Sam Halpert, NALP Director of Public Service Initiatives
Photo: Harris and Ewing Collection, Library of Congress
Hi Interested Public,
Lots of big stories this week, as the LSC and the White House release their (diametrically opposed) budget proposals for legal services in the United States and commentators analyze how DOJ might change with the departure of AG Bondi and how student debt may change with the myriad changes to federal student loan structures. More locally, an appeals court halted a contempt order against the San Francisco Public Defender in California, Nashville Tennessee reflected on the success of its right-to-counsel-in-eviction program, and a union in NYC prepares to strike to protect its employer-funded Legal Services Fund from cuts.
As always, these stories are in the links below.
Solidarity,
“The civil service has long treated attorney positions as distinctive precisely because attorney hiring depends on professional qualification and bar membership rather than ordinary competitive examination. The proposed rule would impair that structure. In practical terms, it would allow the employer to step between licensed attorneys and the independent disciplinary systems that regulate every other lawyer. That shift away from external professional accountability and toward employer controlled review is contrary to law and bad civil service policy, especially at a moment when DOJ’s own treatment of career attorneys and ethics personnel is generating extraordinary concern.”
“On April 7, 2026, the Acting Attorney General, Todd Blanche, issued a memorandum establishing the Department of Justice National Fraud Enforcement Division (NFED). The memo describes an ambitious, but perhaps redundant, vision for this standalone litigating division: a centralized, coordinated approach to investigating and prosecuting fraud against taxpayer dollars and taxpayer-funded programs such as Medicare and Medicaid. A close reading of the memo reveals that while certain organizational changes take effect immediately, many of the NFED's most consequential features—including its final scope, its relationship with the Civil Division, and its capacity to deliver on its prosecutorial ambitions—have yet to take shape.”
“The Trump administration in 2025 nixed an annual survey of federal employee engagement and morale, but polls from other organizations provide insights.”
“City funding for organizations that provide civil legal aid is plummeting as San Francisco looks to narrow a more than $600 million budget deficit. That’s why Danielson and other groups were shocked to find out the city’s homelessness department awarded a $4.7 million grant without a competitive bidding process to a single nonprofit that also provides civil legal services.”
“Governor Laura Kelly has signed Substitute for House Bill 2595 (Sub for HB 2595), establishing the Attorney Training Program for Rural Kansas Act to encourage and expand opportunities and incentives for licensed attorneys or Kansas law students to practice in rural areas. The bill also establishes the Attorney Loan Repayment Program for Rural Kansas.”
Sam Halpert, NALP Director of Public Service Initiatives
Photo: Harris and Ewing Collection, Library of Congress
Hi Interested Public,
Huge amount happened last week; catching you up on it all now. Big stories include the President’s invocation of a national security rationale to direct federal spending on government payroll during a lapse in Congressional appropriations, the sudden end of Pamela Bondi’s tenure as Attorney General of the United States, a report suggesting that 40% of college borrowers may not qualify for newly-necessary (standard) private education loans, a new Executive Order tightening restrictions on DEI initiatives for federal contractors (and sub-contractors), and much more.
As always, these stories are in the links below.
Solidarity,
“As President of the United States, I have determined that these circumstances constitute an emergency situation compromising the Nation’s security. Accordingly, I hereby direct the Secretary of Homeland Security, in coordination with the Director of the Office of Management and Budget, to use funds that have a reasonable and logical nexus to the functions of DHS to provide each and every employee of DHS with the compensation and benefits that would have accrued to them if not for the Democrat-led DHS shutdown, consistent with applicable law, including 31 U.S.C. 1301(a).”
“The Legal Services Corp. has asked Congress to nearly quadruple its budget to more than $2 billion next fiscal year, even as President Donald Trump’s administration is again seeking to scrap the federally funded legal aid organization.”
DOL, HHS Must Face Unions' Claims In DOGE Data Suit (Law 360 UK; 1 Apr 2026)
“The U. S. Departments of Labor and Health and Human Services must continue facing claims that they illegally gave Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency access to employee records[.]”
“Across the country, President Trump has installed handpicked loyalists as top federal prosecutors. Several have been pushed out after legal battles because they lack Senate confirmation to serve as U.S. attorneys. But in Los Angeles, Bill Essayli wields the power of a top prosecutor under a lesser title: ‘first assistant.’”
“Montana Attorney General Austin Knudsen on Thursday demanded the Gallatin County Attorney rescind what Knudsen says is an illegal “policy” refusing to recognize U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement as a criminal justice agency and share confidential information. But County Attorney Audrey Cromwell refuted the AG’s characterization of a policy and said in a statement Knudsen was conflating an individual instance involving a civil matter with a county policy.”
“After broadly outlining his recommendations—one of which was to allow voluntary pro bono work, or free legal services, to count toward the required hours—Dietz focused on the aftermath.”
“Republican state lawmakers say Democratic Attorney General Josh Kaul sidestepped state law in order to bring on several attorneys whose pay was bankrolled by private foundations. But Kaul and other Democrats have defended those agreements and accused GOP lawmakers of staging a “partisan stunt” during a year in which Kaul is seeking reelection.”
“The latest executive order signed on Thursday requires certain federal contracts to include a clause prohibiting contractors and their subcontractors from engaging in DEI, the White House said…It also directs agencies to cancel, terminate, or suspend contracts – and to suspend or debar contractors – for failure to comply, according to the White House.”
“At LawFi, our new legal fee-lending model takes a different approach, offering regulated point-of-need consumer loans that pay lawyers directly. In this model, clients finance the cost of the legal services needed and repay the loan over time in predictable, affordable monthly installments. Repayment of the legal fee loan is not based on the outcome of a case; it is repaid like any other installment loan used to finance other products or services. The borrower takes out a loan to pay for legal services and agrees to repay it over time. Unlike litigation funding, the legal fee lending model can be applied across a broad range of legal matters, including administrative, transactional, civil and commercial cases. Currently, payment options for these types of cases have been limited to credit card financing.”
“The Madison County indigent defense board met Tuesday afternoon to discuss the creation of the Public Defender’s Office. The board previously voted in favor of creating the office but had to reverse course after legal challenges from local attorneys.”
“Massachusetts is addressing a shortage of public defenders by offering a temporary pay incentive program. Some courts in the state have been operating without any defense attorneys present to take on the backlog of cases for indigent defendants. The Committee for Public Counsel Services is offering a one-time $500 payment to attorneys who take on additional cases in Suffolk and Middlesex counties through June 30.”
Sam Halpert, NALP Director of Public Service Initiatives
Photo: Harris and Ewing Collection, Library of Congress
Hi Interested Public,
Welcome to the end of another week. Big stories related to student loans and access to justice this week–particularly a noteworthy contempt order against San Francisco’s Public Defender as he refuses to represent more defendants than he believes his office is equipped to competently assist.
Solidarity,
“Jenkins is among scores of attorneys answering the call. Organizations have sprung up to train lawyers in immigration habeas claims—an uncommon practice until recently—and public defenders are increasingly taking on cases that would have been rare for them only 12 months ago. There are more than 22,000 active habeas cases pending nationwide, according to habeasdockets.org, a volunteer-run tracking group. And organizations working to file these petitions have been overwhelmingly successful.”
“University of Arizona students and organizations are urging the law school to stop ICE recruitment, contending the agency’s actions in Minneapolis and elsewhere show disregard for the rule of law and constitutional provisions that law students are taught to uphold. But university officials responded that to bar ICE recruitment would be a political decision that violates free speech. The UA also says it doesn’t limit employment opportunities for students.”
“Washington University School of Law is the latest law school to introduce a private supplemental loan program aimed at helping students bridge gaps after exhausting federal aid. The private, supplemental loan program available to incoming J.D. students who are U.S. citizens and have exhausted all federal loan options. Eligible students may borrow up to $25,000 per year, subject to the cost of attendance.”
“Called the “Federal Student Assistance Partnership,” the agreement will address what officials call “mismanagement” and collect defaulted federal loan debt. It involves three phases: * The first phase is focused on collecting defaulted student loans that total roughly $180 million. * The second phase will service non-defaulted student loans. * The third phase potentially has the Treasury Department manage federal student aid.”
Conflicts Over Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Accessibility
“[A] panel on the appeals court decided 2-1 that federal law doesn’t require a shot at bond for undocumented immigrants, even if they have lived inside the country for years without a criminal record….At issue is a federal policy issued last summer, and backed by the Board of Immigration Appeals, which called for mandatory detention of nearly all undocumented immigrants. It was a pivot from the longstanding practice allowing migrants who had lived years in the country a chance for bond. The mass detention policy fueled a legal morass, including a historic number of legal challenges nationwide and dozens filed on behalf of migrants in Nebraska.”
“Brasel mandates all detainees held at the Bishop Henry Whipple Federal Building in Hennepin County, Minnesota, to be provided a signed order outlining their rights, including unlimited and free phone calls and attorney visits — and for the government to uphold those rights to a tee.”
“National public defense organizations are condemning a $26,000 contempt fine imposed on San Francisco Public Defender Mano Raju, warning the penalty underscores a broader crisis of excessive caseloads and chronic underfunding in public defense systems nationwide.”
“Acting Chief Justice Sabrina S. McKenna established a Task Force on Hawaiʻi Legal Services to examine emerging trends affecting the state’s attorney workforce and to develop recommendations that support continued access to justice in the years ahead.”
“According to the partnership’s data, which was collected last November and December…[j]ust 7.5% of respondents agreed with the notion that political leaders at their agencies generated high levels of motivation for employees. And only 22.5% said they felt confident that they could report a suspected violation of law or regulation without retaliation.”
“Yesterday evening, the DOJ moved to abandon an appeal against four big law firms targeted by President Trump. But this morning, government lawyers reversed course, told the court, never mind and asked to continue the appeal.”
“The Trump administration said in a memo it wanted to “avoid the risk of impaired objectivity” by hiring former staff members to wind down operations at the U.S. Agency for International Development.”
“Hundreds of students and dozens of organizations across Georgia’s five major law schools demand ICE be uninvited to the schools’ Public Sector Career Fair[.]”
Sam Halpert, NALP Director of Public Service Initiatives
Photo: Harris and Ewing Collection, Library of Congress
Hi Interested Public,
Welcome to the week’s end. Several major stories laid out for you below as editor’s choices. In other news, an appeals court has allowed President Trump’s anti-union effort within the civil service to proceed, while another court considers his plan to liquidate the CFPB. At a meeting of AILA in Oklahoma, attorneys shared that ICE is courting their labor with generous compensation packages, while Democrats in several states are proposing rules that would restrict ICE employees’ future ability to work in civil service at the state level. A possible strike is brewing among court clerks in San Francisco that could affect judicial operations there, while defense counsel in Massachusetts warn that prosecutors’ efforts to re-introduce cases previously dropped during that state’s work stoppage could re-ignite their crisis. As always, these stories and more are in the links below.
Solidarity,
“For the first time since President Donald Trump took office in 2025, legal experts said, one of his Justice Department lawyers was found in contempt of court. And the chief judge has threatened even harsher sanctions.
It’s an extraordinary moment during a crisis that has engulfed the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Minnesota, one that exposed how an exodus of legal talent has left the office in tatters, unable to comply with even its most basic responsibilities.”
“The reason for the refunds is related to student loan forgiveness. Thousands of borrowers who recently were notified that they qualify for a discharge under income-driven repayment, or IDR, plans may be reimbursed for excess payments they made after they reached their eligibility threshold for a discharge. And because many of these borrowers may have continued making monthly payments on their student loans long after becoming eligible for a discharge (without even realizing it), a sizable portion of these borrowers may be due for big refund checks.”
“The condition of federal courthouses around the country is in a deepening state of crisis, compelling the Judiciary to ask Congress (PDF) for authority to directly manage properties that are essential to carrying out its constitutional mission.”
“The annual meeting of local members of the American Immigration Lawyers Association with a liaison from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement usually serves as a space to voice concerns and ask questions about new policy. But this meeting took a turn as multiple Oklahoma City attorneys say they were pitched to work for ICE, complete with discussions of incentives that included handsome signing bonuses and student debt repayment.”
“The 46-year-old department signed seven other interagency agreements in 2025 as part of an ongoing effort to dismantle itself, including with State and HHS, as well as Labor and Interior.” [other agreements here]
“The lone Democratic appointee on a Ninth Circuit three-judge panel suggested that he and his colleagues may reach a different conclusion with the benefit of a “fully developed factual record.””
“Parent borrowers taking out loans for students through the federal direct PLUS program will soon be locked out of more affordable repayment plans. They'll also face tighter loan caps that could leave some scrambling for funds to pay for the final college years. Student loan experts say these changes could lead to a rise in parent defaults as well as some challenging fourth-year borrowing situations.”
Conflicts Over Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Accessibility
“Nonlawyers who receive training will now be able to help with civil matters in D.C., as part of a new order issued by D.C. Courts earlier this month that expands access to legal assistance for people without an attorney.”
“Despite bar associations and legal organizations across the state urging the governor to expand a public fund for civil legal services, the governor made no changes to the budget item in the slate of amendments to her proposed financial plan released last week.”
Sam Halpert, NALP Director of Public Service Initiatives
Photo: Harris and Ewing Collection, Library of Congress
Hi Interested Public,
It’ll be a two-digest week as I catch up from last week. A few eye-catching stories are in “Editor’s choices,” below. In other news, the federal executive is terminating union contracts, multiple states are struggling with shortages of prosecutors and public defenders, and the ABA is weighing the repeal of its diversity standard. As always, these stories and more are in the links below.
Solidarity,
“Her criticism was presented in an order dismissing her contempt finding against military lawyer Matthew Isihara earlier this week over the U.S. government’s failure to return identification documents to an immigrant she previously ordered released.”
“A preliminary list of at-risk schools compiled by the Army for troops enrolling in law school and reviewed by CNN characterizes the following schools as being at “moderate to high risk” of being banned…”
“A Bexar County district judge on Friday ruled that Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton does not have the legal authority to sue Bexar County over its immigration legal services fund, blocking the state’s attempt to halt county funding for the initiative.”
“The director of New York’s Office of Indigent Legal Services called on the state legislature to prevent the governor from taking over $120 million in funding from the office, and warned the funding sweep could have a dire impact on low-income New Yorkers’ ability to access free legal services.”
“A recent court update from the Department of Education reported an increase in the backlog of buyback processing. The filing said that 83,370 applications were pending as of December 31. Over the month of December, the department approved 1,690 buyback applications and received an additional 5,090.”
“The new program provides an opportunity to third-year (senior) law students. HB 1270 would extend the apprenticeship opportunity to existing graduates of the University of South Dakota’s Knudson School of Law.”
“A student-led coalition has gathered more than 2,600 signatures from law students, legal academics, and law student organizations across 109 law schools calling on Congress to pass the Federal Officer Accountability Act.”
“A federal judge on Feb. 12 ordered the U.S. Department of Homeland Security to improve access to phones and lawyers for detainees at the Whipple Federal Building, while also barring the federal government from transferring detainees out of state during the first 72 hours of detention.”
“Criminal defendants must receive a court-appointed lawyer within a set time or their charges will be dismissed, the Oregon Supreme Court ruled last week.”
Sam Halpert, NALP Director of Public Service Initiatives
Photo: Harris and Ewing Collection, Library of Congress
Hi Interested Public,
Lots to cover this week as many of us batten down for the incoming storm. Students begin to respond to national headlines about federal immigration activity in Minnesota and elsewhere. The federal government continues its layoff drive at various agencies, while the new year gives some an opportunity to assess the effects of these efforts to-date. The Department of Education delayed its plans to garnish student debtors’ wages, and various communities look at new avenues for legal aid related to various immigration concerns. As always, these stories and more are in the links below.
Solidarity,
“Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz (D) condemned the development as ‘the latest sign that President Trump is pushing nonpartisan career professionals out of the Department of Justice and replacing them with his sycophants.’ Walz’s statement referred to resignations of ‘at least six prosecutors.’”
“While the subpoenas did not cite a specific criminal statute, the inquiry as a whole was said to center on whether elected officials in Minnesota had conspired to impede the thousands of federal agents who have been in the state since last month looking for undocumented immigrants. But the investigation is likely to run up against stiff pushback for examining political speech and conduct that is traditionally protected by the First Amendment.” [emphasis added]
“U.S. Senators Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) and Tina Smith (D-MN) are calling on the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to follow federal law and the Constitution by allowing people in detention to have access to legal counsel. Reports indicate that some of those detained, including at least one U.S. citizen, are being denied their constitutional right to access an attorney.”
“The president claimed without evidence that all federal workers forced out during his first year back were now in “better” jobs in factories making double or triple their government salary.”
“ University of Arkansas, Fayetteville law school students protested Tuesday what they contend is the university’s apparent capitulation to political pressure in rescinding an offer for Emily Suski to become dean of the law school…UA rescinded its offer less than a week after it announced Suski’s hiring, citing feedback from “key external stakeholders,” including Republican state lawmakers. ”
Conflicts Over Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Accessibility
Sam Halpert, NALP Director of Public Service Initiatives
Photo: Harris and Ewing Collection, Library of Congress
Hi Interested Public,
Welcome to a new year–and a return to our regular schedule.. Lots has happened since the last issue, including a number of major news stories regarding student loans. Also, a case in the 1st Circuit could upend IOLTA funds, the Vice President has announced a new attorney position that would report directly to the White House (not the DOJ, which recently fired its chief ethics official)…the list goes on. As always, these stories and more are in the links below.
Solidarity,
“In 1993, the First Circuit upheld an IOLTA program against a similar First Amendment challenge. That case relied on a 1977 Supreme Court decision that allowed public-sector unions to force employees to pay union dues even if they didn’t support the union. In 2018, however, the Supreme Court overruled its 1977 decision in a case known as Janus. So Wescott claims the First Circuit’s 1993 decision is no longer good law and should be discarded as well.
U.S. Circuit Judge Julie Rikelman agreed that the 1993 case “held that the interest belonged to no one. It wasn’t the client’s money. And that doesn’t hold up after Janus.” But the unspoken backdrop to the new case is that a ruling for the plaintiff could upend bar and legal aid programs across the country, which have relied on IOLTA funding since changes to federal banking law allowed the first such program in Florida in 1981.”
“The coalition of more than 100 organizations—including the Vera Institute of Justice, the New York Immigration Coalition, Immigrant Advocates Response Collaborative (Immigrant ARC), New York Civil Liberties Union, Neighbors Link, and Immigrant Children Advocates’ Relief Effort—highlighted the dramatic escalation in federal enforcement, record number of people in detention, and evisceration of due process rights. ”
“Upheaval at DOJ has led to more than 5,500 career employees leaving since the start of President Donald Trump’s second term, according to estimates from Justice Connection, an organization supporting former and current employees. The administration is recruiting for the Civil Rights Division’s election integrity and anti-DEI focus, while seeking “deportation judges” to replace the dozens of judges fired in DOJ’s immigration courts in the past year. The Trump administration is also searching for more lawyers to fill in offices of loyalist US attorney picks, including three that have remained at offices after judges ruled they were unlawfully appointed.”
“The Trump administration’s new top voting rights lawyer is Eric Neff, a former L.A. County prosecutor who led a failed case against a voting software company that was the subject of conspiracy theories about the 2020 election.”
“Trump last month signed off on a 1 percent increase in wages for all government employees in 2026 but tasked the Office of Personnel Management to determine which “certain Federal civilian law enforcement personnel” should receive a higher pay bump of almost 4 percent.”
“The "minibus" appropriations bill that the U.S. House of Representatives passed on Thursday includes a lifeline $540 million allocated toward the nonprofit Legal Services Corp. — representing a reduction of $10 million, or 3.6%, compared to fiscal year 2025's budget — whose funding the White House previously suggested should be slashed.”
“The Supreme Court of Florida has rejected a proposal from the attorney general’s office to allow out-of-statelawyers to work in some state government roles, despite the support it got from the governor’s office and others[.]”
“Congress should offer people with educational debts the option of repaying the government through volunteer service in their communities by passing legislation that creates Volunteers for America…programs [like PSLF] have limited budgets and involve full-time employment in a much needed but limited range of jobs. These initiatives are not for everyone, nor could they accommodate every student borrower. What is needed by most student debtors is a way to pay down their obligations through community service while pursuing their chosen careers. The National Guard provides the model.”
“Ciresi’s legislation would establish a Low-Interest Student Loan Program that would provide affordable, fixed-rate loans to Pennsylvania students attending approved institutions of higher education. Borrowers would need to complete a personal finance course, ensuring they are equipped to manage debt responsibly while building long-term financial stability.”
Conflicts Over Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Accessibility
“Assistant Attorney General Paul Suitter argued that the state is covered by sovereign immunity, and can't be named in the lawsuit brought by the ACLU of Maine. Instead, he said, the correct defendants are state agencies like the Maine Commission on Public Defense Services.”
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