By: Steve Grumm

Happy Friday (the 13th), dear readers.  This week I’ve been thinking about how I’m inspired – not what inspires me, but rather how inspiration strikes me.  The Atlantic is collecting readers’ thoughts on this topic.  My own conclusion is that I’m pretty boring.  Mostly, I’m a linear, process-driven thinker.  “Inspiration” comes after collecting data and viewpoints, consciously and/or subconsciously mulling them over, evaluating alternatives, and then crafting a solution.  If all of those wheels are turning subconsciously and at a quick pace, then I have what feels like an epiphanic moment.  But I still must consciously start the process if I’m to get to that endpoint.   In any case it seems to work for me.

And more importantly, the exercise of thinking about how we are inspired is in itself worthwhile.  By understanding how we work best we can bring those tools and approaches to bear on future problems.  I encourage you to think about your inspiration process (and contribute your thoughts to The Atlantic if you’re so moved).            

Okay, the latest access-to-justice, pro bono, funding, job market, and related news:

• Texas moving toward adoption of standard forms for pro-se, uncontested divorces;
• Minnesota law students are pitching in big-time to narrow the justice gap;
• a class-action lawsuit against a PA county alleges underfunding of indigent defense;
• MassMutual pledges pro bono assistance and funding in the Bay State;
• Community Legal Services of mid-Florida is one fine place to work;
• the “profound transformation” of pro bono over the past three decades;
• gun-totin’ prosecutors in Minnesota;
• pro bon-Oh, Canada;
• Texas high court honored for AtJ commitment;
• more pro bono volunteers in the Volunteer State;
• re-examining welfare reform’s “successes” in a recession’s aftermath;
• spotlight on South Texas College of Law’s Human Trafficking/Immigration Clinic;
• a Wisconsin-based legal services lawyer offers the basics on managing student debt. 

The summaries:

• 4.12.12 – from the Public News Service: “The state Supreme Court is considering whether to make it easier for low-income Texans to handle simple legal cases without hiring attorneys. An advisory committee will be hashing out recommendations Friday in Austin.  At issue is whether to require all Texas courts to accept standardized do-it-yourself legal forms in uncontested divorces.”  The San Antonio Express editorial board favors the move, writing, “Texas is only one of a few states without universal divorce forms. The majority of the 43 states that have adopted the forms also mandated their courts to accept the forms. Texas needs to follow suit.  As Public Citizen and other citizen advocates have noted, many Texans can’t afford the $203 median hourly rate Texas family law lawyers charge, but that should not keep them from having access to the justice system.”  The main argument against: standardized forms could encourage a large number of people to go pro se, and could thus clog up the court system. 

• 4.10.12 – the Minneapolis Star Tribune looks at the “…growing force of Minnesota law students who are wielding more influence in courtrooms as funding for legal aid services declines and economic forces reduce paid clerkships…. The number of law students who [completed a volunteer program via the] Minnesota Justice Foundation (MJF) has grown exponentially, from 43 in 2000 to 287 in 2010. Many…are placed with nonprofits that serve low-income clients. About 19 currently work in public defenders’ offices…”  The piece goes on to cite numbers about funding cuts and job losses in civil legal services.

• 4.10.12 –  in Pennsylvania, the “Luzerne County chief public defender…filed a lawsuit against the county…alleging that a lack of funding and staffing has led to his inability to represent indigent clients. The complaint, listed as a class action, was filed by the [Pennsylvania ACLU] and Dechert LLP in Philadelphia. The ACLU has had similar complaints about the Allegheny County public defender’s office.  Al Flora Jr,, who was named the Luzerne County chief public defender in 2010, stopped accepting new applications for representation on Dec. 19 except in [certain cases].  (Story from the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.)
  • Update: following the class-action filing on Tuesday, “Chief Public Defender Al Flora Jr. on Thursday filed a motion seeking a court order that would permit him to immediately hire six more attorneys and direct Luzerne County to pay private attorneys to represent indigent defendants who have been denied representation by his office.”  (Story from Wilkes Barre Times-Leader.)

   

• 4.10.12 – in Massachusetts, a locally-based company pitches in to address the justice gap.  From a press release: “Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Company (MassMutual) and the Hampden County Bar Association announced today MassMutual’s increased support for the Hampden County Legal Clinic, including a $15,000 grant and additional volunteer support through the company’s in-house legal team.  The grant is also intended to help support the expansion of pro bono activities currently administered by the Hampden County Legal Clinic.

• 4.10.12 – big props to Community Legal Services of Mid-Florida, which is a mighty fine place to work.  “Community Legal Services of Mid-Florida has been named one of the nation’s “50 Best Nonprofits To Work For In 2012″ by The NonProfit Times.  For its third annual list…publication selected nonprofits in three categories: small, medium and large organizations.  Community Legal Services was ranked ninth among medium-sized nonprofits and 18th overall, according to a news release from the Daytona Beach-based nonprofit agency.”  (Story from the Daytona Beach News-Journal.)

• 4.9.12 – the Pro Bono Institute’s Esther Lardent has occasion to look at pro bono’s “profound transformation” in the past three decades.  Pro bono’s evolution toward a sophisticated national movement began with threats to eviscerate Legal Services Corporation funding in 1980 and continued with the institutionalization of pro bono in law-firm (and now in-house) culture.   (This National Law Journal piece is password-protected.)

• 4.9.12 – It’s cold in Minnesota, so now the state’s prosecutors can pack heat.  “Gov. Mark Dayton signed a bill into law…that will allow prosecutors to arm themselves while on duty.  The legislation was drafted after a courthouse shooting nearly killed Cook County Attorney Tim Scannell last December. Previously, a quirk in state law had prohibited prosecutors from carrying weapons while on duty even though no such restrictions were imposed on judges or public defenders.  During debate on the bill, lawmakers were assured that judges will retain the right to ban guns from courtrooms and courthouse grounds.”  (Story from the Minneapolis Star-Tribune.)

• 4.9.12 – Pro Bon-Oh, Canada.  (LOL!)  Help for pro se litigants in Ontario who wish to go to the country’s high court: “Pro Bono Law Ontario (PBLO), in partnership with the Canadian Bar Association (CBA) and the Supreme Court of Canada, launched a new pilot project today to provide free legal services to low-income self-represented Ontarians seeking leave to appeal to the Supreme Court of Canada. Initiated at the Court’s request, the project will help eligible litigants determine the merits of their leave applications and offer assistance to those found to have prospects for success. The volunteer lawyers are former law clerks at the Supreme Court.” (Here’s the full press release.)

• 4.9.12 – everything’s bigger in Texas, including the high court’s AtJ commitment.  “The Texas Supreme Court will receive a 2012 American Bar Association Grassroots Advocacy Award for leading an extraordinary effort to preserve state funding for legal aid programs and also for encouraging support for legal services in other states. The award will be presented April 18 during a reception at the United States Supreme Court.  Last year, the Texas Supreme Court played a key role in obtaining funding for Texas legal aid programs at a time when state-directed support was in serious jeopardy. The…justices lobbied extensively in support of an amendment on a general appropriations bill, which led to $17.6 million in legal services funding from the Texas state legislature.”  (Full ABA release.)

• 4.7.12 -pro bono advocates in Tennessee appear to be answering the call to help overwhelmed legal services providers.  From the Tennessean: “The state Supreme Court requires lawyers to report their pro bono service each year. In 2010, 4,400 more lawyers reported volunteering their time than the year before, a 100 percent increase, according to a commission report that is headed before the Supreme Court later this year.

• 4.7.12 – in 2003, when I was a 3L, I wrote a paper on how the mid-1990s welfare-reform policy changes were faring over time.  One of the main concerns raised by reform critics was that if the economy went south, and welfare recipients ran up against newly-imposed time limits on how long they could receive benefits, thousands of people could fall through the safety net’s holes.  Fast forward to post-recession 2012.  From the New York Times: “Perhaps no law in the past generation has drawn more praise than the drive to ‘end welfare as we know it,’ which joined the late-’90s economic boom to send caseloads plunging, employment rates rising and officials of both parties hailing the virtues of tough love.  But the distress of the last four years has added a cautionary postscript: much as overlooked critics of the restrictions once warned, a program that built its reputation when times were good offered little help when jobs disappeared. Despite the worst economy in decades, the cash welfare rolls have barely budged.”

• 4.7.12 – the Houston Chronicle highlights the work of the Human Trafficking/Immigration Clinic at the South Texas College of Law: “By 2011, the…Clinic had scored some major victories.  [Clinic director Naomi] Bang’s students had helped secure visas allowing 15 Vietnamese human trafficking victims to remain in the country. Second- and third-year law students were clamoring to get into the class, and a long waiting list developed for the 10 coveted spots.

• Writing in the April edition of the Wisconsin Lawyer, 2009 law grad and current legal services lawyer Karen Bauer reviews educational debt relief options and repayment approaches for today’s grads.

The Mid-Atlantic Innocence Project (MAIP) is a small non-profit corporation that works to prevent and correct the conviction of innocent people in the District of Columbia, Maryland, and Virginia.

MAIP has an immediate opening for a full-time Staff Attorney with a demonstrated passion for criminal justice issues and investigation and/or litigation experience. Because MAIP is such a small organization, this position will include a limited amount of non-legal work, including website maintenance and some development responsibilities (shared with others on the staff).

The Staff Attorney’s duties will include: litigating MAIP cases, usually with co-counsel; supervising MAIP’s Staff Investigator, helping him prioritize cases and determine appropriate strategy in those cases; reading case files and/or interviewing potential clients to determine whether to investigate or litigate a given case; participating in meetings with our Screening Committee and Screening Director; filing Freedom of Information Act requests with our jurisdictions and appealing decisions in those requests as necessary; when exonerations do occur, helping to coordinate post-exoneration services; updating the website and Facebook page; some development activities, which will include helping to write our annual newsletter, helping to put together our annual fundraising event, and helping to coordinate our Young Professionals Committee; other MAIP duties, as appropriate.

Learn how to apply at PSLawNet!

Disability Rights Texas is the federally designated legal protection and advocacy agency (P&A) for people with disabilities in Texas. Its mission is to help people with disabilities understand and exercise their rights under the law, ensuring their full and equal participation in society.

Disability Rights Texas is looking to hire an attorney in its Houston office. The new attorney will handle complex litigation involving institutional rights of persons with intellectual disabilities.

To learn how to apply, see the listing at PSLawNet!

Advancement Project is looking for a creative problem solver, strong advocate, and skilled attorney in its Washington D.C. office to serve as a Staff Attorney in its Immigrant Justice Project.

Advancement Project is a next-generation, multi-racial civil rights organization. Advancement Project tackles inequity with innovative strategies and strong community alliances. With a national office in Washington, DC and two offices in California, Advancement Project combines law, communications, policy and technology to create workable solutions and achieve systemic change.

The Staff Attorney will work in Advancement Project’s Immigrant Justice Project, which partners with grassroots organizations across the country to defend against the heightened criminalization of immigrants, those perceived to be immigrants, and communities of color. The strategies and tactics of the Immigrant Justice Project are carried out within the broader goal of racial justice. The Staff Attorney will be expected to work closely with our partner grassroots organizations, and to use a variety of legal, policy, communications, and coalition-building strategies to assist our community partners in advancing and defending immigrant rights.

To learn more, check out the listing at PSLawNet!

The Assistant Director, Public Interest (Assistant Director) will be responsible for developing new programs, bringing coherence to WCL’s vision and managing the many on-going public interest/pro bono projects sponsored by WCL. 

This position will be an advocate for public interest law and will be responsible for maintaining an institutionalized, formal Pro Bono Honors Pledge Program that promotes specific work opportunities and offers students guidance in selecting pro bono projects.

The Assistant Director will encourage students to volunteer and become active participants during their law school career. The individual will also have oversight responsibilities for the Public Interest Public Service (PIPS) Scholarship Program and will work with each class of PIPS scholars to focus on various public service commitments while in law school.

By: Steve Grumm

Happy Friday, dear readers.  It pleases me to report that the Glorious Philadelphia Phillies Baseball Franchise is undefeated this season, having shut out the Pirates of Pittsburgh yesterday.  While we’re talking baseball, I encourage you to check out the artwork of Will Johnson.  Johnson, who is steeped in baseball history, produced a series of paintings that profile some of the game’s most fascinating and impactful personalities, like this one of Cubs great Mordecai Brown.  (That’s for you, Mr. Glaves.)  Johnson is also the frontman of Centro-matic, a great rock band out of Denton, Texas.

This week in access-to-justice, pro bono, and related public interest news:

• sharing the wealth across counties to fund indigent defense in Nebraska;
• making the business case for nonlawyer professionals to provide pro bono services;
• the early end of the Cincy defender’s tenure;
• the Wash. State Bar Association’s “Moderate Means” program provides sliding-scale legal help to the (not quite) poor by partnering with the state’s 3 law schools;
• the Virginia Legal Aid Society is charting a course to maximize services with less anticipated future funding;
• how law student pro bono is done by those hippie kids in Berkeley;
• the Early Resolution Project in Alaska seeks to make the legal dimension to divorces quick, inexpensive, and as pain-free as possible;
• more nonlegal pro bono, this time focusing on the value of “secondment” projects;
• the Media Access Project will soon cease to be;
• a New Hampshire lawmaker opposes the state’s move from a voluntary to mandatory IOLTA jurisdiction.
• the Illinois AG and defender press for funding to boost attorney salaries.

The summaries:

• 4.5.12 – a Nebraska state legislator has withdrawn a bill that would have diverted funds away from indigent defense in rural counties.  (Story from the Omaha World-Herald.) 

• 4.5.12 – a Taproot Foundation blog post explores the business case for pro bono, with a focus on how pro bono provides experiential learning opportunities.  But here, we’re dealing with pro bono by nonlawyer professionals who offer free technical and strategic planning assistance to nonprofits.  Recently I’ve seen more and more coverage of “nonlegal pro bono.”  This probably speaks to 1) the increasing sophistication of the Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) movement, and 2) the post-recession need among resource-strapped nonprofits for free professional services.   

• 4.4.12 – the rocky tenure of Cincinnati’s public defender came to an early end after a report pointed to an abrasive management style and failure to inspire trust among staff.  Full story from the Cincinnati Enquirer.

• 4.4.12 – the Washington State Bar Association’s Moderate Means “low bono” program: “Washingtonians of moderate means now have a better chance of getting legal representation when they need it.  More than 350 lawyers have volunteered to adjust their fees on a sliding scale to accommodate people who are neither rich nor poor. The attorneys are part of a partnership between the Washington State Bar Association (WSBA) and the state’s three law schools….  People are eligible for the Moderate Means Program if their household income is between 200 percent and 400 percent of the federal poverty level for their family size. That would be household incomes between $45,622 and $91,244. The bar association said that includes about 30 percent of Washington households.”  Full piece in the Seattle Times.  And here’s more from the Seattle Business Journal.

• 4.4.12 – “Because of federal budget cuts, the Virginia Legal Aid Society needs help to determine how best to use limited resources to help residents.  While more low-income residents in Danville and Southside need free civil legal services every year, Legal Aid revenues have declined by about 20 percent in the past two and a half years, said VLAS Executive Director David Neumeyer. Next year, Legal Aid faces a deficit of $500,000 for a $2.6 million budget. Without significant help, the nonprofit law firm would need to reduce staff or close an office next year, he added.”  VLAS is seeking community input as it charts a course forward.  (Story from Roanoke-based WSLS.)

• 4.4.12 – law student pro bono. The ABA Center for Pro Bono’s blog features a guest post from our friend Sue Schechter (Hi, Sue!) of Berkeley Law.  Sue reviews Berkeley’s law student pro bono program, a model that provides staff and academic support to students but that also allows much autonomy as students make their own volunteer commitments with local agencies.  This latter dimension reflects the fact that pro bono at Berkeley law has historically been a student-run initiative. 

• 4.4.12 – the Early Resolution Project set up by an Alaska judge uses pro bono attorneys to help bring about amicable – and brief – divorce resolutions.  The underlying philosophy is that the longer divorces stay in litigation, the more painful and financially draining they are likely to be for the parties.  So brief, low-stress proceedings are the ERP’s goal.  Here’s the story from Alaska Public Radio and NPR.

• 4.3.12 – more nonlegal pro bono.  Global public relations outfit Ketchum blogs about the advantages of pro bono “secondments,” through which Ketchum professionals are embedded within a nonprofit organization to provide pro bono services for a period of time.  This pro bono model is of course not new to the law firm world, but it is still interesting to see how and why pro bono work is structured in other professions.   

• 4.3.12 – “The Media Access Project announced on Tuesday that it will be shutting down its operations in May because of funding difficulties.  The public interest law firm said its board has decided to suspend operations on May 1 because of the ‘difficult funding environment facing MAP and other progressive public interest groups.’  The group was founded in 1973 and represents clients that promote the free flow of information and free speech and diversity in electronic and other forms of new media.”

• 4.3.12 – in the recession’s wake New Hampshire’s high court converted the state’s IOLTA program from voluntary to mandatory in order to boost funding for beleaguered legal services providers.  One state legislator, attorney Gregory Sorg, is proposing a bill to undo this change and return to a voluntary program.  “’I moved to New Hampshire because this was the one state left in the Northeast where a person could own his own soul’, says [Sorg]…. But to [New Hampshire Legal Assistance exec. director John Tobin,]…Sorg’s focus on the principle of the issue ignores the very real consequences.  ‘Even if we lose the funding that costs us one lawyer or one paralegal, that means that several hundred New Hampshire people will not have an advocate,’ says Tobin. ‘And that means that some of them will lose their housing, some of them won’t get health care, some of them won’t be able to escape from domestic violence’.”  Story from New Hampshire Public Radio.

• 3.30.12 – In Illinois, the AG and state public defender pressed for higher salaries during budget hearings in the state senate.  (The Chicago Daily Law Bulletin article is password-protected.)

The Southern Poverty Law Center is dedicated to fighting hate and bigotry, and to seeking justice for the most vulnerable members of our society. SPLC’s Legal Department focuses on cases involving the rights of children, prisoners, immigrants, the LGBT community, victims of hate crimes, and issues affecting economically disadvantaged communities. 

The Senior Community Adovcate position will focus principally on our children’s rights work and our economic justice work, including our work against predatory and abusive lending practices, but may support casework and advocacy in all areas of the Center’s legal agenda.

The Senior Community Outreach  Advocate will use public policy advocacy and community outreach to further the Center’s juvenile justice and education reform work. He/she will also assist in client and community outreach and support for other Center cases.

Learn how to apply at PSLawNet!

By: Steve Grumm

Here’s a piece in the ABA’s Young Lawyer entitled “Careers in Legislative Affairs.”  (Access seems to be restricted to ABA members.)  The author, who worked in the Illinois state legislature, reviews the arrays of opportunities available for law grads on the federal, state, and municipal levels. 

He also closes with some advice that highlights the value of networking to land legislative jobs:

Strategic networking is the best way to become aware of opportunities and present your best candidacy for any of the positions described here. It’s helpful to always be reviewing this quick checklist:

• Is my elevator speech tailored to my audience? Can I present my background, skills, and aspirations in a concise and compelling way to engage people in conversation?
• What venues will introduce me to people who can advance my career aspirations?
• Am I regularly tracking my network to ensure that I am engaging every relevant contact to advance my plan? Am I updating my contact list to reflect people I’ve recently met?

As anyone who’s worked, or looked for work, in Washington, DC knows, whom you know can be as important as what you know.  This can be frustrating for the more meritocratic-minded.  The best way to think of it is that whom you know will help you get to a position where you can thrive on what you know.

Here are some other resources on legislative careers and networking:

• Networking tips from Harvard Law’s Office if Public Interest Advising;
• PSLawNet’s Federal Government Careers page;
• PSLawNet’s State and Local Government Careers page
• Yale Law School’s “Working on Capitol Hill” guide

If you know of other good resources please post in the comments section.  Thanks!

The Greater New Orleans Fair Housing Action (GNOFHAC) center is looking for dedicated, motivated, and talented law students to assist its staff with the investigation and enforcement of fair housing complaints.

GNOFHAC is a private, non-profit civil rights organization that was established in the summer of 1995 to eradicate housing discrimination throughout the greater New Orleans area through education, investigation, and enforcement activities. GNOFHAC is dedicated to fighting housing discrimination not only because it is illegal, but also because it is a divisive force that perpetuates poverty, segregation, ignorance, fear, and hatred.

Law clerks assist attorneys in all aspects of litigation including client intake, performing legal research, conducting factual investigation, drafting memoranda and motions, analyzing discovery materials, attending court proceedings, and preparing briefs.  Law clerks may also assist with community outreach events designed to educate the public about their fair housing rights.

For more information and to learn how to apply, check the listing at PSLawNet!