Los Angeles Superior Court is seeking applicants who have graduated from law school and are members in good standing of the California State Bar, or are awaiting initial admission, for a temporary grant funded AmeriCorps member position as a Legal Fellow supporting Los Angeles Superior Court’s self-help services. The 11-12 month term starts between August 20 and September 30, 2012, and may be renewed for a second year, pending funding confirmation. The Legal Fellow’s work, under the supervision and training of a court staff attorney, will include the following:

1) providing substantive legal guidance to undergraduate AmeriCorps JusticeCorps members, other volunteers, and staff in courthouse self-help centers as they assess the needs of self-represented litigants, and assist them to complete legal documents and procedures to effectively represent themselves in cases involving child custody and visitation, child or spousal support, paternity, divorce, guardianship, or conservatorship;
2) teaching neutral educational legal workshops to self-represented litigants, reviewing documents they complete, and providing guidance for them to represent themselves in court;
3) directly assisting individual self-represented litigants who have the most obstacles to their ability to understand and complete court processes;
4) development of instructional materials and resources to address legal issues prioritized for veterans and military families, and providing training about the use of these resources;
5) organizing and conducting outreach to veterans and military families to educate them about legal options, and to inform them of self-help resources available at Courthouses;
6) development of a pro bono panel to represent and protect the rights of absent service members in child custody or support proceedings, divorce or paternity cases; and
7) recruitment, training and guidance of law student volunteers in the Court’s self-help centers.

Find out how to apply at PSLawNet!

By: Steve Grumm

Credit: philly.com

Happy Friday, dear readers.  And happy Independence Day weekend.  I had an opportunity, yesterday, to live my patriotism. I had jury duty!  And although I thanked them privately, I wish to give a shout-out to the staffers who run D.C. Superior Court’s jury selection program.  They were kind, professional, and actually quite funny.  They knew how to keep a room full of impatient people calm.  Thanks, again. 

New Year’s resolutions are standard fare nowadays.  What I don’t understand is why folks don’t use Independence Day as a chance to lead their own, personal revolts – to declare independence from whatever in life may be hindering them.  For instance, on or around July 4, 1989 I declared independence from vegetables.  That didn’t stick.  Turns out a prerequisite for that would have been declaring independence from my mom.  But nowadays I’ve got more independence to declare my independences.  This year I’ve declared independence from people who treat strangers rudely.

Twice recently I’ve had to endure an adult belittling a service worker – once in an airport and once in a coffee shop.  I was behind these two people in line as they threw temper tantrums.  I’m a conciliator by nature.  So I’m often inclined, when these kinds of people – as they invariably do – turn around and look for affirmation from those around them, just to smile a thin-but-polite smile in hopes that it calms them down.  But I was so astonished at the airport person’s behavior that I realized the last thing I should be doing, even if passively, is affirming the behavior.  So I met this person with a blank stare.  And when he tried to elicit my support I continued staring but didn’t reply.  Ultimately he turned back around and became quiet.  I no longer wish to suffer adults who behave like children.  So I’ve declared independence from them. Feels good.

I’ve also declared independence from kale.

On to the access-to-justice news.  This week in very short:

•  NJ law school clinic not subject to state’s open-public-records law;
• Massachusetts prosecutors getting a pay bump;
• Using Groupon to pay for civil legal aid;
• when judges push plea deals, it may thin out the docket, but at what cost to defendants’ rights?;
• Legal Services of New Jersey levels criticism at a state bar pro bono blueprint;
• a kerfuffle over how indigent-defense contract lawyers are paid in Miami-Dade;
• from Michigan: should defenders working with special-needs clients be trained specialists?;
• a look at the forthcoming LSC appropriation battle;
• Wyoming Center for Legal Aid, chartered in 2010, slow to get operating;
• how funding cuts have affected indigent defense programs throughout the Sunshine State;
• Virginia legal services community rolls out a high-tech, online pro bono clearinghouse;
• state funding cuts to legal aid will continue through the Garden State’s next budget cycle;
• Massachusetts prosecutors and defenders who are benefitting from John R. Justice Act LRAP funds can re-up this summer;
• differing points of view about Washington State’s newly imposed indigent defense caseload limits;
• the AmLaw pro bono report, 2012.

This week in less short:

• 7.5.12 – law school clinic not subject to state’s open public record law: “The developer of an outlet mall in Sussex County can’t get records from a Rutgers University law clinic that represented two groups seeking to block its construction, the state Supreme Court ruled Thursday. The ruling says the Rutgers Environmental Law Clinic, a training ground for Rutgers law students that handles cases for little or no cost, is not subject to the state’s public records law. The decision was praised by the law school and environmentalists who said it would combat “witch hunts” against those seeking help to protect the environment. The developer’s attorney said the developer should have been allowed to see who was behind the opposition to the project, which has won local approval but has yet to be built.”  (Story from the Star-Ledger.)

• 7.5.12 – short and sweet salary news out of Massachusetts: “The $32.5 billion state budget approved last week by the Legislature includes 5 percent increases for all the state’s district attorneys…”  (Story from South Coast Today.)  

• 7.3.12 – using the Groupon system to support a free legal advice clinic in Maryland: “Free legal advice is being offered to low-income residents in Maryland through a partnership between the JustAdvice Initiative and Groupon Grassroots, the philanthropic arm of Groupon.  JustAdvice, run by Civil Justice Inc. and the University of Maryland School of Law, has been offering low-cost legal consultations in areas such as family law, housing, employment and criminal matters since 2009 and is staffed by student attorneys and volunteer lawyers. The goal is to offer a low-cost alternative for those who do not qualify for Legal Aid but can’t afford to hire a private attorney….  Groupon subscribers can pledge support for the initiative in increments of $10 on the Baltimore Groupon Grassroots page through July 8. Each $10 donation goes toward legal advice for one person.”  (Story from the Baltimore Sun.) 

• 7.3.12 – an examination of conflicting justice-system values when courts try to promote docket efficiency by encouraging arraignment pleas from defendants who have limited access to counsel: “More than eight of 10 cases in Northampton County are now resolved at arraignment, through guilty pleas or applications for first- or second-offender programs. It’s an approach the county embraced two years ago to address a packed docket in which cases were being delayed month-to-month without resolution.  It is heralded by court administrators for saving time and effort and easing jail crowding, and by some defense attorneys for the deals it offers. But it also has critics in the legal community who say it can trample on defendants’ rights by pushing a rush to judgment.”  (Story from Pottstown Mercury.)

• 7.3.12 – some pro bono drama in the Garden State: “A New Jersey State Bar Association task force proposing to raise the roof on pro bono legal efforts is meeting opposition from an unlikely quarter — Legal Services of New Jersey, the state’s largest pro bono provider. In a…report titled “Closing the Justice Gap,” the task force recommends a raft of measures, including establishment of a judiciary commission; creation of a statewide pro bono web portal; allowance of CLE credit for pro bono work; and clarification and expansion of what qualifies for exemption from mandatory pro bono service. But LSNJ has decried the recommendations as the product of a one-size-fits-all approach that fails to assess the most pressing legal needs of the poor and the real obstacles to meeting those needs, including the economic realities at small and solo firms and the pressure at larger ones to rack up billable hours.  (Here’s the story from the New Jersey Law Journal.  Here’s a video clip from the state bar regarding the “Closing the Justice Gap” report.)

• 7.2.12 – a kerfuffle over how indigent-defense lawyers re paid in Miami-Dade: “A new system aimed at limiting fees paid to court-appointed lawyers violates the U.S. Constitution and means poor defendants will get only ‘token representation’ by underqualified and overwhelmed lawyers, according to legal actions filed Monday…. The Miami branch of the Florida Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers filed an official objection and a request to the state’s Supreme Court trying to halt the ‘Limited Registry,’ a new system passed by lawmakers and set to begin July 1.  The new law creates a voluntary pool of lawyers who get first crack at receiving clients who, because of ethical conflicts, cannot be represented by the Public Defender’s Office or a second state-funded defense firm. Right now, private lawyers who represent indigent clients can earn up to $75 an hour on time-consuming criminal cases. But lawyers in the new pool will only receive a flat rate of between $750 to $2,500 on cases depending on the degree of the felony — with no chance to earn more money.”  (Full story from the Miami Herald.)

• 7.2.12 – indigent defense news out of Michigan: “State lawmakers are in the process of drafting legislation to make sure people who cannot afford attorneys get adequate legal representation in criminal court. One of the complaints about Michigan’s system is it does not ensure public defenders have the skills and experience they need to properly represent their clients.  State Senator Bruce Caswell served on the governor’s commission on indigent defense. He says the system has to recognize the special needs of defendants who are children or people with mental health issues.” (Story from Michigan Public Radio.)  

• 7.2.12 – “Once More, LSC Budget a Risk,” a piece in the National Law Journal, looks at the impending LSC appropriations battle, and highlights the impact that last year’s appropriation cut has already had on grantees throughout the country.  (The article’s password-protected, but if you can track it down I recommend the read.  It’s a good “where things stand now” piece. )

• 7.2.12 – in 2010, at the behest of the state’s judicially created access-to-justice commission, the Wyoming legislature enacted a measure to create the Wyoming Center for Legal Aid in order to buttress funding for legal services in the Cowboy State.  While the organization was supposed to begin operating in 2011, to date it is still building an infrastructure.  Critics – including the state’s LSC-funded provider, Legal Aid of Wyoming, are restless, while proponents argue that moving slowly is the best course. Story from the Casper Star-Tribune.

• 7.2.12 – here’s an overview of how funding cuts have impacted various public defense programs in Florida.  (Story from the Daytona Beach News-Journal.)

• 7.1.12 – Virginia’s going high-tech with its new statewide pro bono clearinghouse system: “Virginia’s system of providing free legal services to the poor is expected to improve significantly with a new online case management system that makes a limited debut Monday.  Justice Server eventually will allow lawyers throughout the state to log onto their office computer and select a free or “pro bono” case that’s fed into the system by legal aid organizations. Lawyers will be able to instantly search for the type of case they are interested in handling — uncontested divorce or landlord-tenant disputes, for example — and will have access to the entire case file with the click of a mouse.  Steve Dickinson, executive director of the Central Virginia Legal Aid Society, said the system will replace cumbersome and time-consuming procedures “based on technology that peaked sometime in the 1970s.”  (Full story from the Richmond Times-Dispatch.)
  • This raises an interesting-but-off-topic question for me: what, if any, technology that peaked in the ’70s is still holding out today?

• 7.1.12 – state funding cuts to legal services continue in the Garden State.  “Though the governor added $600,000 in the fiscal 2013 budget for clinical legal programs for the poor administered by the law schools at Seton Hall and Rutgers in Camden and Newark, he cut $5 million for civil legal services. And he vetoed a Democratic bill that would have given $10,000 and a stable funding source to Legal Services of New Jersey. The organization represents low-income residents and lost $10,000 of its funding via Christie’s veto pen last year.” (Story from the Philly Inquirer.)  

• 6.29.12 – Massachusetts prosecutors and defenders who are benefitting from the John R. Justice loan repayment program should look into re-upping.  Applications are due on 9/7, according to this announcement.

• 6.29.12 – “Shocking cases of inadequate public defense in Washington [State] have led the state Supreme Court to take an unusual step. The high court has imposed a mandatory cap on the number of cases lawyers for the poor can take. You might assume public defenders would be cheering – finally they’re going to get relief. But in fact some lawyers are downright offended and angry.”  By “public defenders,” the piece is referring to attorneys who take indigent defense cases on a contract basis – and who stand to lose revenue because of what they see as one-size-fits-all caseload caps that they could safely exceed without diminishing they quality of their representation.  (Story from Northwest Public Radio.)  

• 6.27.12 – The American Lawyer’s 2012 pro bono report is out: “For the first eight years of this century, The Am Law 200’s pro bono performance traveled in one direction: up. Between 2000 and 2008 average pro bono hours per lawyer swelled by more than 65 percent. Then the recession hit, marking the beginning of a persistent decline. In 2011 average hours fell to the lowest level in more than three years, with the percentage of lawyers who did more than 20 hours of pro bono work plunging to 43.5. Today, the future of pro bono looks a whole lot murkier than it did just a few years ago. While a recovering economy could lift pro bono work back to boomtime levels, it’s just as likely that changes in law firm staffing and an increasing fixation on cost control could depress pro bono hours for years. At the same time, innovative uses of technology and partnerships with clients could amplify firms’ efforts—a textbook case of doing more with less.”  

Super Musical Bonus.  Given not only the recent fireworks, but also the extraordinary heat-wave so many of us are enduring, a song called “July Flame” seems appropriate.  So here’s July Flame from Laura Veirs of Portland, Oregon.

The day has come: if you’re a rising third-year law student, a recent grad, or an experienced attorney with a commitment to public interest law, you can visit the Equal Justice Works website now to download the application guide and start working on your proposal for an EJW Fellowship!

The competitive EJW fellowships are all 2-year sponsored fellowships at host organizations; ideally, an EJW fellow would propose a project that would be sustainable past the term of the fellowship. Search PSLawNet’s opportunities to find organizations that are looking to sponsor fellowships; these organizations are not the only places that might be open to a fellowship proposal, though, especially if you have an existing relationship with a specific public interest organization.

To find more information about all kinds of fellowships, visit PSLawNet’s Fellowship Info & Resources page!

Swords to Plowshares seeks a candidate to sponsor for a Skadden legal fellowship, beginning in Fall 2013.

Swords to Plowshares is a nationally-recognized nonprofit serving veterans in need in the San Francisco Bay Area.  Founded in 1974, Swords to Plowshares is a community-based not-for-profit organization that provides legal assistance, counseling and case management, employment and training, and housing to veterans in the San Francisco Bay Area.  We promote and protect the rights of veterans through advocacy, public education, and partnerships with local, state, and national entities.  Believing that war causes wounds and suffering that last beyond the battlefield, our mission is to heal the wounds of war and to restore dignity, hope, and self-sufficiency to all veterans in need, and to significantly reduce homelessness and poverty among veterans.

Our legal services include free assistance to veterans who seek Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) healthcare, disability compensation, and pension; we also specialize in military discharge reviews and upgrades for veterans who received less than fully Honorable discharges.  We are a small, collegial staff seeking a candidate to sponsor for a Skadden fellowship.  Our staff includes a former Skadden fellow; this fall we will host both Skadden and Equal Justice Works fellows.  Applicants are encouraged to propose project ideas.  We seek someone who is dynamic, creative, and highly motivated.

The deadline to apply is 7/16 – find out how at PSLawNet!

Like the Bay Area?  Like health law?  Like the idea of working with a medical-legal partnership to provide holistic services to low-income clients and families?  Apply to be the next Staff Attorney/Clinical Supervisor with the East Bay Community Law Center!

The Health Law Practice of the East Bay Community Law Center (EBCLC) seeks a Spanish-speaking attorney for a one year full-time position as a Staff Attorney/Clinical Supervisor to provide legal representation and other legal services to low-income families referred through our medical-legal partnerships and to assist with the training and supervision of summer law student interns. The position may be extended beyond one year depending on funding availability.

The East Bay Community Law Center (EBCLC) is a non-profit organization founded in 1988 to provide high quality legal services to low-income clients and educational opportunities for law students and community volunteers. As UC Berkeley Law School’s community-based legal services clinic, EBCLC is currently the largest provider of legal services for low-income residents in the East Bay. EBCLC has eight practice areas in two offices which cover a range of legal issues, including housing, welfare, immigration, health, community reentry, youth justice and education, economic development, consumer, homelessness, general civil, and law and policy.

Check out the full job listing here, on PSLawNet!

The Project Attorney is a one-year grant funded position that will assist NACDL’s Resource Counsel in developing and administering support services for criminal practitioners in a variety of practice settings throughout the United States, with an emphasis on post-conviction innocence claims. The Project Attorney will gather resources and further develop and update NACDL’s existing resources to provide technical and substantive assistance on all aspects of post-conviction criminal defense practice. The Project Attorney will also assist in notifying parties, including defendants and defense counsel in cases of possible wrongful conviction based on unreliable forensic evidence. The Project Attorney will provide resources on challenging the reliability of non-DNA forensic evidence to enable post-conviction lawyers to effectively identify and provide high quality representation in cases of wrongful conviction.

The deadline to apply is 7/27 – find out how at PSLawNet!

NYLAG has an immediate opening for a supervising or coordinating attorney for its Mobile Legal Help Center (MLHC).  Created through a partnership between NYLAG and the New York State Courts Access to Justice Program, the Mobile Legal Help Center is the country’s first-ever legal services office and courtroom on wheels.  Attorneys provide counseling, advice, and direct representation without leaving the vehicle.  A video link with the courts enables access to judges for emergency hearings, including domestic violence and eviction cases.  The MLHC contains three private meeting areas for attorneys and clients and is equipped with high-speed Internet and state-of-the-art technology.  It travels throughout the five boroughs and parts of Long Island and Westchester, focusing on areas with limited public transportation options.  Through the MLHC, low-income New Yorkers in need of legal help can overcome obstacles such as geographic isolation, health and mobility issues, and childcare concerns.

NYLAG is seeking an exceptional attorney who possesses the enthusiasm and flexibility to ensure the provision of high quality legal services through the MLHC.  This attorney’s primary responsibility will be to coordinate and supervise the legal work that occurs on the MLHC.  The attorney will supervise volunteers both while they are on the MLHC and on certain MLHC cases selected for representation.  The attorney will also coordinate the MLHC work of NYLAG staff.  Further, this attorney will handle a modest caseload of cases which fall within his or her area or areas of legal expertise.  It is anticipated that this attorney will staff the MLHC at least two days a week.  In addition to working with NYLAG staff and volunteers providing service on the MLHC, this attorney will serve as the immediate supervisor of the paralegal who coordinates the schedule and other administrative aspects of the MLHC and the driver and back-up drivers.  This position requires some work on evenings and weekends, when the MLHC is providing services.

Founded in 1990, the New York Legal Assistance Group provides high quality, free civil legal services to low-income New Yorkers who cannot afford attorneys.  Our comprehensive range of services includes direct representation, case consultation, advocacy, community education, training, financial counseling, and impact litigation.

Find out how to apply at PSLawNet!

By: Steve Grumm

Happy Friday, dear readers.

Let’s immediately get the SCOTUS stuff out of the way.  My colleague Maria summarized the recent blockbuster decisions here.  (And SCOTUSblog has their as-always nuanced coverage.)  With that done…

There is a good deal of recent news about the fiscal challenges confronting state and local governments.  Layoffs are very much in the spotlight.  There is not good data on how many lawyer positions have been impacted so far during this period of post-recession fiscal reckoning.  Anecdotally, we know that many state/local government law offices are smaller than they were five years ago.  And on another front, this fiscal news can’t be good for legal services organizations which rely – or relied – on state grants. Let’s look at what the news is telling us:

•  the New York Times reports: “Companies have been slowly adding workers for more than two years. But pink slips are still going out in a crucial area: government…. Government payrolls grew in the early part of the recovery, largely because of federal stimulus measures. But since its post-recession peak in April 2009 (not counting temporary Census hiring), the public sector has shrunk by 706,000 jobs.”  On the state level, while revenues are back up there is fiscal angst about impending pension obligations.  Municipalities are up a creek, with property values – property taxes being the municipal bread and butter – having declined so precipitously.
• the Wall Street Journal explores how state and local funding is likely to shape up over the next few years: “Forecasting firm Macroeconomic Advisors projects state and local government spending and investment will fall to about 10% of GDP by 2020, which would be the lowest level since the mid-1960s…. State and local government has subtracted from U.S. economic growth in every quarter since the middle of 2010.  Their 11.9% share of 2011 GDP was the the lowest since 2006….Much like the taxpayers they serve, these governments are going to be saving more.”
• Sign of the times: Stockton, CA, a city of ~300,000 people, is going into bankruptcy.   

Unrelated: here’s yet another report on The Millennial Generation.  (I don’t remember being the object of such scrutiny as a Gen Xer, maybe because social scientists were about as interested in us as we in them.  We were invisible, latch-key kids even to researchers.  Hah.)  The 2012 Millennial Impact Report looks at the generation’s attitudes towards engaging the nonprofit community.  Tip of cap to the ABA’s Cheryl Zalenski, who via Twitter brought this to my tweetention.  Wow.  First and last attempt to coin a Twitter word.  Already embarrassed.  

This week in access to justice (or lack of):

• indigent defense funding in Guam (yep, Guam);
• Biglaw pro bono down
• in CA, San Jaoquin County’s budget for prosecutors and defenders is leveling after years of cuts;
• the rising cost of indigent defense in the Hawkeye State; 
• a recent LSC summit about using technology to promote access to justice;
• from Indiana, a look at the county-state push-pull over indigent defense funding;
• funding to the rescue for the cash-strapped NOLA public defender;
• with newly imposed caseload guidelines, Washington St. cities must figure out indigent defense funding;
• “Pro Bono Partnerships Between In-House and Outside Counsel – Why Everyone Wins”
• the Volunteer State sees a volunteer lawyer uptick;
• maybe a new funding stream for Legal Services of New Jersey;
• the impact of LSC cuts on Central PA legal services programs;
• push for public defender pay boost in Philly;
• Michigan commission says, “Change the public defense system.”
• Montana’s public defense program needs more state funding;
• Super Musical Bonus

The summaries:

• 6.29.12 – the public defender in Guam is advocating for a budget boost to ensure his office effectively serves clients.  Money quote from Public Defender Services executive director Eric Miller as he made his case to local appropriators: “We want to be careful shepherds of your resources, but we also need to be careful shepherds of the constitutional rights of our clients,” Miller said. “Every law office needs training for their staff, and that is why we put it in the budget.”  (Story from the Pacific Daily News.)

• 6.28.12 – AmLaw data suggests Biglaw pro bono is flagging: “Large law firms’ pro bono work continued to drop last year, both in terms of hours per lawyer and number of lawyers contributing 20 hours or more. Behind the decline are structural changes which suggest that a turnaround may not come anytime soon, according to the new report on the Am Law 200 in the July/August issue of ALM’s The American Lawyer and online at americanlawyer.com.  Average pro bono hours per lawyer fell to 54.3 last year, down almost 12 percent from a 2009 peak, while the percentage of lawyers contributing 20 hours or more dropped to 43.5. Of the 169 firms responding to the survey, nearly two-thirds had a lower pro bono score than the year before.” (Here’s the article from Marketwatch.) 

• 6.28.12 – Stockton’s bankruptcy notwithstanding, the county it sits in, San Jaoquin, may see leveling funding for prosecutors and defenders after years of cuts: “For five years, budget cuts have nipped away at the number of people working in San Joaquin County’s criminal-justice system.  County government has cut more than 30 percent of the positions in the District Attorney’s and the Public Defender’s offices.”  Indeed, the public defender looks to be hiring.  “The Public Defender’s Office was expected to add two positions before the board agreed to add about $646,000 to raise that number by four.”

• 6.28.12 – this piece looks at the rising cost of indigent defense in Iowa, and the question of whether there are ways to better manage those costs.  There is a quite a bit of focus on whether some defendants who are assigned public defenders are actually incapable of paying for their defense.    (Story from the Gazette.) 

• 6.27.12 – LSC’s recent technology summit: “LSC convened the 2012 Summit on the Use of Technology to Expand Access to Justice on June 21-22 in Silver Spring, Md.  Nearly 50 participants – including technology experts, academics, private practitioners, representatives of legal services programs, courts, and governmental and business entities – were invited to explore the potential of technology to move the United States toward providing service of some form to all with a legal need.   This gathering, the first of two planned in 2012, focused on development of ideas.  A follow-up, tentatively planned for the fall, will focus on implementation.  Fourteen white papers were produced in advance of the summit and were used to focus the discussion.  They will be published, some in print and the rest online, by the Harvard Journal of Law & Technology.”  (Here’s more on LSC’s website.)

• 6.26.12 – in Indiana, an op-ed looks at some of the factors influencing the fiscal push-and-pull as county and state governments endeavor to fund indigent defense programs.  (Op-ed in the Star Press.)

• 6.26.12 – some funding comes to the rescue for the NOLA defender’s office: “The Orleans Parish public defender’s office will soon restore services slashed during a budget fiasco in February, partly thanks to recent increases in fees that criminal defendants, traffic violators and seat belt scofflaws pay along with their fines…. The moves signal some stability — though at a far lower budget — for an office that has faced criticism for spending well beyond its means and waiting too long to cut costs.  The bloodletting in February, which created what Criminal District Court Judge Arthur Hunter labeled a “constitutional emergency,” eliminated more than 20 lawyers, including many of the most experienced attorneys in the office, and a half-dozen investigators and staffers.”  The office will actually be hiring some lawyers now that funding circumstances ahve changed. (Article from the Times-Picayune.) 

• 6.25.12 – “Officials in cities across Washington state say that even as they’re trying to find ways to cut budgets, new guidelines from the state Supreme Court will force them to cough up more money for people who are accused of crimes but can’t afford their own attorneys.  By a 7-2 vote this month, the justices adopted new case limits for public defenders — lawyers appointed to represent poor defendants. The standards say that beginning in September 2013, public defenders should not handle more than 300 to 400 misdemeanor cases or 150 felony cases a year, limits designed to make sure the lawyers have enough time to devote to their clients and ensure those defendants are getting their constitutional right to an attorney.”  (Read reactions from city officials and attorneys in the full AP article.)

• 6.25.12 – A piece entitled “Pro Bono Partnerships Between In-House and Outside Counsel – Why Everyone Wins” looks at the legal industry’s and corporate America’s general views of pro bono; how law firms and corporations can work together to grow their pro bono programs; and why individuals, businesses and the general public benefit from pro bono partnerships….  Lawyers must continue to view pro bono as an integral part of their professional responsibility. Moreover, serving others who may be less fortunate “makes for a better company and better life,” as noted in AmLaw Daily’s recent piece entitled “The Purpose-Driven Firm.” What that means is that law firms will benefit by ensuring that pro bono is a vital part of their business plans and practices, but equally important, its lawyers will take great satisfaction in doing the right thing while enhancing their legal skills.  (Full article in the Metropolitan Corporate Counsel.)

• 6.25.12 – pro bono’s on the rise in, appropriately, the Volunteer State: “The Board of Professional Responsibility released data showing that more than 46 percent of Tennessee attorneys reported performing free (“pro bono”) legal work for deserving Tennesseans, an increase of six percent from last year. This is the highest percentage of pro bono reporting since attorneys began to voluntarily report pro bono in 2009 and more than twice the level of reporting during the initial year. The figure released does not include attorneys who that have yet to renew their licenses and report hours.”  (Full story in the Chattanoogan.)

• 6.25.12 – Legal Services of New Jersey has been hard hit in the recession.  So this potential good news must be welcomed: “People would pay more in fees to cover upgrades to the state’s court system and legal services for the poor under a bill that won final passage approved in the Senate today.  The bill (A763) would raise $27.1 million through the fees. The state Supreme Court would decide which fees would increase and by how much, though no single fee hike could exceed $50. Legal Services of New Jersey, a nonprofit organization that represents indigent clients in civil cases, would get $10.1 million from the fee hikes.”  (Full story at NJ.com.)   

• 6.25.12 – this piece in the Altoona Mirror looks at the impact of LSC funding cuts on Central Pennsylvania legal services providers, includine Laurel Legal Services and MidPenn Legal Services.

• 6.24.12 – pay parity!  “An experienced assistant [DA] in Philadelphia, one with seven years on the job, can make $65,000 yearly.  A public defender with exactly the same experience makes a lot less: $51,500.  To close these sorts of gaps and to fill two dozen vacancies, the Defender Association is playing hardball with the Nutter administration, which funds the office.  Unless the city gives the association more money, it says, as of July, it will no longer staff three of Philadelphia’s 67 criminal courtrooms and cut back staffing in a fourth courtroom.”  (Story from the Philadelphia Inquirer.)

• 6.23.12 – “The state should establish uniform standards for court-appointed attorneys because counties have failed to provide adequate defense, according to a governor’s commission report released Friday.  The Indigent Defense Advisory Commission, established by Gov. Rick Snyder in October, determined Michigan’s county-based system has resulted in an “uncoordinated, 83-county patchwork quilt” of public defense systems that has failed to provide adequate legal defense for people who can’t afford a lawyer. According to the report sent to Snyder and legislative leaders, a 13-member state commission should be formed to establish standards for indigent defense and to oversee the quality of the county-based system.  The commission also recommended the Legislature supplement county-based funding where necessary.” (Here’s the Detroit News article, and here’s the report of the Indigent Defense Advisory Committee.)

• 6.21.12 – in Montana, “The State Public Defender’s Office continues to tell state lawmakers it needs more money. “A legislative committee heard a report today outlining how the office is short on resources. The public defenders will have to compete with many other requests for a piece of the state’s projected budget surplus…. Several Republicans on the committee also called for the Public Defender’s Office to start charging a small fee to those using the service as a way to raise funds—say $10 or $20.”  (Story from Montana Public Radio.) 

Super Musical Bonus: outrageously hot weather of the type DC is currently experiencing makes me want an ocean. Here’s Sun Kil Moon covering Modest Mouse’s “Ocean Breathes Salty.”

Believe it or not, “public interest” and “law firm” can be used in the same phrase – a small niche practice of firms devote all or a significant portion of their time to “plaintiff side” work, partnering with public interest organizations and/or representing labor unions, associations, and government bodies.

Even if you thought you would  never work at a law firm, researching these organizations is still valuable – especially after considering the fact that public interest positions are more competitive than ever.

Check out our Public Interest Law Firm Careers page on PSLawNet!

The U.S. Small Business Administration (“SBA”) is offering academic year internships through its Office of Litigation within the Office of General Counsel.  This unpaid internship can provide students with course credits and valuable experience in a wide range of litigation work and exposure to a variety of issues.

SBA was created in 1953 as an independent agency of the federal government to aid, counsel, assist and protect the interests of small business concerns, to preserve free competitive enterprise, and to maintain and strengthen the overall economy of the nation.

The main sections, each headed by an Associate General Counsel, are Financial Law and Lender Oversight, General Law, Litigation, and Procurement Law.  OGC advises the Agency with regard to its various financial, contracting, and training programs; and also represents SBA in administrative and court proceedings, involving areas of law such as employment, procurement, and contract.

Intern assignments include legal research, drafting legal memoranda, and section-specific assignments.  Interns will likely have the chance to interact with SBA’s top management, staff at the White House, Office of the Inspector General, Justice Department, other federal agencies, banks, and major corporations.

The Law Intern Program includes mentoring, formalized training, and a writing seminar.  The Brown Bag Lecture Series provides interns the chance to attend weekly panel discussions on topics ranging from current issues in OGC to clerking after law school.  Interns will also have many opportunities to meet and interact with SBA attorneys.  Happy hours, baseball games, and golf trips are just some of the fun social events interns will attend!

Find out how to apply at PSLawNet!