earning the full pay and benefits of a General Schedule Grade 9, 11 or 12. Fellowship finalists are not guaranteed an appointment; however, once a finalist receives an appointment, he or she is usually offered a full-time position at the end of the two years.

More information is available at www.pmf.gov.  Good luck with your applications!

The application for 2015 Equal Justice Works Fellowships is now open! Applications will be accepted through September 17, 2014. Please visit their website to learn more.

EJW is also hosting a free webinar next Wednesday, July 16, to learn more about the Equal Justice Works Fellowship Program and get application tips from the experts on our Fellowships Team. Immediately following the July 16 session, there will be a bonus webinar discussing medical-legal partnership projects, featuring Ellen Lawton of the National Center for Medical-Legal Partnership.

Wednesday, July 16, 2 p.m. EDT:

• Webinar: Creating a Successful Application for an Equal Justice Works Fellowship
  Will cover how to prepare and complete a successful application. This presentation is intended for law students and recent graduates interested in pursuing a public interest legal career, as well as law school professionals who advise students on fellowship and other public interest career opportunities.

• Bonus Webinar: Building a Successful Medical Legal Partnership Project
  Ellen Lawton of the National Center for Medical-Legal Partnership at GWU’s Department of Health Policy will offer suggestions and resources for engaging healthcare partners, understanding the legal and healthcare landscape, and building sustainable strategies into your project.

Register for both webinars on our website.

The Public Defender Service for the District of Columbia invites you to discover the PATH to becoming a public defender on Saturday, August 2, 2014.  If you are considering a career in criminal defense, this panel is for you.  This comprehensive program will give you a roadmap for achieving your goals, with frank discussions and insider tips not found anywhere else.  And the event is FREE.  Visit www.pdsdc.org for more information and to register.

Hosted by The George Washington University Law School, 2000 H Street, NW, Washington, DC 20052.

The Public Sector & Public Interest Attorney Salary Report is now available in the NALP bookstore!  It is THE definitive report on salaries in the public sector.  You can see median, average and middle ranges of salaries for employers by type, region, and years of experience.  There is also some great information about salary and benefits in the federal government.  If you are considering a career in the public sector, this is information you must have.

Even with unemployment still running high, the Federal Government is having difficulty hiring qualified employees.  In particular, the Federal Government is actively recruiting and hiring persons with disabilities.  If  you are such a person seeking federal employment, here is some specific guidance.

The Federal Government has a special (excepted) hiring authority for persons with disabilities called Schedule A.  You are eligible for Schedule A if you are a person with severe physical disability, a psychiatric disability or an intellectual disability.  You can find out more, including sample Schedule A letters and a training video on applying for Schedule A jobs, on OPM’s website.

Additionally, most Federal agencies have a Selective Placement Program Coordinator (SPPC) who helps management recruit, hire and accommodate people with disabilities. SPPC’s have many roles and responsibilities, including helping people with disabilities get information about current job opportunities, types of jobs in the agency and how these jobs are filled, and reasonable accommodation.  There is a nationwide SPPC Directory to help you get started.  Also, check out the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission’s LEAD (Leadership for the Employment of Americans with Disabilities) initiative to address the declining number of employees with targeted disabilities in the federal workforce. The goal for this initiative is to significantly increase the population of individuals with severe disabilities employed by the federal government.

The Federal Government has made hiring candidates with disabilities a priority.  If you are eligible, take advantage of their recruiting resources.  Federal agencies can be a great place to work.

If you are a law or graduate student with a background in journalism and/or publishing, this one’s for you!

We just extended the deadline for our Summer 2014 NALP/PSJD Summer Publications Coordinator position. We’re looking for an awesome intern who can work with us for 10 weeks to produce the 2014 Postgraduate Fellowship and Federal Legal Employment Opportunities guides.

The selected Publications Coordinator will be joining our Washington, DC office for the summer. The stipend is $675/week for a 40 hour work week.

Still interested? The new deadline is April 25, 2014. Click here for more information.

If you already know you’ll be in Washington, DC for the summer but still looking for funding, you still have time to apply for one of PSJD’s part-time Project Assistant positions!

The Initiative for Public Interest Law at Yale is providing start-up money for projects that protect the legal rights or interests of inadequately represented groups. If you have an innovative project that is having some difficulty getting funded because of the subject matter or approach, this one’s for you:

We fund cutting-edge projects whose successful execution might be a model for other organizations seeking new and better ways to represent clients. Please visit the Initiative website for more information about our grants: http://www.law.yale.edu/stuorgs/initiative.htm.

Qualifications

The most important selection criterion for projects is that they that protect the legal rights or interests of inadequately represented groups. The Initiative generally funds projects on which the applicant will work full time, after graduation from law school. Although a wide variety of projects are selected for funding, the Initiative gives priority to projects that:

• Might provide a model for similar projects around the country;
• Would be performed in coordination with a sponsoring organization;
• Could be completed in a single year, or that demonstrate potential to become self-supporting or to receive support from alternative sources within the year (we will also consider projects that can be completed in less than a year);
• Are submitted by graduates of Yale Law School;
• Would operate in the state of Connecticut.

Priority criteria are not requirements. For example, the Initiative has frequently funded proposals from non-Yale Law students, as well as projects that operate outside the state of Connecticut. Please see our list of Past Grant Recipients.

The Initiative welcomes applications for both domestic and international projects.

The salary is up to $35,000 and the application deadline is March 1st. See the website for more information!