Ever wanted to live in Rome?  Like employment law and the idea of managing the inner workings of a large organization?  Check out this great opportunity:

The World Food Programme (WFP) is the world’s largest humanitarian agency, fighting hunger worldwide. We are currently seeking to fill the position of Legal Officer P2 in the Administration & Employment Law Branch (LEGA) in our headquarters in Rome, Italy.

LEGA is responsible for administrative matters and matters arising in connection with WFP’s personnel.

Within delegated authority, the Legal Officer P2 will be responsible for the following duties:

• Consider the application of Regulations, Rules and procedures relevant to the internal justice system and other relevant aspects of human resources management, including disciplinary matters, privileges and immunities, rights and obligations of staff, legal status of staff and their dependents, financial recovery, taxation and social security benefits

• Provide legal advice and support to the Executive Director, Regional Bureaux, Country Offices and HQ Divisions on the legal and constitutional aspects of their activities, including but not limited to, governance, accountability and risk management issues.

• Provide legal advice and support on administrative issues arising in connection with the Programme’s personnel including but not limited to, handling appeals in the internal justice system.

• Provide legal advice and support to new initiatives, assisting transactions and developing standard model agreements and other operational documentation.

• Handle contractual disputes both at HQ and field level. Negotiating legal documents. Raising awareness of legal issues and providing training/support instruments to other units.

View the full listing on PSLawNet (login req’d.).

By: Steve Grumm

Happy Friday, dear readers.  All other news this week was eclipsed by the Glorious Philadelphia Phillies Baseball Franchise’s personnel decisions.  In the midst of a woeful season, the Phils traded away center fielder Shane Victorino, a fan favorite because of the grit, grace, and enthusiasm with which he plays the game.  I commemorate Victorino’s (a/k/a “The Flyin’ Hawaiian”) splendid Philadelphia years in haiku:

Flyin’ Hawaiian

Embodied Philly baseball

He’s gone; I’m dyin’

I don’t often post my original poetry here.  YOU’RE WELCOME.  Heh.  Before turning to this week’s access-to-justice news, here is a pair of other, more serious items that have caught my attention:

• Much ink has been spilled over the questions of whether and how the widening income gap between the U.S.’s wealthiest and poorest is impacting American culture.  Much of the spilled ink takes form as speculation; relatively little hard data is available to help us explore the question.  But some interesting Pew research shows that we are increasingly segregated by income with respect to the neighborhoods/housing-clusters we live in.  There are fewer mixed-income and middle-class neighborhoods.  Here’s a Washington Post article and here’s a link to the Pew research overview.
• The Chronicle of Philanthropy put out research on a salary gender gap among junior-level nonprofit employees: “Even early in their careers, women are likely to make less than their male counterparts, according to a Chronicle survey of entry-level nonprofit workers. The study of more than 900 people who have been in the nonprofit workforce less than five years also found that women have lower salary expectations than men do.”  Read more here and play around with charts that sort the data by education level, including one sorting for “Law degree, medical degree, or PhD.”

Okay, access-to-justice and public interest news (which happens to be heavy on indigent defense this week):

• the Nat’l. Center for Access to Justice has launched a survey on law student pro bono;
• The Montana Legal Services Association benefits from national mortgage foreclosure class-action settlement funds;
• The Virginia Legal Aid Society shutters an office;
• Some public defenders in the Peace Garden State (great nickname!) face swollen caseloads;
• Four NorCal immigration legal services providers splitting $650K in foundation funding;
• Short-staffed Philly public defender’s office pulls out of 3 busy courtrooms;
• A community-based diversionary court program is lowering recidivism in D.C.;
• NOLA defender sues traffic court, says “Show me the money!”;
• the Show Me State’s high court issues a (limited) decision on public defender caseload limits;
• the Legal Services Corporation releases its 2011 annual report;
• the Wisconsin ATJ Commission begins a series of public hearings;
• a possible prosecutors’ strike in Contra Costa County, CA(?);
• a county near Pittsburgh, PA may go to more staff defenders, fewer appointed counsel;
• Garden State pro bono numbers;
• grant funding available for state ATJ commissions;
• a look at caseload pressures on Bluegrass State public defenders;
• Why can’t we end poverty in the U.S.?;
• a look at the Indianapolis Legal Aid Society;
• Calcasieu defender’s office in Louisiana forced to cut back on conflict counsel;
• Music!  And Space!

The summaries: 

• 8.1.12 – “The National Center for Access to Justice is preparing a Guide to Strengthening Law Student Pro Bono to Increase Access to Justice and is seeking your help.  If you work in a court, legal services program, law school, law firm, Access to Justice Commission, bar association, or other justice system setting, we hope you will respond to this call. The Guide is focusing on ‘volunteering,’ as distinct from clinics, externships, fellowships, and other activities which law students pursue for credit or pay.  The Center is gathering examples of best practices in which law students, as volunteers, are making a difference….  The Center seeks your input via a survey monkey instrument or via email, info@nc4aj.org. Please also feel free to email the Center’s Executive Director with any questions, David Udell, udell@yu.edu.”  

• 8.1.12 – Montana’s attorney general announced how the state’s share of settlement funds from a class-action over shady lending and foreclosure practices are being divvied.  The Montana Legal Services Association will receive $863,000 to serve low-income homeowners facing foreclosure-related problems.  (Here’s the AG’s announcement.)  

• 8.1.12 – the Virginia Legal Aid Society, citing a 20% decrease in funding, is closing its office in Emporia.  (Here’s a short article from the Independent-Messenger.)

• 8.1.12 – public defenders in North Dakota are facing swollen caseloads and are short on attorneys to handle them.  The state’s indigent defense program director cites a “crushing” caseload in one rural office on the state’s western edge.  (Full story from the Williston Herald.) Unsolicited speculation by your author: North Dakota has enjoyed a natural-resource-driven economic boom of late, and droves of people have found employment there.  I suspect that with all of this inflow and churn, the state government – including its indigent defense program – is feeling some strain to keep up with the need for services.  Also, speaking of western North Dakota, if you’ve never been to Theodore Roosevelt National Park you’re missing out.

• 8.1.12 –  The Silicon Valley Community Foundation “announced Tuesday, July 31, that it is donating $654,090 in grants to organizations providing immigration [legal] services for low and moderate-income residents of Santa Clara and San Mateo counties. This is the foundation’s third year of donating to legal services for immigrants in the area. The money will be divided between four organizations: Catholic Charities of Santa Clara County, the Mission Asset Fund, the Immigrant Legal Resource Center and the International Institute of the Bay Area.  The organizations receiving the grant money all offer various immigrant services, including visas, naturalization, asylum and assistance to survivors of violence.”  (Full story from the Mountain View Voice.)

• 8.1.12 – the Philly public defender’s office has pulled out of three courtrooms on account of longstanding attorney shortages: “Staffing has been eliminated for now at three of the busiest Common Pleas courtrooms in Philadelphia.  The action is not being taken by city officials.  Rather it’s a form of protest by the defender’s association. (Here’s a WHYY interview with Philadelphia Public Defender Ellen Greenlee.)

• 8.1.12 – a report from the D.C. Superior Court (our trial-level court) highlights the success of a neighborhood court diversionary program, most of the participants of which are minor drug offenders.  The main takeaway is that the recidivism rate among East of the River Community Court (ERCC) participants was markedly lower compared to defendants in the regular court system. Here’s a link to the report, courtesy of the Legal Times.

• 7.31.12 – “The chief public defender in Orleans Parish and the state board that oversees indigent defense in Louisiana filed a lawsuit Tuesday against the four New Orleans Traffic Court judges, seeking millions of dollars they claim the court has illegally withheld in fees slated for poor defendants. The lawsuit, filed in East Baton Rouge Parish, claims the judges have failed to follow state law in collecting and turning over an indigent defense fee that rose from $35 to $45 per conviction this year. The lawsuit follows a standstill between the state Public Defender Board and the judges over the court’s responsibility to make up for past failures and pay what it owes.”  (Full story from the Times-Picayune.)

• 7.31.12 – “A divided Missouri Supreme Court concluded Tuesday that a judge exceeded his authority when appointing a public defender despite a rule that restricts new clients to control caseloads…. The state public defender system has set maximum caseload standards for its offices. When limits are exceeded for three consecutive months, the public defender director can certify that the local office has limited availability for cases. Officials then are supposed to work with prosecutors and judges to reduce demand for public defenders and can refuse new cases if an agreement is not reached…. The Supreme Court ruled, in a 4-3 decision, that the caseload rule should have been applied because nothing was shown to suggest that the protocol was invalid or inapplicable.”  (Here’s the full AP story.)  More coverage:
  • “With Tuesday’s decision, the Supreme Court affirmed that Missouri State Public Defenders Commission has the authority to set rules governing procedures for the district offices.  But the twist: The court did not decide whether this specific rule, which allows a district office to close when caseloads reach a maximum level set by the commission, was proper.”  (Full article from the Springfield News-Leader.)

• 7.31.12 – the Legal Services Corporation has released its 2011 annual report.  Here are some key data points from the report’s “By the Numbers” section:
  • The number of Americans eligible for LSC-funded legal assistance reached an all-time high: 64.6 million.
  • LSC’s 135 grantees employed 8,363 full-time staff at 915 offices throughout the United States and its territories.  4,097 were attorneys, 1,447 were paralegals.  [Ed. note: according to prior year’s (2010) report, there were 9059 full-time staff working with LSC grantee programs.]
  • 32,101 private attorneys accepted pro bono cases through LSC-funded programs.
  • Cases closed: 899,817, including 79,578 with the involvement of pro bono attorneys.
  • 117,595 clients were at least 60 years old.
  • 637,426 were women.
  • 105,090 of the cases involved domestic violence.
  • Total number of people in all households served: 2,284,162.

• 7.31.12 – “On Tuesday [7/31/12], the Wisconsin Access to Justice Commission hosted a public hearing to learn more about that challenge.” The committee is hosting a total of six hearings throughout the Badger State, and intends to produce a report based on the data and stories it gathers.  (Full story from WQOW.)
  • Here’s earlier coverage from Wisconsin Public Radio.

• 7.30.12 – From Contra Costa County in N. California: “Contra Costa supervisors voted Tuesday to impose a labor contract on [unionized] county prosecutors that includes deep pay cuts, despite District Attorney Mark Peterson’s assertion that he can find savings the county needs elsewhere in his budget…. The District Attorney’s Office is the most understaffed, overworked prosecutorial unit in the Bay Area, and cutting compensation further will hurt morale and likely lead to more attorneys leaving, Peterson said…. The supervisors said they were only able to pass a balanced budget this year because the county’s employee unions have made sacrifices, and that deputy district attorneys need to do the same…. The prosecutors say they have been discussing striking, and could challenge the contract in labor court.”  (Full story from the Silicon Valley Mercury News.)

• 7.30.12 – Westmoreland County (PA) officials are mulling a plan to cut the number of private lawyers appointed to represent criminal defendants. Court administrators estimate that about $150,000 a year can be saved by retaining a staff of five attorneys earning an annual salary rather than the current system in which dozens of lawyers are appointed and paid on an hourly basis. ‘Other than personnel, this is the courts’ largest line item,’ said court administrator Paul Kuntz.  Last year, judges appointed more than 50 private lawyers who represented about 330 defendants. The county paid $368,000 for those lawyers.  Attorneys are appointed by the courts to represent criminal defendants when there is a conflict of interest with the public defender’s office. For the last several months, court officials have explored methods to reduce these costs.  Kuntz surveyed 33 counties throughout Pennsylvania and found that most — 25 — used independent staff to deal with these cases.  (Full story from the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review.)

• 7.30.12 – Garden State pro bono numbers.  “New Jersey’s top 20 firms racked up 100,746 pro bono hours in 2011, breaking 100,000 for the second time but leaving intact last year’s record of nearly 104,000 hours.  Still, the 2011 figure represents an impressive average of more than 33 hours for each of the 3,027 attorneys at the top 20 firms.  And the proportion of those who did 20 hours or more of pro bono went up in 2011, from 25.7 percent to 28 percent.  Leading the pack once again were the same firms that have held the top four spots since 2008: Lowenstein Sandler in Roseland, Gibbons and McCarter & English, both in Newark, and Porzio Bromberg & Newman in Morristown.”  (Full story from the New Jersey Law Journal.)

• 7.30.12 – funding available for state access-to-justice commissions: “With funding from the Public Welfare Foundation, the ABA Access to Justice Commission Expansion Project is making grants to strengthen the Access to Justice commission movement nationally by facilitating development of new Access to Justice commissions and expanding agendas and promoting innovative initiatives in existing commissions.”  (Here are grant application process/timeline details from the ABA.)  Tip of cap to Richard Zorza’s Access to Justice blog.

• 7.29.12 – here’s an article looking at the pressures weighing upon Kentucky’s indigent defense network (the Department of Public Advocacy), with particular focus on the very busy Bowling Green office.  (DPA just released its 2011 annual report.)  From the article: “The picture of the overworked public defender buried in casework is rooted in fact, particularly in the Bowling Green office….  The Bowling Green office handled 5,437 new cases, the fifth-highest total among the 30 trial offices. The average caseload of 515.1 new cases per attorney in the local office is the third-highest average in the state, and when ongoing criminal cases are factored into a public defender’s caseload, the Bowling Green office had the highest average attorney caseload, with each attorney responsible for 799.8 cases….  Overall, Kentucky’s public defender caseload, which includes the Trial and Post-Trial divisions, has increased by about 43.5 percent from 2002 – when 108,078 new cases were assigned to the DPA – to last year, according to the DPA’s annual report.”  (Full article from the Bowling Green Daily News.)

•  7.28.12 – Prof. Peter Edelman, chair of the D.C. Access to Justice Commission and longtime supporter of civil legal aid, asks why we cannot end poverty in the U.S.  Edelman IDs federal programs that have helped the poor – Social Security, food stamps, and the Earned Income Tax Credit, and then asks: “With all of that, why have we not achieved more? Four reasons: An astonishing number of people work at low-wage jobs. Plus, many more households are headed now by a single parent, making it difficult for them to earn a living income from the jobs that are typically available. The near disappearance of cash assistance for low-income mothers and children — i.e., welfare — in much of the country plays a contributing role, too. And persistent issues of race and gender mean higher poverty among minorities and families headed by single mothers.” (Read the full New York Times op-ed.)

• 7.28.12 – the Indiana Business Journal’s publisher just joined the board of the Indianapolis Legal Aid Society, and he’s put pen to paper extolling the importance of ILAS’s work. (Here’s his piece in, naturally, the Indiana Business Journal.)

• In Louisiana, “Calcasieu Public Defenders Office announced it must cut back services due to budget shortfalls and that the office will withdraw as counsel for about 400 felony cases it’s now appointed to handle.  A spokesman says they will work with the judges to assign new attorneys from the private bar.”  The positions being cut are four of the office’s six conflict attorney slots.  (Full story from KPLC.)  

Music!  Hard to withstand The Temptations if you want to smile on a Friday morning. (Edit: link fixed.)

Space!  Check out this extraordinary time-lapse footage of Earth as seen from the International Space Station.  As trite as this notion may seem, perspective is everything, and viewing Earth from above is somehow humbling, frightening, and tremendously satisfying at once.

The Lawyers’ Committee for Better Housing seeks law students for fall 2012 internships. LCBH believes that all persons have a right to safe, decent, and affordable housing on a non-discriminatory basis. We promote the availability of and access to such housing and support low and moderate-income households in Chicago through legal representation, individual and public advocacy, supportive services and education.

Law students will have opportunities to research legal issues, draft legal memoranda and correspondence, conduct discovery and investigation, meet with clients, and attend intake meetings.  Students with valid 711 licenses will have opportunities to appear in court on behalf of clients.

Find out how to apply at PSLawNet!

Legal Services of Central New York, Inc. (LSCNY) is hiring for a Staff Attorney position. The attorney will work in the Syracuse office.

This is a project, funded for one year, designed to improve access to services and care for persons with developmental, psychiatric, or physical disabilities who are incarcerated in a county jail.

Advocate for policy and process changes on behalf of jail inmates with disabilities. The staff attorney will engage in policy and public advocacy, negotiation, litigation, and networking, as appropriate.

The deadline to apply is 8/3 – find out how at PSLawNet!

Alliance for Justice is a national association of over 100 organizations, representing a broad array of groups committed to progressive values and the creation of an equitable, just, and free society. AFJ works to ensure that the federal judiciary advances core constitutional values, preserves human rights and unfettered access to the courts, and adheres to the even-handed administration of justice for all Americans. It is the leading expert on the legal framework for nonprofit advocacy efforts, providing definitive information, resources, and technical assistance that encourages organizations and their funding partners to fully exercise their right to be active participants in the democratic process.

AFJ is seeking an attorney for its national office in Washington, DC.  The attorney will be part of AFJ’s Advocacy Programs, serving organizations and activists across the country.  Through its Advocacy Programs, AFJ works to increase nonprofit participation in advocacy and lobbying by providing workshops, technical assistance, web resources and easy-to-read publications to a broad range of nonprofit organizations (including foundations) across the country.

Find out how to apply at PSLawNet!

The General Counsel’s Office of the Executive Office of Health and Human Services (EOHHS) is seeking law students to function as legal interns to provide legal support for the Commonwealth’s Medicaid program, known as MassHealth, and other EOHHS programs.

The interns will perform a wide range of complex legal activities associated with the development, implementation and administration of EOHHS and MassHealth policies and programs, and other health care and related initiatives, under the supervision of attorneys.  The positions will be available beginning September 2012.

EOHHS is the Commonwealth’s largest secretariat and is responsible for developing, coordinating and managing the Commonwealth’s health, welfare and human services operations and programs.  EOHHS administers MassHealth — the cooperative state and federal Medicaid program that provides health care benefits and premium assistance for uninsured families, disabled individuals, children, long-term unemployed adults, and seniors.

The General Counsel’s Office functions as EOHHS’ in-house counsel. The legal support provided by the General Counsel’s office consists, in general, of: (i) providing risk analysis and advice concerning applicability of and compliance with all federal and state provisions that may affect ongoing activities and new initiatives, whether involving policy matters, operational issues or spending activities – such risk analysis includes assisting clients in formulating creative problem resolutions and strategies; (ii) maintaining a thorough and comprehensive knowledge of state and federal laws related to Medicaid, state finance and appropriations, and public procurements; (iii) identifying the need for, and assisting in the drafting of, new legislation, regulations and sub-regulatory interpretive material; (iv) reviewing and drafting requests for proposals, contracts, interagency service agreements, and related procurement documents; and (v) representing, and/or assisting the Attorney General’s office in representing, the agency in appeals from administrative decisions and other litigation.

Find out how to apply at PSLawNet!

The National Association of College and University Attorneys seeks a full-time Legal Resources Attorney to provide support in development and delivery of the Association’s legal resources and outreach and compliance programming.

Primary duties include: maintaining and updating legal resources on the NACUA website, including topical resource pages, the clearinghouse of training materials, and the sample policies, forms and agreements library; monitoring and posting relevant information to NACUA’s online professional networking site, NACUALINK; assisting with planning and implementing virtual seminars; providing general support for NACUA’s online legal education courses; and other special projects as assigned by the Director or Associate Director of Legal Resources.

Find out how to apply at PSLawNet!

By: Steve Grumm

Happy Friday, dear readers, from a sweltering, sun-drenched Washington, DC.  There is much public interest news to cover this week.  Before that, two other items of interest:

• Is the U.S. experiencing the highest poverty levels in the last half-century? With new poverty data set for release in several weeks, experts expect that the poverty rate will hit its highest mark since the mid-1960s.  “Poverty is spreading at record levels across many groups, from underemployed workers and suburban families to the poorest poor. More discouraged workers are giving up on the job market, leaving them vulnerable as unemployment aid begins to run out. Suburbs are seeing increases in poverty, including in such political battlegrounds as Colorado, Florida and Nevada, where voters are coping with a new norm of living hand to mouth.”  (Story from Washington Post.)
  • Another trend that augurs poorly for the poor is the potential for a continued rise in food prices as a result of drought conditions throughout most of the U.S. (Again, the Washington Post.)
• From the law-firm world…the National Law Journal has published “The Equity Gap: a Special Report on Women in the Partnership.” The intro: “Virtually every firm claims to be committed to helping women succeed, and they all seem to offer an array of women’s programs — affinity groups, business-development training and work/life balance initiatives. But are large firms committed to promoting women into the equity partnership? Our study of the largest firms in the United States by headcount shows that women represent just 15 percent of equity partners. At just five firms surveyed, women make up more than 25 percent of equity partners.”  (Here’s the multi-part report.)

On to the public interest news.  This week in very short:

• Access to justice a la Canadien;
• Legal Aid Foundation of Colorado raises $1.4m;
• Cal. Western Law’s bridge-to-practice incubator program includes a public service component; 
• This weekend: the Public Defender Advocacy Hiring and Training Conference for law students;
• “So how do we define pro bono, and does clinical work count?,” asks a law professor;
• civil legal services providers across the country benefitting from national mortgage foreclosure settlement funds;
• the funding woes confronting Peach State legal services providers;
• DC’s local court expands limited-scope representation to allow pro bono counsel to serve low-income litigants who would otherwise go pro se;
• The Legal Services Corporation’s board is meeting in Michigan;
• Birmingham, AL is moving from an appointed counsel system to a staffed public defense program;
• Everything’s bigger in Texas, including pro bono;
• A concise overview of successful pro bono models;
• Recent innovations in legal education highlight a move toward experience-based learning.
• Mick Jagger is 69 years old and I don’t know what to make of that.  Happy weekend.

The summaries:

• 7.27.12 – ATJ news from our northern neighbors: “The Canadian Bar Association will take on pro bono family law and poverty law test cases as part of a major push in the coming year to improve the public’s access to justice, says its incoming president.  Robert Brun told The Lawyers Weekly that the CBA will provide representation to litigants pro bono in select cases that could set important precedents on the right to legally aided counsel in areas including prison law, mental health law and refugee law….  The CBA is also announcing a ‘major access to justice initiative’ at its Vancouver annual meeting next month, Brun said. The two-year project will include representations to governments.”  (Story from The Lawyers Weekly.)

• 7.24.12 – “The Legal Aid Foundation [of Colorado] raised nearly $1.4 million in its 2011-12 Campaign for Justice, providing a welcome funding boost to a system strapped for cash.  Donations from law firms accounted for about 68 percent of the total, with many donor firms giving at the foundation’s suggested leadership level of $350 per associate…. The foundation is the fundraising arm of Colorado Legal Services, which has seen its budgets slashed in recent years.”  (Full story from Law Week Colorado.)

• 7.24.12 – “California Western School of Law started the Access to Law Initiative last month. It places eight attorneys who each operate their own practices in an office in downtown San Diego’s Symphony Towers. In exchange, the attorneys pledge to provide at least 100 hours per year of pro bono, public service and ‘sliding scale fee’ legal service.  The new lawyers are mentored by professors and practicing attorneys.  Attorney Eric LaGuardia, a consumer rights lawyer who said he ‘represents the little guy,’ told KPBS the program acts as an incubator for recent law school graduates.  The program was started by California Western professor Robert Seibel and modeled on an initiative at City University of New York. San Diego’s Thomas Jefferson School of Law is currently establishing a similar project….” (Full story from KPBS.)

• 7.24.12 – “Hoping to attract law students and young lawyers facing an increasingly dismal job market, representatives from public defender offices across the country are converging in Washington this weekend to make their pitch.  Since 2008, the D.C. Public Defender Service has organized a biennial conference dedicated to raising the profile of indigent criminal defense work. Public defender offices are often represented at general public interest job fairs, but PDS director of legal recruiting and conference organizer Jennifer Thomas said they saw a need for an event focusing on topics unique to public defender recruitment and jobs.  ‘In the civil legal services…everybody assumes you’re on the side of the angels. In criminal defense, the public perception is very different,’ she said.”  (Full story from the Blog of the Legal Times.)

• 7.23.12 – in a blog post, Prof. Stephen Ellmann of New York Law School ruminates on the definitional ambiguity of “pro bono” and argues that clinical work performed by law students, even though credit-bearing, should count as pro bono for purposes of NY State’s to-be-imposed 50-hour pro bono requirement for admission to the bar.  (Here’s the full blog post.)

• 7.23.12 – a look at how the civil legal services community is using funds from the national mortgage foreclosure class action settlement.  Attorneys general across the country are granting some of the settlement funds to legal services providers to bolster housing advocacy for those facing foreclosure and related legal problems.  (Here’s the information from a DOJ Access to Justice Initiative press release.)  

• 7.23.12 – the funding woes of Georgia’s legal services providers: “Funding for the Georgia Legal Services Program, the Atlanta Legal Aid Society and Atlanta Volunteer Lawyers Foundation has dropped 13.5 percent since 2008, when their combined total budget was $24.2 million. To weather the losses, they’ve reduced staff, cut programs and dipped into reserve funds, even as the population they serve — people with civil legal problems who can’t afford a lawyer — has increased….  Atlanta Legal Aid, for example, has suspended its retirement plan for employees and for the past three years has dipped into its endowment to avoid layoffs, said its executive director, Steven Gottlieb.  But this year, Gottlieb finally had to lay people off. He said attrition and layoffs have shrunk Atlanta Legal Aid’s staff from 133 employees to 115 since the recession began. Another five to 10 people are also working fewer hours.”  And as is the case in many other jurisdictions, IOLTA revenues have fallen through the floor.  (Full story from the Daily Report.)

• 7.23.12 – “In two high-volume branches of the District of Columbia Superior Court, civil legal services groups hope to prove that when it comes to pro bono representation, a little is a lot better than none. A policy recently adopted by the court gives the green light for pro bono lawyers to enter temporary appearances for low-income litigants in small claims and debt collections cases. Legal services lawyers say the change means they can provide much needed representation using minimal resources…. Under the new policy…lawyers can file a notice with the court that they’ll be representing a client for a single day of proceedings. Once proceedings are over for the day, the attorney-client relationship ends. There is precedent at the court for limited-scope representation. Beginning in 2007, the court began allowing temporary pro bono representation in the landlord and tenant branch. Last June, a similar policy was put in place for the paternity and child support branch.” (Full, but password-protected, story in the National Law Journal.) 

• 7.23.12 – from a press release, details about the Legal Services Corporation board meeting which is taking place in Michigan on the 27^th.

• 7.23.12 – “Jefferson County [Birmingham and vicinity] courts will switch to a public defender system as part of a statewide effort to control the spiraling cost of providing lawyers for criminal defendants unable to afford counsel, officials said. The new public defender’s office will replace the current system of judges appointing lawyers for indigent defendants.  It’s hoped that a new defender will be in place this fall, and s/he will hire staff.  “Officials estimated the Birmingham division public defender’s office will have 40 lawyers and support staff.”  (Here’s the full story from the Birmingham News and here’s more coverage from the Montgomery Advertiser.)

• 7.23.12 – “Despite having fewer average full-time equivalent lawyers in 2011 compared to 2010, the 18 firms sharing pro bono information for their Texas lawyers donated more hours than the previous year.” (It’s password protected, so that’s all I’ve got from this Texas Lawyer article.)

• 7.20.12 – from the “PhilanTopic” blog, a concise overview of the different pro bono models which nonprofits and law firms or corporations use to collaborate. 

• 7.17.12 – the National Jurist looks at innovations in legal education: “Law schools are pushing the boundaries of the traditional law school model and experimenting at a level that legal education has not seen for several years, a new story reveals.  The National Jurist invited every law school in the U.S. to submit a nomination for how it is innovating its curriculum. More than 40 schools responded, showing that schools are experimenting with boot camps, mentoring programs, technology and programs that mirror the medical school model.”  The magazine’s next issue, due out in late August, will highlight some schools’ novel approaches to training tomorrow’s lawyers.

Music!  Yesterday marked the 69^th birthday of Mick Jagger, a rock & roll legend who is nonetheless rightly criticized for wearing tights way past his time (if ever a time there is).  Here’s one of the Rolling Stones’ best.

By: Maria Hibbard and Steve Grumm

Congratulations! You’re done with the bar! Your three years of hard work, countless hours in the library, and thousands of pages of reading have paid off. Now that you can officially set aside BarBri books and study plans, it’s time take a deep breath and focus on your job search in order to find your next step. We have some leads to highlight:

• Job Search Fundamentals: Even though you may think you know how to write an awesome cover letter and focus your resume, it never hurts to review the basics. Besides actually earning your J.D., what has changed on your resume since your last internship? How does your previous work reflect your skills and areas of interest? Visit our Job Search Fundamentals page for advice on cover letters, interviewing, and resume development.  Also, check out this two-part public interest job search webinar, with Part I focusing on cover letter and resume drafting, and Part II focusing on interviewing and networking.  (The webinar was geared toward the summer job search, but the main principles still apply to the postgrad search.)  Oh, and speaking of networking…
• Using your network:Remember to “water the plants!”  Reconnecting with previous employers – even from 1L summer or before law school – could potentially lead to conversations about available positions. If an employer has seen your work before, you immediately have a step ahead in the hunt for permanent employment.
  • Previous employers are not the only people it may be worth getting in touch with again – professors whose classes you’ve enjoyed or did well in or attorneys with whom you may have done volunteering also may be open to talking with you about your job search. Continuing the conversation with people you’ve connected with in the past – and maintaining these relationships – could lead to potential recommendations or referrals in the future.
  • Government Positions:Check out PSLawNet’s Government Careers page for more information on federal, state, and local government positions. With the advent of the Obama administration’s hiring reform, the new Pathways Program promises increased transparency for entry level hiring. Now, you are eligible to apply for the Presidential Management Fellowship Program and for Pathways Recent Graduates positions for up to two years after receiving your degree. Keep checking PSLawNet and USAJobs for opportunities for recent graduates.
  • Fellowships: One way many non-profit and legal aid organizations recruit entry-level is through post-graduate fellowships. You may think it’s too late to apply for fellowships – although many organizations recruit for fellows a year in advance, quite a few others recruit during the summer for positions starting that fall. Check out PSLawNet’s Postgraduate Fellowships page for more information. Although many “Sponsoring” organization deadlines may have already passed, running a “Fellowship – Legal” search on PSLawNet’s job search page can help you find relevant organization – based fellowships. You’re also eligible to apply for Equal Justice Works fellowships even after law school graduation.
  • Equal Justice Corps/Americorps Positions: One fellowship program worth highlighting is the EJW/Americorps program. All of these positions are based at civil legal aid organizations, and these 1-2 year placements recruit annually in the summer for positions starting that fall. Running a search on PSLawNet for “EJW/Americorps” or visiting EJW’s Americorps page will help you learn more about these positions.
  • Read for fun! Amidst all of this job searching, don’t forget – you finally don’t have to read bar review material! Take a look at our Summer Reading List for some suggestions on relevant – and fun! – reading. Who knows – maybe one of your interviewers will have read some of the same books.