Headquartered in Portland, the Oregon Law Center provides free civil legal services to low-income individuals. Their mission is to achieve justice for low income communities of Oregon by providing a full range of the highest quality civil legal services.

Their office currently has a vacancy for a staff attorney. From the PSJD job listing:

Oregon Law Center (OLC) seeks a bilingual (Spanish/English) staff attorney for its Farmworker Program to focus on issues affecting employment and other priority issues for agricultural workers in Oregon including health and safety and unlawful discrimination.

OLC does not receive funding from the federal Legal Services Corporation.

The Farmworker Program of the OLC consists of attorneys and community educators whose focus is statewide and who specialize in representing farmworkers. The client-based priorities are employment, housing for farmworkers, individual rights and occupational health and safety. The majority of our clients speak Spanish or one of the indigenous languages native to the southern states of Mexico, such as Mixteco, Triqui or Zapoteco. They experience a wide variety of legal problems, including unpaid wages, poor working conditions including exposure to pesticides, unsafe housing, sexual harassment and other forms of discrimination, and retaliation for the exercise of their legal rights.

The attorney in this position is expected to engage in a combination of impact litigation and service cases, with a significant emphasis on impact work in state and federal courts. An important aspect of this position is to engage in intensive community outreach together with community educators involving educational presentations to groups of farmworkers and visits to migrant labor camps. The practice requires the ability to handle irregular hours, travel, and to work creatively and collaboratively both internally and with other community partners. The attorney in this position is expected to handle cases originating from all agricultural areas of the state.

Recent law graduates are welcome to apply. The application deadline is February 25, 2013. For more information, view the full job listing at PSJD.org (log-in required).

Philadelphia Legal Assistance (PLA) is the federally funded legal services provider for Philadelphia County. They provide a wide range of legal services to Philadelphia’s indigent community, including community education, advice, referral, pro se assistance, and representation at administrative hearings and at all levels of state and federal courts.

PLA is currently accepting applications for a Consumer Housing Unit Attorney. From the PSJD job listing:

PLA will consider applications from experienced attorneys who will be immediately available, as well as from recent or prospective graduates who will be available no later than September 2013.

PLA is a no profit legal services organization primarily funded by the federal Legal Services Corporation. PLA serves approximately 7,500 clients each year in the areas of family law, public benefits and consumer housing.

PLA is looking to add an attorney to a unit that presently consists of three attorneys and eight paralegals – six of whom are dedicated to the Save Your Home Philly Hotline, which PLA runs with funding from the City of Philadelphia Office of Housing and Community Development. The Unit primarily represents low income homeowners who are in danger of losing their homes to foreclosure. We are looking for an attorney who will help us expand our ability to bring affirmative litigation on behalf of such homeowners and to devise more efficient models for representation. Part of the attorney’s responsibility may include supervising a housing clinic sponsored by one of the area law schools.

…

Recent and prospective law school graduates as well as experienced attorneys are encouraged to apply. The successful candidate will have an exemplary academic record and a commitment to excellence, as well as a demonstrated commitment to the legal services and to protecting and advancing the rights of the most vulnerable members of society. Excellent litigation skills, including trial skills, writing ability, oral advocacy and appellate advocacy, are essential. Creativity, tenacity, compassion, empathy, the ability to work long hours, learn quickly and work well with co-workers and with clients are qualities that will be highly regarded in the selection process. The ability to speak and write Spanish effectively is an advantage, though not essential.

A working knowledge of bankruptcy law, consumer protection law, contracts law, property law and the UCC will be helpful.

The application deadline is February 18, 2013. For more information, view the full job listing at PSJD.org (log-in required).

New York Lawyers for the Public Interest is a nonprofit civil rights law firm committed to advancing equality and civil rights through community lawyering and partnerships with the private bar. If you have an interest in coalition-building, organizing, environmental issues and legal, policy, and administrative advocacy, keep on reading:

New York Lawyers for the Public Interest (NYLPI) is seeking applications for a staff attorney in its Environmental Justice Program.

The Environmental Justice Program takes on issues ranging from the systemic overburdening of low income communities of color with polluting facilities, to the presence of dangerous toxins in public schools, to environmentally just community development. The attorney will take on existing campaigns, including advocacy related to the siting of schools on contaminated land. The attorney also will have ample opportunity to lead and collaborate on new campaigns.

NYLPI pioneered the practice of community lawyering in the five boroughs of New York City. With every case and every campaign, we continue to develop an ambitious, participatory, and dynamic approach to working with marginalized communities. Our work draws on a range of strengths: firm community partnerships; effective organizing; media savvy; effective legislative advocacy; and bold, creative approaches to litigation. The attorney will work both independently and in collaboration with other attorneys, community organizers, and media and lobbying consultants.

Successful applicants will have excellent strategic judgment and experience working with community members and community based organizations, along with a commitment to environmental justice or racial justice work. The application deadline is February 20, 2013. For more information, view the full job listing at PSJD.org (log-in required).

Staten Island Legal Services seeks an attorney for its newly formed Disaster Relief Unit.  The job involves advising and representing people who have been affected by the storm in the following types of cases: housing, FEMA appeals, Disaster Unemployment Assistance appeals, and a wide variety of other issues, including insurance problems and questions related to home repairs. The position will include community outreach. This is a one-year position subject to renewal depending on the availability of funding.

Qualifications

• Must be admitted to NY Bar and possess excellent analytical and writing skills

• Experience working with low-income clients

• Superb organizational and communication skills

View the full job announcement on PSJD (login required).

By: Steve Grumm

Happy Friday, folks, from a windy but otherwise beautiful Washington, DC.  I hope your week is wrapping up well.  Ever felt the solo-driver’s frustration at not being able to use the carpool lane?  Ever experienced Bay Area traffic?  Ever wondered for what purposes a corporation is a person?  Mix ’em all together and you get this: “Jonathan Frieman…failed to convince a Marin County Superior Court jurist Monday after he argued that he was not alone when a California Highway Patrol officer pulled him over…while driving in the carpool lane.  Instead, Frieman admitted that he had reached onto the passenger’s seat and handed the officer papers of incorporation connected to his family’s charity foundation.  By Frieman’s estimation, if corporations are indeed persons as was first established in the 1886 Supreme Court case Santa Clara County vs. Southern Pacific Railroad Co., and he offered evidence that a corporation was traveling inside his vehicle – riding shotgun, of course – then two people were in his car.”  Brilliant!

It’s perhaps fitting that Mr. Frieman bears a close resemblance to the highly eccentric Detective John Munch, a character from the old crime drama Homicide: Life on the Street.  For those of you too young to remember Homicide, it was a gritty, critically acclaimed show based on a book by David Simon, who went on to create HBO’s even grittier, even more acclaimed The Wire.  For those of you too young to remember The Wire, well you are indeed too young.

Moving ever closer to topical relevance, it’s noteworthy that officials in New York State are looking at the importance of law school’s third year.  From the National Law Journal:  “Legal educators and top New York state court officials will gather on January 18 to discuss whether to allow candidates to sit for the New York state bar examination after just two years in law school. The idea was floated by Samuel Estreicher, a professor at New York University School of Law, who believes skyrocketing law school tuition and diminishing job prospects for new lawyers have created a climate favorable to reform.”  Here’s a New York Times op-ed co-authored by Professor Estreicher, making the case for change.

One more preliminary: we hosted a webinar this week for law students, focused on drafting the best cover letters and resumes for the summer public interest job search.  The webinar’s archived here.  Critics rave: “The most riveting one-hour spectacle since The Wire!”  On Tuesday, 1/22, at Noon Eastern, our friends at Equal Justice Works are taking the reins to present a webinar on interviewing and networking.  Learn more and register here.

Okay, this week’s public interest and access to justice news in very brief:

• NYC’s Legal Aid Society returns to lower Manhattan office after extended Sandy displacement;
• the Last Resort Exoneration Project is up and running at Seton Hall Law;
• pro bono’s down Down Under;
• IOLTA FDIC insurance change explained;
• is law school pro bono’s future bright?;
• in Gideon’s 50th anniversary year, a criminal justice reform proposal;
• LSC’s TIG conference;
• Super Music Bonus!

The summaries:

• 1.16.13 -“The Legal Aid Society is finally home again.  Hundreds of staffers returned to their headquarters on Tuesday, 2-1/2 months after Superstorm Sandy damaged the building at 199 Water Street and forced them to seek other office space.  The group found refuge at Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom and at Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison, as well as at Legal Aid’s other satellite offices around the city.  The telephone lines remain out of service, but everything else is back to normal, said spokeswoman Pat Bath.  Legal Services NYC and the New York Legal Assistance Group also were displaced by Sandy but have already returned to their offices.  NYLAG’s staff members were housed at UJA-Federation of New York and at a host of law firms around the city before remanning their office at 7 Hanover Square last Thursday, said president Yisroel Schulman.  Legal Services was forced out of its downtown offices for about a week, with most of its lawyers moving to its Harlem office.”  (Story from Thomson-Reuters.)

• 1.16.13 – “In the last 15 years, eight people have been exonerated in New Jersey, the majority with DNA evidence….  In an effort to bring more of these cases to light, the Last Resort Exoneration Project at Seton Hall University School of Law was established to offer pro bono legal services. It is the first and only program dedicated exclusively to the convicted innocent in New Jersey.  The Last Resort Exoneration Project recently filed its first petition…”  (Story from PolitickerNJ.com.)

• 1.14.12 – “The Legal Services Expenditure Report 2011-2012 found that more than half of the top 30 Australasian firms reporting in both 2011 and 2012 registered a decline in pro bono work.  According to the web site Legal Business Online, the report also found that only 11 of the 46 firms that reported their 2012 figures hit the aspirational target of 38 hours of pro bono work per lawyer.”  (Story from the Global Legal Post.)

• 1.14.13 – “With Congress failing to take action to extend unlimited coverage, as of Jan.1, 2013, FDIC insurance available to IOLTA accounts is limited to the standard amount of $250,000 per owner of the funds (client), per financial institution, assuming that the account is properly designated as a trust account and proper accounting of each client’s funds is maintained.”  (This blog post from the Washington State Bar Association goes on to explain how insurance coverage for IOLTA funds has generally reverted back to the pre-Dodd Frank norm.)

• 1.11.13 – David Udell and Liz Tobin Tyler look toward the future of law student pro bono: “Law students have long been key players in important pro bono legal assistance efforts. They engage in a range of access to justice activities―working with mentoring attorneys on pro bono cases, staffing court pro se assistance programs, providing community legal education, and more. But the announcement last spring by the New York Court of Appeals of a 50 hour pro bono requirement for applicants to the New York Bar has brought the role of law student pro bono work into the foreground like never before. What is the role of law student pro bono in addressing the growing justice gap? In providing law students with practical legal skills? In instilling a professional responsibility for pro bono service in new attorneys? The effect of the New York rule―on the focus and structure of existing and developing law school pro bono programs, on law school accreditation standards, and on other state access to justice reform efforts―remains to be seen, but a significant impact seems likely. This article describes current law school pro bono program goals and structures, highlights key elements of the New York pro bono rule, and posits some of the potential implications of this first-of-its kind rule.”  (Full piece on the Bloomberg Law site.)

• 1.8.13 – “The ‘perpetual crisis in indigent defense’ could be lessened by moving minor infractions—including minor drug offenses—out of the criminal justice system, according to a new report by an ABA committee and a national group of criminal defense lawyers.  The report concludes that the criminal justice system is flooded with petty infractions that could be dealt with through two front-end reforms: reclassification and diversion. In reclassification, criminal statutes are changed so that minor illegal acts are changed from criminal offenses to civil infractions that carry a fine. In diversion programs, individuals charged with low-level criminal offenses can have the charges dismissed if they perform community service, enter substance abuse treatment or follow other requirements.  The report (PDF) was released in advance of the 50th anniversary of Gideon v. Wainwright, the March 1963 U.S. Supreme Court decision finding a Sixth Amendment right to counsel.”  (Story from the ABA Journal.)

• Finally it’s noteworthy that the Legal Services Corporation this week convened the 13th Technology Initiative Grants (TIG) Conference this in Jacksonville, FL.  LSC bills the event as “the nation’s largest convening of experts and persons interested in the use of technology to address the civil legal needs of low-income Americans.”  I haven’t seen news coverage, but conference attendees are, appropriately enough, creating a record using the Twitter hashtag #lsctig.  Check out the happenings.

Music!  Tennessee’s Lucero has long been one of my favorite rock bands.  Here’s “Tears Don’t Matter Much”, their homage to some fellow songwriters and to the way that a good song can stop you dead in your tracks.  Great chorus.

Van Der Hout, Brigagliano & Nightingale, llp is a nationally renowned, full-service immigration and nationality law firm.  The firm was founded in 1980 and represents a wide range of clients.

We are seeking a licensed attorney with one to three years of experience or a recent law graduate to serve as a Deportation Defense Fellow for two years.  The fellow will work directly with partners on a wide range of immigration cases, including deportation defense, federal court litigation, family, asylum, naturalization, and a variety of cases involving the intersection of criminal and immigration law.  Cases involve representing clients before the Immigration Courts, the Board of Immigration Appeals, CIS, ICE, CBP, and the federal courts. Fellow will work closely with attorneys in the firm, handling day to day tasks in a cutting edge, diverse and complex immigration law practice.

Here’s the full job listing (PSJD login required).

Do you have a demonstrated expertise in the law of life-planning and knowledge of issues related to low-income elderly people? Today’s Job o’ the Day could be for you:

Volunteers of Legal Service (VOLS) seeks a Project Director for our Elderly Project. VOLS’ mission is to leverage the good will, resources, and talents of some of New York City’s best law firms to provide pro bono legal services to the city’s neediest residents. Each year, over 800 volunteer attorneys from 40 law firms provide legal assistance to more than 3,000 low-income New Yorkers through VOLS’ projects.

Founded in 1990, VOLS’ Elderly Project works closely with senior centers in Manhattan and participating law firms to coordinate pro bono legal services for low-income elderly people. A major emphasis of the Project is on enabling volunteer attorneys from law firms to assist seniors with life-planning, including wills, health care proxies, powers of attorney, and medical directives. The Project also advises and refers seniors on a wide range of other legal issues, including housing, consumer debt, Medicare and Medicaid, Social Security, and other government benefits.

The Elderly Project maintains close relationships with many community agencies serving low-income seniors by conducting twelve legal clinics at senior centers each month where elderly people can discuss their legal concerns in confidence, receive legal advice and, where appropriate, obtain referrals to volunteer lawyers recruited by VOLS. The Project also handles referrals and questions from an additional 80 community-based agencies, and conducts home-visits for homebound clients.

The Project Director will:

• Recruit, train, and be an expert mentor for volunteer lawyers
• Conduct trainings at law firms concerning life-planning
• Conduct clinics and screen, assess, and prepare cases for placement with volunteer lawyers
• Provide case consultation and training to staff of participating social service agencies
• Supervise our Elderly Project Paralegal
• Ensure that the Elderly Project maintains organized, accurate, and complete data concerning volunteers, cases, clients, and participating social services agencies and law firms
• Oversee data collection and organization and ensure that monthly reports concerning Elderly Project services are provided to the Executive Director
• Write grant proposals and reports to funders
• Supervise editing and updating of A Guide to Burial Assistance and Funeral Planning
• Edit and update online media concerning the Elderly Project

Successful applicants will showcase at least 5 years of legal experience and have a commitment to serving low-income elderly people. For more information on application instructions and qualifications, view the full job listing at PSJD.org (log-in required).

(Also, if you are still a law student but interested in this type of position with Volunteers of Legal Service, be sure sure to check out their Spring and Summer internships, also available on PSJD.)

New Mexico Legal Aid is a nonprofit law office that offers free legal services in civil cases for low-income individuals throughout New Mexico, except San Juan County. Their mission is to increase access to the justice system for vulnerable populations and preserve basic legal rights including safety, financial stability and shelter.

From the PSJD job listing:

New Mexico Legal Aid has an opening for a Staff Attorney in its Santa Fe Law Office. NMLA represents low-income individuals and families in a wide variety of poverty law areas including family law, housing, public benefits, consumer and Native American issues. The attorney will be active in local bar and community activities. The attorney will provide representation in domestic relations proceedings (with a focus in domestic violence), low income housing proceedings, Social Security disability cases, and other poverty law proceedings involving low income clients. The work will include handling general poverty law cases; participating in community education and outreach to eligible clients; and recruitment of and collaboration with pro bono attorneys.

Candidates must possess excellent writing and oral communication skills, ability to manage multiple tasks, skills sufficient to implement an array of advocacy strategies, ability to manage a caseload, ability to build collaborative relationships within the community; and ability to use computer systems including case management software. Proficiency in Spanish is a plus. Reliable transportation required. New Mexico bar admission or licensing in other states which qualifies for a limited license per NMRA Rule 15-301.2 is preferred.

The application deadline is February 6, 2013. For more information, view the full job listing at PSJD.org (log-in required).

Bay Area Legal Aid (BayLegal) is a legal advocacy organization committed to ensuring that Bay Area residents living in poverty understand and assert their rights to create stability for themselves and their families. Each year, BayLegal services benefit 70,000 Bay Area residents.

BayLegal is currently accepting applications for a staff attorney vacancy. From the PSJD job posting:

The Napa, Contra Costa & Marin (NaCoMa) Regional Office of Bay Area Legal Aid (BayLegal) is currently accepting applications for a public benefits/health access attorney position.

The position involves client representation and impact advocacy in the areas of public benefits, health access and language discrimination. We are interested in candidates with a strong commitment to public interest and social justice advocacy. The position requires advocacy at administrative hearings and frequent court appearances. The position also requires community outreach presentations and coalition work with community organizations. This position will be housed in our San Rafael office, but travel to Napa will be required on a regular basis.

Successful candidates will speak Spanish, be in good standing with any state bar, and have some familiarity with government benefits programs. For more information, view the full job listing at PSJD.org (log-in required).

The Ludwig Center for Community and Economic Development at Yale Law School is an interdisciplinary law clinic that works at the intersection of law, policy, entrepreneurship, economics, and social innovation to “research and design creative, testable, and scalable solutions to community development challenges at the local, national, and global levels,” according to their site.

The clinic is currently accepting applications for paid interns. From the PSJD job listing:

The Eugene and Carol Ludwig Community and Economic Development Clinic (CED) at Yale Law School is an interdisciplinary law clinic drawing students from law, management, public health, and forestry and environmental sciences disciplines. The Clinic serves the legal and policy-related needs of local, state, and national clients. This is a business/transactional clinic, in which we work on loans, leases, investments, and housing development contracts for our local, nonprofit clients.

This summer, the Clinic will have an intern program for approximately 3-5 part- and full-time students from Yale and other law schools. The program officially runs from the day after Yale Commencement (the Monday before Memorial Day) until the Friday before Labor Day. It is possible to start prior to Commencement. Most students work full time (40 hours per week) for twelve weeks.

The three CED clinic projects continuing during the 2013 summer are as follows:

1. Community Development Financial Institutions: CED represents First City Fund Corporation (FCFC), a non-profit foundation formed to support community development activities in the City of New Haven, with a primary purpose of organizing New Haven’s first community development bank: Start Community Bank. Start Bank is also a Clinic client.

2. Community Development Organizations: The Clinic represents several area nonprofits that are seeking to improve the economic well-being of New Haven residents through residential and commercial redevelopment projects, including the Greater Dwight Development Corporation, the Dixwell Plaza Merchants Association, and St. Luke’s Development Corporation; and

3. Social Innovation: The Social Innovation Group assists clients working to bring new strategies to address complex social problems facing low- and moderate-income communities, including: community child care, urban agriculture for local food production, and strategic philanthropic investments in non-profits serving the New Haven community.

See our website at http://www.law.yale.edu/academics/Ludwig.htm for more information on the CED Clinic and the three projects that will be ongoing throughout the coming summer.

Interns will be paid $14.00 an hour. For more information, view the full job listing at PSJD.org (log-in required).