National Hispanic Media Coalition (NHMC) is a non-profit, civil rights, media advocacy organization, whose mission is to improve the image of American Latinos as portrayed by the media, enhance employment equity in the media industry, and advocate for media and telecommunications policies that benefit Latinos and other people of color.

NHMC is seeking a legal intern for the Spring 2012 semester. Interns will have the opportunity to build their legal research and writing skills, and draft administrative filings under the supervision of a former Georgetown Law clinical fellow who is now NHMC’s Vice President of Policy & Legal Affairs.

Interested? See the listing at PSLawNet!

The Peter Cicchino Youth Project (PCYP) in the Urban Justice Center is a legal services, systemic advocacy, and community education project that focuses on the legal needs of homeless and street-involved lesbian, gay, bisexual, queer, and questioning (LGBTQQ) young people (up through age 24) in New York City. PYCP is looking for experienced attorneys for its Project Director position.

PCYP works to interrupt the cycles of poverty and criminalization that prevent LGBTQQ youth from living fulfilling, enriching lives. We advocate for LGBTQQ young people living in poverty on a wide range of issues, including safe and affirming access to shelter, obtaining lawful immigration status, public benefits, accurate identification documents, and discrimination.

The Project Director is responsible for fundraising and managing a $400,000 annual budget, and will represent PCYP to the broader Urban Justice Center, the media, and the public. The Project Director works with program staff to coordinate PCYP’s legal services, to ensure that our clients receive high quality legal representation. The Project Director, along with program staff, will continue to identify systemic priorities and to develop PCYP’s capacity to take direction from the communities we serve.

If you’re interested, see the listing at PSLawNet!

The Loyola Law School Center for Juvenile Law and Policy is seeking applications for a post-graduate fellowship in the Center’s Juvenile Justice Clinic.  The fellowship is designed for attorneys who possess a demonstrated interest in indigent juvenile defense and juvenile justice issues. 

The fellowship is a two-year appointment, beginning on August 1, 2012.  The fellowship is designed to provide a well-developed practical skill set as well as clinical teaching experience.

The Center is a legal clinic that brings public service, education and advocacy together to improve the quality of legal services provided to youth in the juvenile delinquency system.  The clinic provides free legal services to children in the Los Angeles delinquency courts while providing students with vital litigation skills and the opportunity to practice in the public interest.

To learn more and to find out how to apply, see the listing at PSLawNet!

The Center for Social Justice at Seton Hall University School is looking to fill a fellowship spot immediately! The clinical fellowship would run through July 2012, with the possibility for renewal.

The Center is home to eight clinics, as well as the International Human Rights/Rule of Law Initiative, the Urban Revitalization Initiative and a large pro bono program. The clinics focus on predatory lending and foreclosure, education and prison reform, constitutional law and civil rights, equal justice, impact litigation, family law, immigrants’ rights and international human rights, and juvenile justice.

The Fellow will work with clinics that focus on complex civil litigation, including multi-party litigation as well as law reform and impact litigation. Preference will be given to those interested in issues surrounding urban justice and experienced with housing, foreclosure, predatory lending, and/or education reform advocacy.

The Fellowship provides a unique opportunity to gain public interest litigation and clinical teaching experience in a supportive law school environment. The Clinical Fellow will assist with client intake, all aspects of civil litigation, supervision of clinical students, and the teaching of clinical seminars, and will be responsible for case coverage during the summer months

Sounds like a great opp! Find out how to apply at PSLawNet!

By: Steve Grumm

Greetings, dear readers.  We’ll get to the news bulletin after we deal with the make-it-or-break-it contest tonight between the Glorious Philadelphia Phillies Baseball Franchise and the nefarious Cardinals of St. Louis.  I’m not prone to hyperbole, but this is Luke against Darth, Holmes against Moriarty, and Chief Brody against Jaws all rolled into one.  Turns out I am prone to hyperbole.  Game 5 takes place this evening.  I trust that all of our regular readers (all four of you) will don Phillies regalia and wave the rally towels in a show of solidarity with your author.  Go Phils!

What’s new in the public interest world this week?  The towering announcement, of course, came right from us, when we congratulated the law-student winner of the 2011 PSLawNet Pro Bono Publico Award.  Also this week: a protracted union battle involving LA County prosecutors; an NY judge ponders an AmeriCorps-like program for recent law grads to represent indigent clients; a Civil Gideon in the Badger State(?); funding cuts threaten prosecutors and defenders in The OC; defenders in Riverside County are faring a little better; Montana’s new(ish) indigent defense program is searching for a new head honcho; and a look at the need for legal services among the increasing numbers of poor people in New York.

• 10.7.11 – a development in a nasty, ongoing battle between unionized Los Angeles County prosecutors and the local district attorney.  From the Contra Costa Times: “The union representing Los Angeles County prosecutors took a big round this week in its battle with District Attorney Steve Cooley, with a tentative settlement granting it a permanent injunction and $575,000 in penalties. The deal calls for the county to pay $125,000 to the Association for Deputy District Attorneys and $450,000 to Deputy District Attorney Marc Debbaudt, who had alleged retaliation for his union activities. The settlement, still subject to Board of Supervisors’ approval, also made permanent a temporary court injunction ordering Cooley to refrain from harassing or intimidating ADDA members based on their union membership. Cooley and the ADDA have been at odds since the union was formed three years ago, resulting in numerous administrative and legal battles.”  I am a friend of organized labor. But, man, a union full of lawyers can’t be easy to deal with.

• 10.5.11 – an AmeriCorps-like program for recently graduated civil legal services attorneys(?).  The Albany Times-Union reports that one New York jurist is thinking outside the box about how to narrow a widening justice gap in light of large numbers of un- or underemployed law grads.  Judge Michael Coccoma offered, “…'[W]hen I hear that an increasing number of recent law school students are unable to find jobs, I ask myself, why can’t we develop funding streams and programs which would provide an opportunity for these attorneys, who are eager to put their skills to work in a public-service program, providing legal services for the poor?’.  Coccoma suggested that in exchange for a two- or three-year commitment in that type of program, the new lawyers could receive a reduction in their student loan. He compared it to AmeriCorps programs which enables college graduates entering health care fields to get assistance with their tuition.”  My reaction to such a proposal is mixed. 

• 10.5.11 – the cheeseheads ponder a civil Gideon.  From the State Bar of Wisconsin: “The Wisconsin Supreme Court held a public hearing on a rules petition that would create a right to publicly funded counsel for indigent litigants in certain civil cases.  The court took no immediate action following the public hearing yesterday (Oct. 4), but may take the petition up again on Oct. 17 at a previously scheduled open administrative conference.  The concept advanced by the petition…would provide that in certain civil actions, an indigent litigant would have an attorney appointed at public expense when needed to protect the litigant’s rights to ‘basic human needs, including sustenance, shelter, clothing, heat, medical care, safety and child custody and placement.’ The petition was filed in September 2010 by attorney John F. Ebbott, the executive director of Legal Action of Wisconsin (LAW). Ebbott presented the petition to the court at the public hearing, supported by many other professionals in the legal aid community. 

• 10.5.11 – in California, funding cuts threaten Orange County prosecutors and public defenders.  The Voice of Orange County reports that the district attorney (along with the sheriff) pressed the county board of supervisors not to go through with cuts.  A day before the Orange County Register covered the impact of cuts on the public defense program: “The County of Orange will be forced to pay for private attorneys to represent indigent defendants after the Board of Supervisors agreed to make $29.5 million in emergency budget cuts Tuesday, including laying off seven public defenders. The public defender says the cuts will cripple its ability to perform its constitutionally mandated duties.”   

• 10.4.11 – the Riverside County PD’s office is faring better than its OC counterpart.  As we noted in the Bulletin a couple of weeks ago, the Riverside County public defender’s office was trying to get legislators to cancel a 5% budget cut.  Success!  From the Valley News:  “Riverside County Public Defender Gary Windom’s request for an additional $1.4 million to close a gap in his budget and keep current positions filled was approved today by the Board of Supervisors.  Without comment, the board voted 4-0 … to make the appropriation, without which an investigator position and 18 clerical and technical jobs would have been in jeopardy. In June, Windom told the board that a 5 percent cut in general fund appropriations for the Office of the Public Defender would strain the agency’s resources and lead to delays in moving cases through the courts.”

• 10.3.11 – help wanted in the Treasure State!  Montana is running a nationwide search for a new chief public defender.  From the Billings Gazette: “The four-year-old system provides legal representation to people accused of crimes who can’t afford attorneys. Its first chief, Randi Hood, resigned four weeks ago, saying she wanted to leave her administrative post and continue work in the courtroom as a public defender. Montana overhauled its system for defending the poor in court in response to a lawsuit by the ACLU, which alleged that the old system run by the counties provided unequal treatment for indigent defendants across the state. The system has a $23 million budget this year and about 200 full-time positions. Its headquarters are in Butte.”

• 9.30.11 – a short WNYC article highlights the need to bolster funding for legal services funding at a time when more and more New Yorkers are eligible for, and in need of, legal services.  It references chief judge Jonathan Lippman’s present and past efforts to shore up funding in hard times.  (The article botches a statement about how, on the federal level, Senate and House appropriations committees have both recommended 2 budget cuts to the Legal Services Corporation.  In fact the House committee wants to axe 26% of LSC’s congressional funding.)

Chattanooga Neighborhood Enterprise (CNE) is looking for a policy research intern for Summer 2012. CNE is a non-profit housing organization that was founded to provide all Chattanoogans the opportunity to live in decent, fit and affordable housing and, in the process, eliminate substandard housing in Chattanooga.

CNE’s mission is to build and sustain livable neighborhoods by providing home ownership counseling, providing affordable loans, working in partnership with like-missioned organizations and encouraging neighborhood engagement.

CNE’s intern will conduct essential, in-depth research regarding all kinds of pressing home-ownership and tenancy issues, including landlord tax delinquency, government designated revitalization areas, land banking and abandoned housing, CRA credits/partnerships with banks, comprehensive neighborhood revitalization strategies, and neighborhood revitalization strategies that relate to a specific complementary field (e.g. the Promise Neighborhood program as a way to improve education through neighborhoods).

If you’re committed to affordable housing issues and will be in Chattanooga, Tennessee, learn how to apply at PSLawNet!

By: Steve Grumm

The Albany Times-Union reports on one jurist thinking outside the box about addressing the justice gap:

That was the recommendation of one of New York’s top judges Monday in his testimony to the Task Force to Expand Access to Civil Legal Services, which was formed to address the issue. Michael Coccoma, the deputy administrative chief judge for counties outside New York City, suggested the panel consider the graduates as he urged “new ideas” during a hearing at the Court of Appeals.

“For example, when I hear that an increasing number of recent law school students are unable to find jobs, I ask myself, why can’t we develop funding streams and programs which would provide an opportunity for these attorneys, who are eager to put their skills to work in a public-service program, providing legal services for the poor?” Coccoma asked.

Coccoma suggested that in exchange for a two- or three-year commitment in that type of program, the new lawyers could receive a reduction in their student loan. He compared it to AmeriCorps programs which enables college graduates entering health care fields to get assistance with their tuition.

Hmmm.  I have profoundly mixed feelings on this issue.  On the one hand, it’s undeniable that there are signficant numbers of un- or underemployed law grads.  And there is certainly a need for more advocates for low-income people with legal problems.  But, civil legal services lawyers are already the lowest paid public interest lawyers.  The problem of low salaries has plagued legal services organizations for years.  I can appreciate how a program structured like AmeriCorps or Teach for America would be term-limited.  Thus you’re not dealing with the same problem of underpaying permanent employees.  Still, it gives me pause.

Mental Health Legal Advisors Committee (MHLAC) is looking for a deserving law school student with a demonstrated commitment to mental health advocacy to serve as a Summer 2012 Edward F. Hennessey Fellow.

MHLAC an independent state agency of the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court. Its mission is to help children and adults with mental disabilities by providing advice and direct legal representation.

MHLAC covers a wide range of legal issues in areas that include access to services, treatment, custody and visitation, guardianship, insurance, education, housing and inpatient and institutional rights.

If you’re interested, check out the listing at PSLawNet!

Kentucky Equal Justice Center is looking for an attorney committed to public interest advocacy and with experience in employment law to serve as staff for KEJC’s Workers’ Rights Project.

The Employment Law Attorney will provide services other than direct representation of clients. The attorney will work as a multi-forum advocate for low wage and non-traditional workers through partnerships, policy advocacy, impact litigation and community education.

Is this just what you were looking for? Find out how to apply at PSLawNet!

The Chesapeake Bay Foundation seeks a Staff Attorney in its Philip Merrill Environmental Center headquarters office located in Annapolis, Maryland.

The Chesapeake Bay Foundation (CBF) is the largest regional non-profit conservation organization working solely to save the Bay. Established in 1967, CBF has a staff of approximately 185 employees working in offices in Annapolis and Salisbury, Maryland; Richmond and Norfolk, Virginia; Harrisburg, Pennsylvania; and Washington, D.C., and in 17 field education program locations.

CBF seeks to employ strategic litigation to reduce nutrient and toxic pollution to the Chesapeake Bay. The Staff Attorney will undertake legal and factual research to develop and support proposed and pending litigation designed to aid in Bay restoration.

The position requires an Attorney who is able to handle complex litigation from inception to trial, as well as be responsible for day to day case management. The staff attorney will report directly to the Litigation Vice President.

For more information about CBF and to apply, see the listing at PSLawNet.