by Christina Jackson, NALP Director of Public Service Initiatives & Fellowships

Happy Holidays!  We hope you have a safe and happy holiday season.  We are also celebrating with family and friends, and will return in the new year.

Here are the week’s headlines:

• Michigan Voces gets $10,000 grant for immigrant legal services;
• Can technology help the middle class close the justice gap?;
• Legal Aid Ontario announces new CEO;
• Utah Supreme Court approves creation of limited paralegal practitioners;
• Collaboration helps New Yorkers facing foreclosure get live chat assistance;
• New York mayor launches nearly $8 million assistance program for immigrants;
• Legal Aid Ontario launches financial eligibility app;
• Legal Services Corporation awards first Vieth grants;
• Notre Dame Law School to launch  new clinic;
• Spotlight on Public Service Servants;
• Super Music Bonus!

The summaries:

December 10, 2015 – “Voces, a Battle Creek-area [Michigan] organization that primarily assists Latino and Hispanic families, has received a $10,000 capacity-building grant to strengthen its immigration legal services. Voces is one of 10 groups in its category to receive funding from the National Council of La Raza, a Washington, D.C.-based Latino advocacy organization. The grant will be used to build a process to provide immigration services, to pay for training of staff and volunteers on how to provide immigration support and to assist the organization in earning accreditation by the Bureau of Immigration Appeals. It also will allow Voces staff to represent community members in certain immigration cases, allowing them to forego a search for paid legal council.” (Battle Creek Enquirer)

December 11, 2015 – Here is an interesting editorial from the Jurist discussing how technology could help with disparities in justice. (Jurist)

December 14, 2015 –  “Legal Aid Ontario (LAO) is pleased to announce the appointment of David Field, a senior executive at Legal Aid Ontario, as its new President and Chief Executive Officer, effective January 1, 2016. He succeeds Robert Ward, who retires this December. Mr. Field’s 33-year financial and strategic planning career in the public sector includes his work as the Director and Chief Financial Officer, Business and Fiscal Planning Branch at the Ministry of the Attorney General, and Director Financial Planning and Business Management Branch at both the Ministry of Community and Social Services and the Ministry of Children and Youth Services.  In his most recent role as Vice President of Strategic Planning and Compliance at LAO, Mr. Field has been instrumental in LAO’s development of modern management methods to benefit client service and organizational effectiveness. Mr. Field has worked in various capacities for the Government of Ontario since 1982. He holds an MBA in public administration fromYork University as well as a BA in political science from the University of Waterloo. ” (Newswire)

December 14, 2015 – “There are issues with how Utahns access their justice system, a Utah Supreme Court justice said. Many people either can’t afford lawyers, Deno Himonas said Monday, or simply don’t want to hire one to help them navigate the court system as they file for divorce, settle debts or resolve eviction issues. ‘Lawyers have been incredibly generous with their time,’ Himonas said. ‘And are trying to address [those issues] through pro bono measures. But at the end of the day, though, we need to come up with an economically viable model that will help improve access for those individuals in our civil justice system.’ To that end, the Utah Supreme Court has approved the creation of a new legal profession: limited paralegal practitioners. An LPP, or paraprofessional, will have more training and responsibilities than a normal paralegal, but is not quite a lawyer. The paraprofessional will be able to help the public in those areas where Utahns generally aren’t hiring lawyers.” “The Utah Supreme Court has approved creation of the new legal profession — but it will take some time to implement the program. Now that the task force has presented its findings to the Supreme Court and the judicial council, a committee will be appointed to figure out the nuts and bolts of how the program will work, including what educational requirements will be needed and what the exact limitations will be.” (The Salt Lake Tribune)

December 14, 2015 – “LawHelpNY, a family of online legal information and referral Internet portals for low and moderate income New Yorkers, announces the launch of its LiveHelp chatting service for visitors to the New York State Unified Court Systems website, CourtHelp.  The LiveHelp service will allow visitors to the site to chat with operators who can guide them to legal resources and organizations that may be able to assist them in their case. The initiative is a collaborative effort of multiple organizations working to create a more seamless and integrated help system for vulnerable New Yorkers seeking assistance with legal problems. Since 2010, LiveHelp operators, primarily trained law student volunteers, have assisted individuals visiting the LawHelpNY website who are often facing serious legal problems, but can’t afford a lawyer. LiveHelp will now be available to visitors on the foreclosure pages of the CourtHelp website, primarily homeowners facing foreclosure, as well as tenants of buildings in foreclosure.” “The project is funded by an LSC (Legal Services Corporation) Technology Initiative Grant awarded to Legal Assistance of Western New York. The initiative serves as a pilot to explore the effectiveness of providing real-time assistance to unrepresented litigants visiting the CourtHelp website to further close the justice gap in New York State Courts.” (probono.net)

December 15, 2015 – “Although President Obama’s executive amnesty programs remain held up in the courts, New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio has launched a nearly $8 million initiative to provide legal assistance to the illegal immigrant community in the city and prepare them for executive amnesty. ‘New York City’s commitment to our immigrant communities will not waver. While the courts delay executive action and much-needed relief, while some voices may attempt to create hostility toward immigrants, while more than 30 governors tried to resist the resettlement of Syrian refugees, New York City will demonstrate the power and values of our city.’ de Blasio said Monday, announcing the initiative. Dubbed ActionNYC, the $7.9 million program will create ‘navigation hubs’ in each of the five boroughs for immigrants to receive legal assistance and education about possible immigration benefits available to them.” “The program is slated to start in the spring of 2016 and will be administered by Mayor’s Office of Immigrant Affairs, in collaboration with the Human Resources Administration and the Research Foundation of the City University of New York. The initiative will provide contracts to ‘community-based organizations’ and legal services to implement the program.” (Breitbart)

December 16, 2015 – “Legal Aid Ontario (LAO) is launching a mobile phone application (app) to help people determine whether they are financially eligible for a legal aid certificate. The app also gives applicants real-time access to call centre wait times. This is the first version of the app, and it follows the organization’s recent expansion of financial and legal eligibility criteria for legal aid services in Ontario. The app is available free of charge through app stores for iPhone, Android, and Blackberry devices. The app does not collect or store any user data.” (Newswire)

December 16, 2015 – “The Legal Services Corporation (LSC) announced today that seven legal aid organizations will receive grants from its new G. Duane Vieth Leadership Development Program, LSC’s first grant initiative to support training in leadership skills in the field of civil legal aid. Generously funded by the Arnold & Porter LLP Foundation, the program will award grants each year to leaders of LSC-funded organizations to support training, coaching, or other professional development in non-profit leadership skills. The competitive grant program honors long-time Arnold & Porter Managing Partner G. Duane “Bud” Vieth, who joined the firm in 1949 and is now a retired partner, and highlights the importance of developing entrepreneurial and business acumen among leaders of civil legal aid organizations. ” “This is the first named initiative to result from LSC’s Campaign for Justice, a private fundraising effort to expand the impact and capacity of civil legal aid providers across the country. The 134 LSC-funded legal aid programs will each be eligible to receive one grant of up to $10,000 every five years.”  (Legal Services Corporation)

December 17, 2015 – “Notre Dame Law School will launch a new clinic – the Notre Dame Tax Clinic – to help law students gain legal experience and to serve the community. The clinic will be funded by a grant from the Internal Revenue Service and support from the University of Notre Dame’s Office of Research. The clinic, approved by the faculty this month, will strengthen the tax law program for law students with the addition of an experiential component, and add a second litigation clinic, said Bob Jones, associate dean for experiential programs.” “The clinic’s academic component, scheduled to start in the 2016 fall semester, will enroll between eight and 10 students each semester. The Notre Dame Tax Clinic course would include a class covering skills, substantive law, and procedural law and about 10 hours of casework each week. Students would be the primary attorneys working with the clients, supervised by a licensed attorney.” (Notre Dame Law School News)

Spotlight on Outstanding Public Servants:

United Airlines lawyers — recipients of the Public Interest Law Initiative’s 2015 Pro Bono Initiative Award.

United Airlines is headquartered in Chicago and its lawyers have worked diligently to establish a strong program that is truly making a difference for those in need. United’s Pro Bono & Community Service Committee partners with local organizations to provide opportunities for attorneys and non-attorneys to do pro bono or community service work within their work day. Stressing the importance of passion, the Committee focuses on engaging individuals in causes they personally care about.

United attorneys volunteer with Cabrini Green Legal Aid’s Expungement Help Desk and Live Call hearings at 26th & California. They participate in the Center for Disability and Elder Law’s Senior Center Initiative, and work with the National Immigrant Justice Center at Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) clinics and represent asylum applicants. United attorneys help staff the Equip for Equality hotline on a weekly basis, facilitate court reform efforts at the Chicago Metropolitan Battered Women’s Network, and assist those in need with preparation of their tax returns. These are just some of the areas of focus for their pro bono program. (PILI press release)

Super Music Bonus!  Music pick from the PSJD Fellow Eulen Jang. And a bonus track from one Geek to all of you!

https://youtu.be/tUW7EDJmWUA

by Christina Jackson, NALP Director of Public Service Initiatives & Fellowships

Happy Friday!

Here are the week’s headlines:

• Virginia Attorney General announces legal aid for veterans;
• Case Western Reserve University School of Law launches a human trafficking clinic;
• Best Places to Work in the Federal Government report now available – NASA still number one;
• Sheppard, Mullin, Richter & Hampton LLP announces creation of Pro Bono Partner position;
• Maryland Judiciary launches mobile app to improve access to justice;
• Spotlight on Public Service Servants;
• Super Music Bonus!

The summaries:

December 7, 2015 – “Virginia Attorney General Mark Herring came to Norfolk Monday morning to announce his office is launching pro bono veterans legal clinics around the state. Herring’s program will give low-income veterans free help in three areas: creating wills, power of attorney and advanced medical directives. ‘These are folks who have served our country in times of need and we owe so much to them this is a way we can begin to repay that,’ said Herring.”  “Herring hopes to help about 100 veterans at each clinic. This will be on a first come first served basis. In order to be eligible for services, veterans and their spouses must fill out a questionnaire on the Attorney General’s website. Paper copies will also be available at local Virginia Department of Veterans Services Benefits Center.” (WAVY)

December 7, 2015 – “Case Western Reserve University School of Law, with a grant from the Ohio Attorney General’s Office, will launch a human trafficking law clinic in which students, under faculty supervision, will represent victims of human trafficking and sexual assault. Professors Judith Lipton and Maureen Kenny will serve as co-directors of the Human Trafficking Project, which will provide legal services to survivors of human trafficking and education and awareness to service providers, educators, students and the general public on this important issue.” “Lipton said the state grant will support the creation of a Human Trafficking Law Clinic. Meanwhile, the grant enables Case Western Reserve law students to immediately represent victims of human trafficking through the Criminal Justice Clinic.” (newswise)

December 8, 2015 –  The headline reads “NASA is the best place to work in government, Homeland Security is the worst – again.”  The Best Places to Work in the Federal Government report is out for 2015.  “The level of job satisfaction among federal employees at agencies with similar missions in areas such as law enforcement and public health varies widely, according to a new analysis of the ‘Best Places to Work in the Federal Government.’ For the first time, the authors of the report – which is based on data from the Office of Personnel Management’s annual Federal Employee Viewpoint Survey – grouped 75 federal organizations by six mission areas: energy and environment, financial regulation, law enforcement, national security, oversight and public health.” “Agencies that were at the top and bottom last year occupied those slots in 2015 too. For the fourth consecutive year, NASA was the No. 1 place to work among large federal agencies, with a job satisfaction and commitment score of 76.1 (out of 100) among employees. The intelligence community, departments of Justice, State and Commerce rounded out the top five. The rankings include 391 federal agencies and their subcomponents.” (Government Executive)

December 8, 2015 – “Sheppard, Mullin, Richter & Hampton LLP today announced the creation of a Pro Bono Partner position at the firm.  Dan Brown, a partner in the Firm’s Business Trial Group and current Chair of the firm’s Pro Bono Committee, will fill that role.” “Brown will devote the majority of his time to managing the firm’s pro bono program, while continuing to litigate for his and other firm clients.  As Sheppard Mullin’s pro bono Chair, Brown was responsible for leading a firm-wide initiative to rejuvenate and expand the role of pro bono within Sheppard Mullin, resulting in pro bono and billable hours being treated the same for associates, and pro bono becoming a factor in the annual partner compensation review process.” (Sheppard Mullin Press Release)

December 9, 2015 – “The Maryland Judiciary unveiled a new free mobile app designed to improve access to justice. The Maryland Law Help app, released Wednesday, aims to help citizens better understand and navigate the court system, and make legal information readily available on smartphones and tablets. App users can access the Judiciary’s most popular resources including finding a lawyer or mediator, self-help videos on how to use the courts, locating proper forms, learning about Maryland law, and chatting with an attorney at the Maryland Courts Self-Help Center, which is operated by Maryland Legal Aid. ‘The new mobile app brings court access into the digital age,’ Maryland Court of Appeals Chief Judge Mary Ellen Barbera said in a release. ‘With this innovation, we are improving access to justice by using technology to facilitate people meeting their legal needs.'” (ABC2 News)

Spotlight on Outstanding Public Servants:

The Children’s Law Center in Washington, DC held a special reception at Covington’s DC office recently to honor Covington litigator Tony Herman and his commitment to pro bono. CLC executive director Judith Sandalow first met Tony at a soccer field watching their sons play together. They bonded over their shared experiences as adoptive parents. After Judith learned about Tony’s commitment to legal aid and closing the justice gap, she eventually asked him to join CLC’s board. That long involvement culminated in Tony serving as CLC board chair for four years, a position from which he stepped down a couple of months ago. CLC also announced that several Covington attorneys chose to honor Tony’s service by establishing the Anthony Herman Adoption Litigation Fund, which will allow CLC to support more adoptive families with legal advocacy. (Bisnow)

Super Music Bonus!  Music pick from the PSJD Fellow Eulen Jang. And a bonus track from FLOTUS!

by Christina Jackson, NALP Director of Public Service Initiatives & Fellowships

Happy Friday!  Welcome to December.  If you are looking for job search tips to employ during your winter break, look no further  than the Resource Center on PSJD.

Here are the week’s headlines:

• Alberta (Canada) Justice launches review of legal aid;
• Dentons supports Atlanta’s Westside neighborhoods revitalization with multi-year pro bono commitment;
• Mississippi Supreme Court approves new student rule allowing more work for the poor;
• Chief Judge Lippman announces creation of Legal Hand in New York;
• Legal Aid Society of Middle Tennessee and The Cumberland hires first technology director;
• U.S. lawmakers launch legal aid caucus;
• Texas legal aid group receives $20,000 grant to assist immigrants;
• The Association of Pro Bono Counsel publishes its inaugural annual report;
• Spotlight on Public Service Servants;
• Super Music Bonus!

The summaries:

November 25, 2015 – “The government-led review will start mid-December and will look at the affordability and sustainability of legal aid, its governance model, what services Legal Aid Alberta should offer, financial eligibility guidelines for clients, and pay for lawyers. It will also suggest a long-term strategy to deal with court orders for publicly funded representation. ‘The current structure and delivery of legal aid is struggling to meet the challenges of a growing population,’ Justice Minister Kathleen Ganley said Wednesday. On a recent day, Legal Aid Alberta fielded 1,100 phone calls, compared to last year’s daily average of 600. Between July and September, the society saw a 33% increase in certificates issued for legal representation. ‘We want to make sure we are protecting the most vulnerable Albertans by provided adequate access to legal services,’ Ganley said. ‘At the same time, we also have a responsibility to ensure that tax dollars are spent prudently.'” “Legal Aid Alberta said it will co-operate with the government-led review as long as experts and those affected are consulted. Ganley said a comprehensive consultation process will kick off with interviews, focus groups, online surveys and written submissions. The review is expected to cost less than $100,000 and be finished by spring 2016.” (Edmonton Journal)

November 25, 2015 – “Global law firm Dentons today announced a multi-year pro bono commitment in support of the Westside neighborhoods revitalization project currently underway through a joint effort between the Westside Future Fund and the Westside Neighborhood Prosperity Fund of The Arthur M. Blank Family Foundation. As part of the initiative, Dentons has pledged up to $375,000 in legal and public policy counsel over the span of three years in conjunction with the project.” “As part of the relationship, Dentons will provide ongoing legal counsel on matters pertaining to real estate preservation, zoning, land use, economic development, contracts, policy compliance, litigation and other aspects of the project. Lawyers and public policy professionals across the Firm will be engaged to create a multi-faceted team to address the many legal and governmental issues that can arise in a project of this magnitude.” (Dentons News)

November 26, 2015 –  “Law students will be able to do more legal work for poor Mississippi residents under a rule recently approved by the state Supreme Court. ‘Students attending law schools in other states and those who are not getting course credit for the work can now help attorneys representing people who cannot pay,’ said Tiffany Graves, executive director of the state’s Access to Justice Commission. ‘The new rule will provide immediate and long-term benefits,’ said Professor Meta Copeland, director of experiential learning at Mississippi College School of Law. ‘More law students can now assist low-income clients with legal issues,’ she said in a news release from the state court system. ‘More lawyers will accept pro bono cases with the assistance of a limited practice student at no cost.’ The new rule supplants a state law which also allowed only state or legal services employees to supervise the student workers. Now such services can be provided as part of a clinical legal education course, law school legal internship program, or through a volunteer legal services program under the supervision of licensed attorneys, Graves said. Graves said the students cannot represent clients directly, but may only help a supervising attorney or teacher. The rule was approved Nov. 19 and took effect immediately.” (SFGate)

November 30, 2015 – “Chief Judge Jonathan Lippman was in Crown Heights on Monday to announce the creation of a new program called Legal Hand that will provide free legal advice and referrals to low-income residents.” “‘The key feature of Legal Hand is that the help it provides does not come from lawyers, it comes from community volunteers who are specially trained to provide information and guidance to low-income individuals on how to navigate the court and social services systems and how to protect and represent themselves in a legal manner,’ Lippman said. ‘This program is the newest foray in the campaign to close the justice gap in New York and the first of its kind in the country.'” “The Legal Hand center will work in conjunction with three other legal service providers — the Legal Aid Society, Legal Services NYC and the New York Legal Assistance Group.” (Brooklyn Daily Eagle)

December 1, 2015 – In what might be the latest trend in legal aid, “Legal Aid Society of Middle Tennessee and The Cumberlands has hired Paul Swiney as its first director of technology. ‘The legal industry is increasingly reliant on technology to connect lawyers with clients and collect essential case information,’ Gary Housepian, Legal Aid Society executive director, said in the release. ‘Paul brings an extraordinary technical background and skill set, and his experience in the non-profit sector will serve us well. We feel fortunate to have found such a great fit.’ Swiney will be based out of Legal Aid Society’s Nashville office and service all eight of the entity’s offices across the region. LAS bills itself as Tennessee’s largest nonprofit law firm.”(Nashville Post)

December 1, 2015 – “Lawmakers in the House have created a caucus to make it easier for low-income families to get legal representation. Reps. Joe Kennedy III (D-Mass.) and Susan Brooks (R-Ind.) launched the Access to Civil Legal Services Caucus on Tuesday to advocate for civil legal aid programs and ensure access to representation is never limited by income. ‘Our legal system is where our nation makes good on the sacred promise of equal justice under the law,’ Kennedy said in a news release. ‘But too often that promise is far from guaranteed for low-income families, veterans, victims of domestic violence and thousands of other Americans forced to stand in our courtrooms alone each year with their homes, savings and futures at risk.’ In urging other lawmakers to join the caucus, the lawmakers cited a Boston Bar Association report that found 64 percent of cases in Massachusetts in 2013 that were eligible for legal aid programs were turned away due to lack of funding. The majority of cases covered by civil legal aid organizations in Massachusetts and Indiana involved family and housing. ‘This caucus will seek to change that, making sure that when civil disputes are brought to our judicial system, those involved, regardless of financial means, have access to appropriate legal resources and representation,’ Brooks said.” (The Hill)

December 2, 2015 – “The Refugee and Immigrant Center for Education and Legal Services (RAICES), received a $20,000 grant from the Texas Bar Foundation so that the group can continue to ‘provide children and mothers who were released from the Karnes and Dilley Family Detention Centers with legal services.’ Since the summer of 2014, RAICES has provided free legal counsel to thousands of families held in South Texas. Many of them reside in the state after their release.” (San Antonio Current)

December 2, 2015 – “The Association of Pro Bono Counsel, a membership organization for lawyers who hold full-time positions managing pro bono practices at large law firms, is seeking to promote its message and work. Nearly 10 years after its formation, the New York-based nonprofit recently published its first-ever annual report, which became available online Wednesday. The report celebrates APBCo’s growth from a 60-member association in 2006 to more than 155 members today.” (American Lawyer)

Spotlight on Outstanding Public Servants:

Immigrant Women Services Ottawa (IWSO) is recognizing Legal Aid Ontario’s Integrated Legal Service Office (ILSO) with a community leader award. ILSO and its predecessor, the Family Law Office, have worked with IWSO since 1999 to assist vulnerable immigrant women and their children. “Legal Aid has an understanding of violence against women and children and has made an extraordinary effort to help,” says IWSO Manager, Crisis & Counseling services Vivian Chan-Brouillette. “As a result, their work has had significant impact on this problem in the Ottawa community. For example, an abuser can lie to the victim about their rights or threaten to send them back home without the children. If these women don’t see a lawyer and learn about their rights, they may not even have the courage to think about leaving their abuser.” Congratulations! (Legal Aid Ontario Newsroom)

Super Music Bonus!  Music pick from the PSJD Fellow Eulen Jang.

by Christina Jackson, NALP Director of Public Service Initiatives & Fellowships

Happy Thanksgiving!  We are thankful that you enjoy the Digest.  Have a great Turkey Day, and we’ll see you next week.

Here are the week’s headlines:

• Wyoming State Bar’s Modest Means program sees many volunteers;
• New Orleans judge defers decision on public defender plea for no new cases;
• ABA Journal announces nominees for the 9th annual Law Blawg 100;
• Widener University Delaware Law School offers free legal aid to state inventors;
• Texas Supreme Court establishes justice gap commission;
• Thomas Jefferson School of Law announces endowment to fund Social Justice Award;
• Spotlight on Public Service Servants;
• Super Music Bonus!

The summaries:

November 21, 2015 – “Some attorneys in Wyoming are volunteering to represent residents who make too much money to qualify for legal aid but not enough to hire counsel. The Wyoming State Bar launched its Modest Means Program two weeks ago and has recruited at least 50 lawyers across the state. ‘The Wyoming State Bar has been involved in access-to-justice efforts for many years,’ said executive director Sharon Wilkinson. ‘We all really felt strongly that there is still a gap that we needed to fill.’ Participating attorneys agree to charge clients no more than $75 per hour and $500 for a retainer, if necessary. The program is available to families whose household incomes are between 200 and 250 percent of the Federal Poverty Guidelines. That would be an annual income of between $48,500 and $60,625 for a family of four. Attorneys will help with issues involving divorce, child support, custody, bankruptcy, tenant issues, minor criminal matters and more.” (Billings Gazette)

November 23, 2015 – “A New Orleans judge has deferred until at least mid-December a decision on whether to stop assigning new criminal cases to the Orleans Public Defenders office. The office has said it can’t handle more cases without putting at risk defendants’ constitutional rights. Following two days of testimony in a hearing he convened, Criminal District Court Judge Arthur Hunter issued a ruling Monday afternoon (Nov. 23) giving the office until Dec. 11 to convince him it has taken ‘all reasonable steps’ to prevent the suspension of duties. The parish’s public defenders asked Friday that no new cases be appointed to their office until their existing workload was reduced sufficiently to ensure constitutional and ethically sound defense efforts for their clients.” (Nola.com)

November 23, 2015 –  “For this year’s annual Blawg 100 feature—our ninth—we’re going beyond announcing our list of 100 excellent legal blogs and the promotion of 10 more blogs to our Hall of Fame. We explore how the legal blogosphere has changed since we first started publishing this list. Do legal blogs have a waning or a thriving readership? And how has the emergence of new bloggers from BigLaw and elsewhere and other social media platforms in recent years changed blogging for the better—or worse? As in years past, we looked to readers and bloggers to help us compile our list. But this year, no blogs are being forced into categories, and there will be no online voting.” “Read more here to find out about the blogs on our list, and click here to find our Blawg 100 Twitter list, which includes both the handles of our Hall of Famers and this year’s nominees. Visit the Blawg 100 landing page to read about the eight prior lists, and check out the thousands of other legal blogs in the ABA Journal Blawg Directory.” (ABA Journal)

November 23, 2015 – “Widener University Delaware Law School launched a new, free public service Monday that will give legal advice to potential inventors.” “A new website provides information for prospective inventors, as well as attorneys, agents and law students who want to volunteer with the program. Successful applicants must meet three conditions to be eligible for the free legal advice. Their income must be less than three times the federal poverty level, they must have knowledge of the patent system and a truly inventive idea.” (Delaware Public Media)

November 23, 2015 – “By an order Monday the Texas Supreme Court has created an 18-member Texas Commission to Expand Civil Legal Services charged to explore means to bring more affordable legal services to small businesses and people who cannot qualify for legal aid. The commission will seek a comprehensive answer to a growing number of potential clients with legal problems who believe they cannot afford lawyers to solve them. Former Chief Justice Wallace B. Jefferson will lead the commission.” “The commission, composed of lawyers, law school deans and professors and judges, will assess efforts and proposals in Texas and other states, as well as by the American Bar Association, to find what may work to broaden legal services available to low- and middle-income Texans. Commissioners will issue a first report to the Court on Nov. 1, 2016.” (Texas Lawyer)

November 24, 2015 – “Thomas Jefferson School of Law’s Center for Law and Social Justice has created an award to recognize student efforts in social justice after receiving an endowment in memory of alumnus Samuel Kossack. Kossack’s family and friends have donated generously to fund an award to recognize a currently enrolled Thomas Jefferson School of Law student who, through his or her own actions, promotes social justice either on an individual basis or by transforming systems that perpetuate injustice. Recipients must demonstrate contributions to social justice through participation in activities such as volunteer work, relevant scholarship, advocacy of social justice, the law school’s pro bono program, clinical courses, self-help clinics, or other work that directly serves the needs of marginalized or disadvantaged populations. One cash award will be given annually.” (Business Wire)

Spotlight on Outstanding Public Servants:

On this day in history: The United Nations General Assembly passes a resolution designating November 25 the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women. The resolution, which was introduced by the Dominican Republic, marked the anniversary of the death of three sisters, Maria, Teresa, and Minerva Mirabel, who were brutally murdered there in 1960. While women in Latin America and the Caribbean had honored the day since 1981, all UN countries did not formally recognize it until 1999. Many organizations, including the United Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM), had been pushing for international recognition of the date for some time. (History.com) 

Super Music Bonus!  Music pick from the PSJD Fellow Eulen Jang.

by Christina Jackson, NALP Director of Public Service Initiatives & Fellowships

Happy Friday! This week I had the great pleasure to award the 2015 Pro Bono Publico Award to Lark Mulligan of DePaul University College of Law.  What a great project and wonderful event!  Thank you to everyone at DePaul, and especially Shaye Loughlin and Dean Jennifer Rosato Perea for being such gracious hosts.

Here are the week’s headlines:

• Bill urging free legal aid for domestic violence victims passes U.S. Senate;
• Pinellas (Florida) legal aid program receives $600,000 grant to fight human trafficking;
• New Orleans Chief Public Defender announces furlough schedule;
• New student debt report looks at Class of 2014;
• University of Calgary law school opens Public Interest Law clinic;
• Napa, Bay Area legal aids to merge;
• New York Office of Victim Services granted $1 million to build legal assistance tool;
• Nevada Attorney General launches program to help veterans;
• Alberta Justice plans review of legal aid system;
• Spotlight on Public Service Servants;
• Super Music Bonus!

The summaries:

November 12, 2015 – “The U.S. Senate passed a bill Tuesday night aimed at bolstering free legal resources for victims of domestic violence. The so-called ‘POWER Act’ is the first bill to pass the Senate sponsored by Alaska’s freshman Sen. Dan Sullivan. Sullivan, a former Alaska attorney general, hopes that the bill’s bipartisan support will grant it success in the House and that it will extend his efforts to increase the number of attorneys doing pro-bono work for domestic violence victims across the country. Sullivan co-sponsored the bill with North Dakota Democrat Heidi Heitkamp, who is also a former state attorney general, he said in an interview. The bill passed the Senate by a unanimous voice vote. If the bill passes the House and is signed into law, it will require every U.S. attorney to hold at least one event every year urging private attorneys to take on free work for domestic violence victims.” (Alaska Dispatch News)

November 14, 2015 – “A Florida group that helps human trafficking victims will receive a $600,000 U.S. Department of Justice grant to continue its work, Democratic US Rep. Kathy Castor announced Friday. ‘This grant will provide more tools to Gulfcoast Legal Services and local law enforcement to aid victims of human trafficking,’ Castor said. ‘Gulfcoast now will be able to serve more than double the number of clients than previous years and will spur on the important work of the Tampa Bay Area Task Force on Human Trafficking.’ Gulfcoast Legal Services, part of the Clearwater/Tampa Bay Area Task Force on Human Trafficking, was one of 10 grantees nationwide that received part of $5.6 million in Justice Department grants. Gulfcoast’s director, John Dubrule, said without the grant money Gulfcoast would not be able to maintain or expand its staff. Now, the group expects to expand services over the next three years.” (Florida Politics)

November 16, 2015 –  “Chief Public Defender Derwyn Bunton on Monday announced a 10-day furlough plan for 2016, a move he foreshadowed last week during his office’s annual budget hearing before City Council. Although Mayor Mitch Landrieu’s 2016 budget proposal bumps the office’s funding $150,000 – or 13.5 percent – above its current level, Bunton warned council members he needed an additional $250,000 to avert furloughs. City Council will decide the office’s funding when it adopts a budget on Dec. 1. But Bunton’s decision to establish a furlough schedule in advance of a final determination seemed to serve notice that his threat was not a budget-season bluff tactic.  ‘This is real. It’s very serious,’ said Lindsey Hortenstine, spokeswoman for the Public Defenders Office. ‘Ideally we will have a different outcome at the completion of this process and won’t have to go forward with it at all.’ Bunton says the furlough days will cost the city $113,000 or more for additional time that defendants stay in jail without access to attorneys. The Public Defenders Office, which represents indigent defenders, claims to represent approximately 85 percent of Orleans Parish defendants. No public defenders will be available for court dates during furlough days, according to a news release from Bunton’s office.” (The Times-Picayune)

November 16, 2015 – Former PSJD Fellow and current Program Manager for Equal Justice Works Ashley Matthews summarizes The Institute for College Access & Success (TICAS) tenth annual Project on Student Debt report.  It focused on recent graduates of four-year colleges. Like previous TICAS reports, “Student Debt and the Class of 2014” provides a comprehensive overview of the student debt crisis by combining a bird’s eye view of the national scope of educational debt with state-by-state data. (Huffington Post)

November 17, 2015 – “With a gift of $1 million from the Peacock Family Foundation, the Faculty of Law has opened a new Public Interest Law Clinic, which will provide pro bono legal services to clients, facilitating access to justice and providing law students with experiential learning opportunities. Molly Naber-Sykes, has taken up the role of executive director of the clinic, and will be responsible for overseeing all clinic operations.” “Law students will work in the clinic on precedent-setting cases affecting Alberta’s vulnerable communities and the environment, allowing them to learn public interest advocacy and litigation skills. The clinic will train and inspire a new generation of lawyers to advocate in the public interest in Alberta and beyond.”(Benzinga)

November 17, 2015 – “Legal Aid of Napa Valley will become part of a wider backstop for Northern California’s less fortunate. The Napa-based agency said it will merge with Bay Area Legal Aid, effective Dec. 31. Napa will become the seventh county served by the Bay Area group, itself the product of a merger involving three county-based Legal Aid groups 15 years ago. Bay Area Legal Aid spokeswoman Linda S. Kim said the regional provider will keep the Napa agency’s office at 575 Lincoln Ave., and local clients will be able to draw on the regional group’s roster of more than 70 lawyers. Attorneys working with the not-for-profit provider represent low-income clients pro bono. ‘We have partnered on large grants and projects in the past, our staffs have worked alongside one another, and our respective boards share a common goal of equal access to justice,’ Michael Holman, co-chairman of the Legal Aid Napa Valley board, said in the statement. ‘We believe Bay Area Legal Aid will continue our core mission with the additional benefit of a larger organizational structure and sustainability.'” (Napa Valley Register)

November 17, 2015 – “A new online tool aimed at aiding crime victims in finding legal assistance in civil matters could be available after nearly $1 million in federal funding was awarded to the New York State Office of Victim Services. The Crime Victims’ Legal Network will allow individuals to determine the type of legal help they need and connect them with resources. Matters could include housing and immigration cases and family court cases involving custody, support and orders of protection, according to a release. The office received two grants totaling $999,940 from the federal Office for Victims of Crime, part of the U.S. Department of Justice’s Office of Justice Programs. The agency is also working with the Empire Justice Center, University at Albany’s Center for Human Services Research and Pro Bono Net. The tool will be designed to help individuals outside of New York City, as there are fewer civil legal services available in those counties. ‘This grant will allow us to expand our reach, especially to rural areas of the state. Our goal is to create a comprehensive, collaborative network to provide holistic legal assistance to better assess the needs of, and ultimately serve, victims of crime,’ Elizabeth Cronin, director for the Office of Victim Services, said. The project is expected to be completed in two, 18-month periods.” (The Auburn Citizen)

November 18, 2015 – “Nevada Attorney General Adam Laxalt on Wednesday formally launched a program to provide free legal assistance to members of the military, pointing to a service gap that arises because military lawyers are limited in their ability to help with civilian court matters and private attorneys are often too expensive for service members. At a news conference in Carson City, Laxalt marked the debut of the Office of Military Legal Assistance, which is believed to be the first attorney general-led program in the country that connects military members and veterans to pro bono legal services.” “More than 100 lawyers have pledged to donate at least 10 hours to service members seeking help through the program. Applicants will be able to get help with civil matters including landlord/tenant disputes, consumer fraud problems and immigration issues. Military personnel seeking assistance should contact their local JAG for a referral, while veterans should contact the Department of Veterans Affairs.” (The Washington Times)

November 18, 2015 – “Justice Minister Kathleen Ganley told a budget estimates committee Wednesday she will launch a review into how legal aid is funded, the governance model of the program, and how much lawyers are compensated, since Alberta rates are almost half what their counterparts make in Ontario. ‘Legal Aid has been experiencing a number of challenges and they have actually come forward with respect to some of those challenges,’ Ganley said. Ganley said the Alberta government has more than doubled its funding to legal aid since 2005, covering 80 per cent of the total funding of the program. The federal contribution has remained relatively constant at $10 million, while the amount offered by the Alberta Law Foundation has dwindled, since it funds the program through lawyers’ trust funds, which are earning less and less interest. ‘This year, the increase in demand for service has already hit unprecedented volumes and more people than ever are qualifying for representation,’ Jan Archbold, with Legal Aid Alberta, wrote in an email.” “The program’s governance model ends March 31, 2016. While Legal Aid Alberta is an independent organization in charge of its own operations, the program is governed jointly by Legal Aid, the province and the Law Society of Alberta, which can cause some consternation. ‘Sometimes there can be a perception of influence,’ Ganley said, since the province both governs the society, but also sits across from Albertans in the court system as prosecutor. ‘We think that Legal Aid is doing a great job acting as they are, but certainly there is a certain amount of oversight and arguably, there is a little bit too much interaction.’ She said the governance model will likely be extended until the review comes up with a solution.” (Edmonton Journal)

Spotlight on Outstanding Public Servants:  

The Greensboro Bar Association has stepped up and offered to help the Greensboro branch of The Legal Aid of North Carolina give residents another shot at life with the stigma of a criminal record through the Legal Aid’s Second Chance project. The association committed to taking on 50 cases from Legal Aid to assist them in their endeavor.

“The Greensboro Bar Association wanted to do a signature pro bono project. Something that we could get several of our members involved in regardless of their practice area,” said Afi Johnson-Parris, president of the Greensboro Bar Association and attorney at Ward Black Law Firm in Greensboro. “We choose the expungements because it was one of those things that has bipartisan support, is very formulaic and doesn’t take a lot of time to do so all of our members who have a bar license would be able to participate and it’s one of those type of projects that will make a big impact.”

The Second Chance project addresses the civil consequences of having crossed paths with the criminal justice system by helping individuals overcome barriers to employment or housing due to past arrest and conviction records. This includes helping to get criminal records expunged pro bono so it will be easier for residents to get housing, occupational and driver’s licenses, and obtain employment. Those looking for assistance would need to participate in the Legal Aid intake process before being referred to a volunteering lawyer. Legal aid is also reaching out to nonprofit and community organizations for referrals and letting them know the opportunity is available to their clients.

With Legal Aid agencies losing staff attorneys across the state, Johnson-Parris felt this was a good way for the Greensboro Bar Association to step up and help their community.

Super Music Bonus!  Music pick from the PSJD Fellow Eulen Jang.

by Christina Jackson, NALP Director of Public Service Initiatives & Fellowships

Happy Friday!

Here are the week’s headlines:

• Harvard Law School digitizing US case law and offering it free;
• Wisconsin law firm launches student loan defense practice;
• Central New York now has one place the poor can go for civil legal services;
• Legal Aid of Western Missouri receives grant for pro bono partnerships;
• Ohio Supreme Court subcommittee says assigned counsel system isn’t broken;
• Roger Williams University School of Law and Providence law firm open veterans appeals clinic;
• University of Georgia School of Law to open nation’s first child sexual abuse victim clinic;
• Rocket Lawyer and Bay Area Legal Aid partners on pilot project;
• LSC awards Technology Innovation Grants;
• Spotlight on Public Service Servants;
• Super Music Bonus!

The summaries:

October 29, 2015 – “Harvard Law School has announced that, with the support of Ravel Law, a legal research and analytics platform, it is digitizing its entire collection of U.S. case law, one of the largest collections of legal materials in the world, and that it will make the collection available online, for free, to anyone with an Internet connection. The ‘Free the Law‘ initiative will provide open, wide-ranging access to American case law for the first time in United States history. ‘Driving this effort is a shared belief that the law should be free and open to all,’ said Harvard Law School Dean Martha Minow. ‘Using technology to create broad access to legal information will help create a more transparent and more just legal system.'” “Said Jim Sandman, president of the Legal Services Corporation, the largest funder of civil legal aid for low-income Americans: ‘This is a great development. Making legal materials and analytical tools available for free will be of great value to non-profit legal aid lawyers in providing essential legal services to low-income people.'” (Harvard Law Today)

October 29, 2015 – “As economists cast wary eyes on the national burden of student loan debt, Horizons Law Group has launched a new, unique practice for student loan defense, led by an experienced bankruptcy attorney. Laurie A. Bigsby, a Pewaukee [Wisconsin] resident, has more than two decades’ experience representing clients in personal finance matters, including Chapter 7 and 13 bankruptcy cases, and administration of probate cases. Her student loan solutions practice centers on a cutting-edge area of law with $1.2 trillion in student loan debt hanging over the nation’s economy. Eerily similar to the mortgage meltdown, digging into these cases often uncovers illegal harassment of borrowers, missing or forged documents, and loans sold off into securitized trusts.” “‘My sole focus is that clients are treated fairly, and allowed due process to seek a resolution,’ she said.” I suspect we will see more of these types of dedicated practices.  (Lake Country Now)

October 29, 2015 –  Here is an excellent collaboration to bring services to those who desperately need them, and don’t always know where to look. “A new one-stop destination will officially open today to serve those basic needs of Central New York’s poor — and vulnerable — population. The George H. Lowe Center for Justice is located on the third floor of Financial Plaza, 221 S. Warren St. in downtown Syracuse. It’s within walking distance of the bus station, the Civic Center and other destinations critical to poor people. The center brings three little-known legal service providers under one roof: Legal Services of Central New York, Legal Aid Society of Mid-New York and the Volunteer Lawyers Project. All three were in separate offices downtown. What’s the difference between the three? To someone in need of legal help, it doesn’t matter. By bringing them into one location, a client will be sent to the appropriate lawyer, regardless of what name they work under. The separate entities are required by law because they are funded with a patchwork of 80 to 90 grants for different purposes: evictions, divorces, etc. But the differences are now masked, with the groups sharing office space and expertise.” (Syracuse.com)

October 30, 2015 – “Legal Aid of Western Missouri received a 24-month grant worth $257,441 that it will use to create pro bono partnerships with large law firms to help improve neighborhoods in Kansas City’s urban core. The Adopt-a-Neighborhood project seeks to hire attorneys from respected, private law firms to serve as general counsel for needy neighborhoods that have major and often unseen legal needs. Issues range from lack of access to healthy food to blighted properties that never get fixed. Pro bono opportunities may include the simple negotiation of documents and contracts for small community nonprofits, litigating clear title and abandoned property issues, assisting with negotiations to bring a grocery store to a neighborhood, or converting an abandoned warehouse into a community center.”  (Kansas City Business Journal)

October 30, 2015 – “The Ohio Supreme Court on Friday released a report by a subcommittee that found no evidence of abuse in the way judges assign lawyers for poor defendants. The report caps Cuyahoga County Prosecutor Timothy J. McGinty’s years-long and vocal push to restrict judges’ ability to pick private defense attorneys to represent poor defendants who don’t get a public defender. While small changes to state rules should be made to encourage judges to spread cases to more attorneys, “individual courts should remain free to adopt appointment systems,” the court’s Advisory Committee on Case Management Subcommittee on Court Appointments wrote in the 22-page report. The committee submitted the findings to the Ohio Supreme Court, which will consider whether the recommendations should be written into the state rules governing the assigned counsel process.” “The subcommittee rejected the notion that allowing judges to pick defense counsel breeds corruption, saying it found ‘no readily apparent evidence of abuse in the current system.'” The subcommittee recommended changing Ohio’s rules to encourage judges to spread their appointments among the widest possible list of qualified defense attorneys. That process would allow young attorneys to get on the list and begin working more quickly, and would make complaints of favoritism more difficult.” (Cleveland.com)

November 2, 2015 – “Law students at Roger Williams University will get federal appeals court experience, and veterans who have been denied disability benefits will get free lawyers for their appeals in a collaboration announced Monday at the Federal Courthouse on Exchange Street. Rhode Island’s only law school and the Providence-based law firm of Chisholm, Chisholm & Kilpatrick on Monday announced they will together operate the Veterans Disability Appeals Field Clinic. Students will staff the clinic in the law firm’s office at One Turks Head Place in Providence. Chisholm, Chisholm & Kilpatrick has been operating a similar clinic in Boston with Harvard University law students. A news release announcing the program said lawyers at the firm will guide RWU law students as the students review records and identify evidence, draft memos, discuss the appeal in conferences, potentially negotiate ways to settle the appeal, participate in mock arguments and, at times, argue the appeal before the U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims. The veterans appeals court is based in Washington, but its judges sometimes take the court on the road to hear cases in other cities. At Monday’s ceremony, Dean Michael J. Yelnosky said the program is the law school’s first clinic for appellate work.” (Providence Journal)

November 2, 2015 – “The University of Georgia School of Law will be the first in the nation to have an experiential learning opportunity dedicated solely to the assistance of victims of child sexual abuse. The Wilbanks Child Endangerment and Sexual Exploitation Clinic will open January 2016. Initial funding for the clinic has been donated by Georgia Law alumnus Marlan B. Wilbanks, who received his Juris Doctor in 1986. It is expected that many of the clinic’s first clients will be those now eligible to bring civil charges against their abusers as a result of the passage of House Bill 17, the “Hidden Predator Act,” by the Georgia legislature.” “A nationwide search was launched last week to identify a director for the new clinic.” (UGA Today)

November 3, 2015 – “In furtherance of its mission to increase access to affordable legal assistance, Rocket Lawyer is teaming up with Bay Area Legal Aid (BayLegal). Through this pilot project, Rocket Lawyer will train BayLegal’s attorneys on its platform. Together, Rocket Lawyer and BayLegal will explore creative solutions to aid low-income clients solve their legal problems. The pilot project leverages Rocket Lawyer’s technology and resources so that BayLegal can help more clients. ‘Rocket Lawyer’s technology platform is the perfect complement to the wonderful work done by legal aid organizations across this country,’ said Alon Rotem, Rocket Lawyer general counsel who helped to launch the pilot. ‘Our passion to make the law simple and affordable for everyone makes us kindred spirits with organizations like Bay Area Legal Aid, and we are proud to partner with them to expand access to justice to indigent clients in our local community.’ ‘Bay Area Legal Aid is thrilled to partner with Rocket Lawyer to creatively transform legal services for our client community,’ said Alex Gulotta, executive director of Bay Area Legal Aid. ‘Civil legal aid ensures fairness in the justice system, and every year legal aid nonprofits are only able to serve a fraction of the need. By harnessing the power of Rocket Lawyer’s platform, our partnership has the potential to amplify the number of clients we can help.'” (Market Wired)

November 5, 2015 – “The Legal Services Corporation (LSC) announced today that 30 organizations nationwide will receive Technology Initiative Grant (TIG) funding in 2015. The grants will support a variety of initiatives, including developing a website with special resources for seniors and domestic violence victims; creating a hotline for family and housing law advice that can be accessed by text message; and implementing a videoconferencing system to conduct remote client interviews and provide informational videos.” Get the full list of grantees and their projects here.  (Legal Services Corporation)

Spotlight on Outstanding Public Servants:  Trent Cameron and Jennifer Shaw – Illinois attorneys

Shortly after graduating from SIUC, Trent Cameron began helping an elderly man pay his bills and access public benefits to which he was entitled. The man also needed help searching for a house and other day-to-day tasks.

Shortly after starting her law career, Jennifer Shaw began representing domestic violence victims. That was around 1996. “I thought, if I can find a job and just do orders of protection that helps people who are victims of domestic violence, that would be the greatest thing,” Shaw said to a room filled with mostly lawyers and judges on Tuesday at the annual Celebrate Pro Bono Luncheon.

Cameron and Shaw, both of Edwardsville, Illinois, were given the Rising Young Star Award, and the Pro Bono Service Award, respectively, by the Third Judicial Circuit. In all, more than a hundred lawyers, mediators and volunteers were recognized for taking time out of their practices to volunteer to help low-income people. Cameron, while also handling his own cases, last year volunteered more than 10 hours a week to do research, draft pleadings, and argue cases in court for the Land of Lincoln Foundation. Shaw has completed 15 long-term cases for Land of Lincoln in the past decade. Today she is managing partner at the Shaw Law Group in Edwardsville.

The need for lawyers to volunteer is great, said Michael Bergmann, who directs the Public Interest Law Initiative. Illinois has only 420 full-time legal aid attorneys but at any one time only 150 of them are available to serve low-income people, he said. “Put another way, that is one attorney available for every 6,415 low income people,” said Bergmann. “Contrast that with one private attorney for every 429 people in the general population above poverty level.”  Congratulations and keep up the good work!

Super Music Bonus!  Music pick from the PSJD Fellow Eulen Jang.

by Christina Jackson, NALP Director of Public Service Initiatives & Fellowships

Happy Halloween!  And Happy National Pro Bono Week.  We hope you’ve enjoyed your pro bono projects and will continue them long past this week.

Here are the week’s headlines:

• Task force to review legal aid for Tennessee’s poor;
• Workforce Recruitment Program marks 20th anniversary;
• OPM pilots “resume mining” on USAJobs;
• Indiana Supreme Court awards $450,000 in grants;
• Minnesota law firm launches free online pro bono training;
• Task force recommends state-wide oversight of Utah’s indigent defense system;
• Iowa State Public Defender’s Office launches wrongful conviction unit;
• App to aid migrant workers wins 3rd Hackcess to Justice hackathon;
• Ball State University to open legal clinic;
• Spotlight on Public Service Servants;
• Super Music Bonus!

The summaries:

October 23, 2015 – “The state funding system that pays for attorneys for people who cannot afford them is the subject of a special task force review. The Tennessee Supreme Court announced this week it created the Indigent Representation Task Force. The members of the group are judges, attorneys and others who work in criminal justice. They are tasked with reviewing: how attorneys are compensated for their work with people who cannot afford to pay (those who are indigent), how people are determined to qualify for legal services, how services are delivered and how the program funding is handled. The goal is to make sure the program is addressing the needs of people in Tennessee.” (The Tennesseean)

October 23, 2015 – “This month, as the Workforce Recruitment Program marks its 20th year of hiring college students and recent graduates with disabilities into the federal workforce, it highlights the Defense Department’s achievement of a more diverse workforce, DoD officials said. DoD and the Labor Department formed the WRP through a presidential executive order to increase federal employment opportunities for those with disabilities, and in doing so, the agencies added a diversity of thought, ability, background, language, culture and skill, officials said. This year is also the Americans with Disabilities Act’s 25th anniversary. The WRP helps to break down stereotypes and barriers for disabled students, and their skill sets add to DoD’s military readiness mission, said Donald Minner, supervisor of a WRP intern at the Defense Threat Reduction Program. ‘WRP participants bring a freshness, excitement and enthusiasm,’ he said.”  (Department of Defense News)

October 23, 2015 – “The Office of Personnel Management is piloting changes to the USAJobs website that makes users’ resumes searchable by hiring managers. Called ‘resume mining,’ the tool allows hiring managers at agencies participating in the pilot to search for keywords in resumes users have agreed to make searchable. Managers can then reach out to federal job applicants and invite them to apply for certain positions. The new capability is being piloted ‘across several agencies,’ Kimberly Holden, OPM’s deputy director for recruitment and hiring, said last week in a Government Executive panel discussion. About 3 million resumes are searchable. The resume mining pilot is the latest in a series of iterative improvements to USAJobs launched by OPM’s Innovation Lab in an effort to make the site more user friendly and efficient.” (Nextgov)

October 26, 2015 – “The Indiana Supreme Court has awarded $450,000 in grants that will pay for court reforms such as helping people not fluent in English get legal aid. The funding that’s being directed to the 15 counties, five pro bono districts and one committee is intended for reforms in two primary categories. One effort will help courts in the chosen counties better manage the increasing caseload of people involved in lawsuits who don’t have legal representation. The grants’ other aim is to help people who don’t speak fluent English get legal aid. Since 2008, the state Supreme Court has awarded more than $2.4 million in grant funding to nearly 100 trial courts and judicial agencies for a wide variety of court-related improvements and reforms.”  (WLFI)

October 26, 2015 – “Lindquist & Vennum LLP has launched a free online training for effectively delivering pro bono legal services. The training features video from a discussion held at Target Corp. headquarters last year. The firm is partnering with the Volunteer Lawyers Network to offer the training online. ‘We were thrilled with the response to last year’s training – both in attendees and the quality of the discussion,’ said Cynthia Anderson, Lindquist & Vennum’s pro bono director. ‘That’s why Lindquist is so excited to partner with VLN to make the training available to a nationwide audience through this online course.’ The curriculum is available for free for any individual or organization that provides pro bono legal services to indigent clients and cannot afford to pay for the materials. Five individual modules are intended to guide the legal community toward stronger client relationships, improved communication, and better legal outcomes for people in need. ‘“Nationally, up to 20 percent of legal representation to those in poverty can fail because of unseen cultural differences between people raised in middle class and those raised in generational poverty,’ said Martha Delaney, deputy director for the Volunteer Lawyers Network. ‘Not only are the consequences for the clients devastating, but the misunderstanding of socio-economic barriers can result in volunteer attrition and reinforced negative stereotypes that perpetuate generational poverty.’ For more information visit the firm’s website.” (Sioux Falls Business Journal)

October 26, 2015 – “For four years, a state task force has been delving into issues surrounding Utah’s indigent-defense system. As part of that, the task force hired the Sixth Amendment Center to review the way the accused are represented in Utah. The Sixth Amendment Center’s report was presented to Utah’s Judicial Council on Monday. The report highlighted flaws in the current system, which mostly centered around whether Utahns were given access to attorneys. The organization found that in Utah’s justice courts — where people often connect with the courts system for the first time — over half of defendants are never provided legal representation.” “In response to the Sixth Amendment Center report, the 31-member task force — comprised of judges, county attorneys, defense attorneys and others — made three recommendations to the judicial council Monday: that the Legislature create an Indigent Defense Commission; that local governments reform their indigent services contracts so that attorneys won’t face disincentives to doing effective work; and that the judicial branch ‘enhance the ability of judges to ensure compliance with right-to-counsel obligations.'” (The Salt Lake Tribune)

October 26, 2015 – “Governor Branstad has announced a new Wrongful Conviction Division in the Office of State Public Defender. Officials will conduct DNA analysis for many as 100 inmates who may have been convicted on what’s now called ‘junk science.’ The state will work with an organization known as the Innocence Project, which has helped exonerate inmates in more than 300 cases on the basis of DNA evidence. State officials will review Iowa cases in which hair analysis played a major role in convictions.” “The Iowa cases date back to the 1980’s and early 1990’s when hair analysis was common and before investigators used DNA evidence. State Public Defender Adam Gregg warns exonerations often take years to accomplish.   He says Iowa law allows for exonerations, but up to now there has been no systematic effort to uncover wrongful convictions.” (Iowa Public Radio)

October 27, 2015 – “After two days of brainstorming and collaboration in North Carolina’s capital city, lawyers, students and coders developed legal apps to aid farm workers, streamline legal aid cases and evaluate legal aid eligibility. Five teams competed at Hackcess to Justice NC, the ABA Journal’s hackathon series to find tech solutions to access-to-justice problems. The winning submission N.C. Farmworkers’ App was created by lawyer Caroline DiMaio and developer Edward Ingram. They took home the $1,500 top prize.” “DiMaio, the co-creator of the winning app, is a legal aid attorney in Raleigh who works primarily with migrant farm workers. She said the idea for her winning app grew out of that work. Many migrant farm workers would call for help or to report complaints, but could not tell her or her colleagues in what city or county—sometimes even what state—where they were working. She recalled driving around a North Carolina town with one client trying to spot a familiar landmark so she could file a complaint on his behalf with the appropriate authorities. With the N.C. Farmworkers’ App, migrant and seasonal farmworkers can find out what their legal rights are; collect evidence such as audio recordings or GPS coordinates of a field; and submit Occupational Safety and Health Administration complaints to the Legal Aid of N.C. with an email or voice mail. The app is available in English and in Spanish.” (ABA Journal)

October 27, 2015 – “Undergraduate students will have the opportunity to provide legal services to people in the county and throughout the state starting in 2017. The legal studies program received a $38,137 Academic Excellence Grant from President Paul W. Ferguson to fund the initiative. The Access to Justice (ATJ) Clinic will be fully running by Spring/Summer 2017. Students will be assigned legal cases to assist with and will stay with those cases until they are done, even if they continue after the students graduate. Students will have to apply to be part of the clinic.” “There will be a new course available for students who will work in the clinic, called Access to Justice in the Legal System. It will provide a reference point for students, showing the importance of legal system accessibility for the community. The clinic will also provide service learning assignments to legal studies students, which will be incorporated into their courses. ”  (The Ball State Daily)

Spotlight on Outstanding Public Servants:  

YOU!  This has been an incredible week of giving!  There were so many stories, I couldn’t pick just one.  Thank you to all of you who gave of your time and expertise this week.  Let’s keep it going. And, for more inspiration, check out Pro Bono Net’s “Volunteer-A-Day” initiative, which showcases a new volunteer profile to our national community each day of Pro Bono Week.

Super Music Bonus!  Music pick from the PSJD Fellow Eulen Jang. A classic Halloween pick!!

by Christina Jackson, NALP Director of Public Service Initiatives & Fellowships

Happy Friday!  We’re looking forward to the 2015 NALP/PSJD Public Service Mini-Conference next week.  There is still time to register. Since we’ll be sharing the news in person, the Digest will take a break next week and return on October 30.  And don’t forget National Pro Bono week is October 25-31, 2015.

Here are the week’s headlines:

• Alameda County (California) wins grant to staff PDs at arraignments;
• Santa Clara University School of Law’s Northern California Innocence Project wins exoneration of client;
• Grant funds new legal aid help at Massachusetts hospital;
• New Welcome House in Vancouver to provide comprehensive services to immigrants;
• Greenberg Traurig, LLP names Caroline J. Heller as head of firmwide Pro Bono Program;
• Grant will bring more legal aid to northeastern New York;
• New York firms contribute nearly $2 million to new low bono effort;
• Montana’s Access to Justice Commission seeks feedback in a series of forums;
• Spotlight on Public Service Servants;
• Super Music Bonus!

The summaries:

October 8, 2015 – “The Alameda County Public Defender’s Office has won a $400,000 competitive grant that it says will allow it to staff defense attorneys in arraignment courtrooms and thereby better serve its clients. ‘I think it’s critically important to have an attorney at someone’s first court appearance, but we’ve never had the funding,’ Alameda County Public Defender Brendon Woods said. ‘The arraignment is the first point of contact with the court, when bail is set, and sometimes the client spends a day in custody for no reason.’ The Alameda County Public Defender’s Office has 103 staff attorneys serving approximately 27,000 clients a year. The National Legal Aid & Defender Association announced last week that Alameda County was one of five entities in the country that it was awarding grants under the U.S. Department of Justice’s Bureau of Justice Assistance’s Smart Defense Initiative.” (San Jose Mercury News)

October 8, 2015 – “The Tehama County Superior Court in northern California has overturned the wrongful conviction of Larry Pohlschneider, a client of Santa Clara University School of Law’s Northern California Innocence Project, after nearly 15 years of wrongful imprisonment for child molestation charges based on flawed medical evidence. The Oct. 7 decision marks the 18th victory for the NCIP since its inception in 2001. Attorneys for Pohlschneider, 46, and the Tehama County District Attorney agreed that his 2000 conviction should be vacated and the charges dismissed due to the ineffective assistance of Pohlschneider’s trial counsel. The true perpetrator has pleaded guilty and been imprisoned. NCIP Assistant Legal Director Maitreya Badami, Pohlschneider’s lead attorney, commended the Tehama County District Attorney’s Office for its willingness to look at this case with fresh eyes when presented with evidence from NCIP’s investigation.” (Santa Clara University Press)

October 11, 2015 – “The Legal Services Corporation has awarded a grant valued at more than $200,000 to Community Legal Aid so that it can partner with UMass Memorial Health Care and develop a clinic-based program to provide legal services for low-income and minority communities. The partnership is based on a new primary care model at three UMass Memorial Medical Center clinics that serve a high number of Medicaid patients. The goal is better health outcomes. The framework integrates medical care and behavioral health and adds legal services providers, including volunteer (pro bono) private attorneys. They will help address legal barriers to good health such as substandard housing and access to benefits.”  (Telegram.com)

October 12, 2015 – “When the $24.5-million Welcome House in Vancouver is completed in March 2016, it will form a new housing concept in providing shelter and support systems, including legal advice, for refugees and immigrants. ‘This is the first building of its kind in the world,’ says director of settlement service Chris Friesen for the Immigration Services Society of British Columbia. There is a similar facility in Lisbon, Portugal, but it does not provide short- and long-term housing for refugees. The Vancouver ISS facility has 16 housing units which can accommodate up to 138 beds. The 58,000-square-foot Welcome House, designed by Vancouver’s Henrique Partners Architects, is being billed as a one-stop shop for all refugee and immigrant needs. It consists of six floors with the first two providing services such as a pro bono legal clinic, Van City banking services, primary medical care, multilingual trauma support and treatment, multilingual settlement support staff for finding permanent accommodation, employment services, and volunteer services in the community, food bank and second-hand clothing outlets. The building will also house educational services with seven classrooms for ESL, a computer lab plus child-care facilities. It will also have meeting rooms for seminars. Friesen says it will provide office space that pro bono lawyers can use to work with new immigrants and refugees.” (Canadian Lawyer Magazine)

October 13, 2015 – “Caroline J. Heller, Litigation Practice shareholder in the New York office of international law firm Greenberg Traurig, LLP, has been named head of the Pro Bono Program. Heller has been doing pro bono at Greenberg Traurig since 2004, when she joined the firm as an associate. She has dedicated over 3,000 hours to the pro bono representation of, among others, parents of children with disabilities, victims of domestic violence, and unaccompanied children in immigration proceedings, as well as supervising the firm’s associates on their pro bono cases.” (Benzinga)

October 14, 2015 – “Low-income people in Columbia and Greene counties will have more access to legal aid, thanks to a recent grant to the Legal Aid Society of Northeastern New York (LASNNY). The grant will allow the society to ‘build a technological bridge between urban pro bono volunteers and clients in Columbia and Greene counties and other counties,’ said society Executive Director Lillian Moy. The society received a $362,559 Pro Bono Innovation Fund grant from the Legal Services Corp., a non-profit that describes itself as ‘the single largest funder of civil legal aid for low-income Americans in the nation.’ The grant ‘will allow lawyers to conduct online interviews and share documents so they can help review and prepare pleadings for self-represented litigants in housing and consumer law matters,’ according to a press release from the society. ‘People will be able to do it from their computers at work or home,’ Moy said. ‘The client would be interviewed by a pro bono volunteer in Albany.’ Also included in the grant are Legal Assistance of Western New York and the Volunteer Legal Services Project of Monroe County.” (The Daily Mail)

October 14, 2015 – “Nineteen major law firms have pledged $1.9 million to help provide affordable legal services to people in the New York City area with modest incomes who make too much to qualify for free legal aid. The effort, dubbed the Court Square Law Project, marks the second ‘low bono’ project announced this year by firms attempting to address the pressing need for legal services for limited-income clients. Davis Polk & Wardwell partner Carey Dunne, who sits on Court Square’s executive committee, said the project aims to address a fundamental paradox in the legal profession. ‘In some years 50 percent or more of law school graduates are not getting legal jobs. Some are working as baristas,’ he said. ‘At the same time, there’s a huge unmet need for legal services for people of moderate means.’ Each firm is contributing $100,000 to the project, to be located at the City University of New York School of Law in Long Island City. A partnership between the the New York City Bar Association, CUNY and the firms, Court Square plans to accept clients next year. It will be staffed by 10 recent law school graduates, who will be enrolled in a special CUNY graduate law program and receive a $44,000 annual stipend. The project is not limited to hiring CUNY alumni. Most, but not all, of these 19 contributing firms are based in New York, while the rest have major Manhattan offices.” (American Lawyer)(subscription required)

October 15, 2015 – “The Montana Supreme Court’s Access to Justice Commission is looking for help assessing what is and isn’t working as the state’s judicial caseload continues to grow at a fast clip. Supreme Court Justice Beth Baker says there’s been a big increase in people coming to Montana’s courts without a lawyer. ‘What we’ve learned from our judges and court staff is that when people do need a lawyer’s help, many of them aren’t able to get it and don’t really even know where to go.’ The commission is asking people and organizations with a stake in Montana’s courts to come to their public forums to talk about solutions.” (Montana Public Radio)

Spotlight on Outstanding Public Servants:  

Golden Gate University School of Law (GGU Law) Associate Dean Cynthia Chandler was selected by California Women Lawyers to receive the prestigious Fay Stender Award for her advocacy for the rights of women in prison. “The annual award is given to a feminist attorney who, like Fay Stender, is committed to the representation of women, disadvantaged groups and unpopular causes, and whose courage, zest for life and demonstrated ability to effect change as a single individual make her a role model for women attorneys.”

Chandler, an adjunct professor and interim Associate Dean of Law Career Development at GGU Law, is a champion of public interest law in the Bay Area. Her work includes founding and co-founding several women’s legal rights organizations, including the Women’s Positive Legal Action Network and Justice Now, which advocate for the rights of imprisoned women. Chandler’s advocacy has been transformative, shaping numerous prison reform bills that ended California’s coercive sterilization of women in prison, as well as the establishment of the nation’s first compassionate release programs for terminally ill inmates.  Congratulations to Dean Chandler! (Market Wired)

Super Music Bonus!  Music pick from the PSJD Fellow Eulen Jang.

by Christina Jackson, NALP Director of Public Service Initiatives & Fellowships

Happy Friday!  We’re just two weeks away from the NALP/PSJD Public Service Mini-Conference.  There is still time to register. I look forward to seeing my law school and employer colleagues soon.

Here are the week’s headlines:

• Legal aid grant will fund fair housing enforcement in Minnesota;
• Alberta lawyers putting pressure on government to adequately fund legal aid;
• New funding for foreclosure work in New York;
• Chicago-Kent College of Law and USPTO collaborate on pro bono program;
• Public defender’s office may lose some independence in new North Carolina budget;
• Kentucky’s public defender program receives DOJ grant;
• Lewis & Clark Law School launches new clinic;
• New pro bono legal option opens in south Florida;
• Proskauer Rose LLP welcomes first full-time pro bono partner;
• Florida Justice Access Commission offers first recommendations;
• Spotlight on Public Service Servants;
• Super Music Bonus!

The summaries:

October 1, 2015 – “Mid-Minnesota Legal Assistance has been awarded $325,000 to fight housing discrimination. The funds were awarded today by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development under its Fair Housing Initiatives Program. The grant will fund an effort by Mid-Minnesota and Southern Minnesota Regional Legal Services to improve fair housing enforcement in southern and central Minnesota.” (Minnesota Lawyer)(subscription required)

October 2, 2015 – “Alberta lawyers say they’ll stop providing free services for the poor seeking court orders for legal aid in hopes it’ll force the province to properly fund the system. It would remove their pro bono services directing court orders to access legal aid for those whose incomes aren’t quite low enough to qualify for it. The lawyers say they’ll cease that free work Nov. 1 in a system now in crisis and plagued with a growing backlog due to insufficient funds. Those free legal services have been supplied for the past year while $5.5 million in emergency funding provided by the former PC government has long expired, say the lawyers.”  (Calgary Sun)

October 2, 2015 – “[New York] Attorney General Eric T. Schneiderman on Thursday announced $11.5 million in new funding for more than two dozen legal services organizations statewide to help prevent foreclosures, keep families in their homes, and rebuild communities hit hardest by the housing crash. Awards will be given to 28 legal services providers with proven track records of providing services to at-risk homeowners. The new round of funding will support the Homeowner Protection Program, a network of nearly 90 housing counseling and legal services agencies that provide free, high-quality assistance to at-risk families across New York to help them avoid foreclosure.” “The grants, which are now before the New York State Comptroller for review and final approval, are for one year with a possibility of a one-year renewal. The new round of funding brings the total foreclosure prevention investment by the Office of the Attorney General to more than $70 million.” (The Journal News)

October 2, 2015 – “Chicago-Kent College of Law and the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) have collaborated to establish the Chicago-Kent Patent Hub, a pro bono program that will help qualified, low-income inventors and small businesses in Illinois obtain volunteer legal assistance from local patent agents or attorneys licensed to practice before the USPTO.” “The Chicago-Kent Patent Hub was created as part of a USPTO pro bono initiative to provide assistance with the patent application and prosecution process for inventors in all 50 states. The Chicago-Kent Patent Hub will coordinate services to inventors in Illinois, who are requesting assistance and who meet eligibility requirements to participate in the program. The Chicago-Kent Patent Hub will not provide legal advice. Its services are limited to screening applicants for eligibility and referring those applicants to volunteer attorneys for evaluation and possible representation.” (IIT Today)

October 5, 2015 – “The agency that oversees public defenders across North Carolina would lose independence under a change made in the state budget, Forsyth County Public Defender Paul James said last week. The change is twofold. The first change is transferring the N.C. Office of Indigent Defense Services to the N.C. Administrative Office of the Courts. The second change, which is more troubling to James, would authorize the director of the state Administrative Office of the Courts to modify the budget of Indigent Defense Services without the approval of its board.” “‘This greatly reduces the independence of the IDS, which is supposed to be independent under all the best models for indigent defense in order to adequately protect the rights of those indigent clients we serve,’ James said in an email last week. James said the original proposed budget had put Indigent Defense Services under the Administrative Office of the Courts but still maintained IDS’s ability to make decisions about its own budget. The change giving authority to AOC’s director to modify the agency’s budget was placed into the final state budget.” “Thomas Maher, IDS’s executive director, said the last-minute change came as a surprise. ‘This is a significant change in granting some power to the director of the Administrative Office of the Courts,’ Maher said.” “Maher said he doesn’t expect the AOC director to interfere that much with his office, but the fact that he can, under the new budget, is concerning.” (Winston-Salem Journal)

October 5, 2015 – “The US Department of Justice (DOJ) Bureau of Justice Assistance announced that the Department of Public Advocacy (DPA), Kentucky’s statewide public defender program, was awarded $374,859 under the DOJ Smart Defense Initiative program to address longstanding problems with its conflict representation system. The awarded funds will be used to implement sustainable changes to DPA’s methods of contracting conflict work including modification of DPA conflict contracts, DPA policies on conflict cases, conduct of conflict case and file review standards including documenting work done in conflict cases, time spent on cases, and client contact. DPA recruitment standards will be developed, including minimum training and experience qualifications and ongoing education requirements.” (Northern Kentucky Tribune)

October 5, 2015 – “Lewis & Clark Law School is now offering its students an innovative way to gain hands-on experience with criminal law. A new clinic called the Criminal Justice Reform Clinic is a collaboration between the law school and the Oregon Justice Resource Center and will benefit both law school students, and members of the community in need of legal resources. Students who are involved in the clinical program will have the option of being involved in three different projects, providing different ways to engage in the criminal justice system.” (Law|Street)

October 6, 2015 – “Cenacle Legal Services, a new pro bono legal option for the working poor, opened its doors Monday, following a blessing from its landlord — the Diocese of Venice — and an open house. The nonprofit will rely on pro bono work from area attorneys of all faiths and is meant to augment services offered by area organizations such as Gulf Coast Legal Services and Legal Aid of Manasota, to residents in the Englewood, North Port and Venice areas and will extend service to low-income people who make too much money to qualify for traditional legal aid.” “Attorneys affiliated with Cenacle Legal Services will take on cases in the areas of housing, elderly affairs, juvenile matters, veterans in need of public benefits and consumer rights.” (Herald-Tribune)

October 7, 2015 -“International law firm Proskauer [Rose LLP] is pleased to announce the arrival of William C. Silverman as a partner who will spearhead the firm’s global pro bono efforts. Mr. Silverman is the firm’s first partner-level lawyer who will lead the pro bono practice on a full-time basis. In his new position, Mr. Silverman, who has significant pro bono as well as extensive private and public sector experience in both the criminal and civil areas, will be responsible for identifying and securing pro bono opportunities and partnerships for Proskauer lawyers, ensuring widespread participation in these projects and ensuring that the pro bono work is performed at the highest level” (Business Wire)

October 7, 2015 – “The Florida Supreme Court should approve rule changes and technological development that would improve legal aid using limited resources, the state Commission on Access to Civil Justice recommended Wednesday. The commission issued its first interim report after nearly a year of work by its members, including lawyers, judges, prominent business leaders and educators. The 27-member group is looking for ways to help low- to moderate-income Floridians who can’t afford a lawyer and can’t miss work to deal with common legal issues such as divorces, custody battles, wills and landlord-tenant disputes, former Florida Bar President Greg Coleman said.” “The commission recommended at that meeting that the high court approve the continued development of a technology system that would walk Floridians through the first stages of relatively simple legal processes such as filing for divorce. The commission also asked the court to authorize the creation of a Florida Civil Legal Resources Access Site, a one-stop ‘knowledge base’ of all the resources available to Floridians involved in litigation, even if they don’t qualify for legal aid.” (Daily Business Review)

Spotlight on Outstanding Public Servants:  

Fresno civil rights lawyer Chris Schneider is the executive director of Central California Legal Services (CCLS) and the most recent recipient of one of the highest honors given by the California State Bar: the Loren Miller Legal Services Award. Finding a passion for civil rights activism as a teenager, Chris has spent more than two decades working in civil legal aid.  Chris joined CCLS in 1993, and since then has grown the organization to house a staff of 50 who provide free legal services to immigrants and the poor throughout the central San Joaquin Valley. Under Chris’s leadership, CCLS was instrumental in getting a shopping center built in long-neglected southwest Fresno, helping the homeless in their legal fight with Fresno City Hall, and making sure poor rural residents didn’t get gouged in their utility bills. “Our mission is to advance justice and empower people,” said Chris, who will be given the award at the Bar’s annual meeting in Anaheim. Congratulations! (Legal Aid Association of California)

Super Music Bonus!  Music pick from the PSJD Fellow Eulen Jang.

And a bonus music pick since Eulen’s previous football pick garnered some responses.  All in good fun!!

by Christina Jackson, NALP Director of Public Service Initiatives & Fellowships

Happy Friday!

Here are the week’s headlines:

• Community Legal Aid (Massachusetts) to receive pro bono grant;
• Kansas indigent defense system potentially reaching crisis;
• Western Michigan Cooley Law School Innocence Project receives DOJ grant;
• New York City Mayor announces expansion of legal aid to low-income tenants;
• White House establishes Legal Aid Interagency Roundtable;
• Legal Aid of North Carolina struggling with budget cuts;
• Legal Aid Society (New York) to sue over cameras in courthouse interview rooms;
• Advocates of civil legal services point to collateral benefits;
• Spotlight on Public Service Servants;
• Super Music Bonus!

The summaries:

September 24, 2015 – “The federal Legal Services Corp. has announced that Community Legal Aid in Worcester will receive a 24-month $209,524 pro bono grant to develop a partnership with the University of Massachusetts Memorial Medical Center. The model will address legal needs that can impact the health of low-income and minority communities. ”  (Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly)(subscription required)

September 27, 2015 – “In Kansas, where the state pays only $62 per hour, up to a cap of only a few thousand dollars in most cases, officials say they may have to start looking out of state to find attorneys who will take assigned cases because there just aren’t enough qualified, experienced attorneys in some Kansas counties who are willing to work for that rate. Patricia Scalia, executive director of the Kansas Board of Indigents’ Defense Services, told a legislative committee Monday that the problem is especially severe in some of the state’s smaller counties. ‘And because of the lack of qualified attorneys willing to accept appointed cases at the hourly rate that the board pays, we’re having to call in attorneys at a distance,’ Scalia told reporters after the hearing. ‘We have about exhausted the number of attorneys who are licensed in Kansas, and if this continued, it wouldn’t be too much longer before we were having to bring in attorneys from other states, Oklahoma or Missouri,’ she said.” “The Board of Indigents’ Defense Services is proposing to raise the payment rate through a regulatory change. Lawmakers raised no objections Monday to the proposed change. The board estimates the increased rates would cost about $200,000, which Scalia said could be funded through savings the agency realized in a set of resentencing cases earlier this year. A public hearing on that change is scheduled for Nov. 10th in Topeka.” (Lawrence Journal-World)

September 28, 2015 – “A federal grant is helping to boost the efforts of a southwestern Michigan legal clinic that works to exonerate people convicted of serious crimes. Western Michigan University and Thomas M. Cooley Law School announced Monday that their Innocence Project has received a $418,000 Justice Department grant. The money will help pay for case review, evidence location and DNA testing, as well as investigators, experts and a full-time attorney. Officials say in a news release the schools’ Innocence Project is investigating several dozen cases. It recently received roughly 200 more from a similar project in New York that’s no longer handling Michigan cases. The Michigan clinic has screened about 5,300 cases and exonerated three men who spent years in prison.” (Associated Press)

September 28, 2015 – “New York City will spend $12.3 million to expand a program providing legal aid to low-income tenants facing eviction at the hands of ‘unscrupulous landlords,’ Mayor Bill de Blasio announced Monday. He called the initiative an effort to prevent homelessness, saying free legal representation can help families fight harassment and eviction and stay in their homes.” “The city will target 15 neighborhoods where people are most likely to enter the homeless shelter system, including booming real estate markets such as Bedford-Stuyvesant, Bushwick and Crown Heights in Brooklyn and Central and West Harlem in Manhattan.” “Adriene Holder, of the nonprofit Legal Aid Society, said the anti-eviction program and others like it are ‘about stabilizing communities and keeping people in place.'” (News Day)

September 28, 2015 – “What do 20 federal agencies, the United Nations, and civil legal aid have in common?  Plenty, according to President Obama who recently issued a presidential memorandum formally establishing the White House Legal Aid Interagency Roundtable (LAIR).  The presidential memorandum was announced by Roy Austin Jr., Deputy Assistant to the President for Urban Affairs, Justice and Opportunity as well as Ambassador Samantha Power, U.S. Permanent Representative to the United Nations at an event held on the eve of the UN’s Sustainable Development Summit in New York.  The event highlighted the inclusion of Goal 16 in the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.  Goal 16 calls for the promotion of peaceful and inclusive societies for sustainable development, for access to justice for all and for the building of effective, accountable and inclusive institutions at all levels.  With Goal 16, the international community has recognized that access to justice is essential to sustainable development and necessary to end poverty.” “The Roundtable brings together 17 participating Federal partners to inspire new collaborations to jointly serve the Nation’s poor and middle class, and to better engage civil legal aid providers as Federal grantees, sub-grantees, and partners. Since the inception of the Roundtable, participating agencies have worked with civil legal aid partners, including non-profit organizations and the private bar, through outreach calls, webinars and other strategies to identify areas in which legal services can advance various Federal program objectives, and have been developing legal services-specific language as appropriate new grants and projects come on-line. They also have been working closely with Federal grantees to educate them about the value of collaborating with civil legal aid partners, and several are encouraging and inviting research proposals about the civil justice system.” The Legal Aid Interagency Roundtable “Toolkit” is an online tool designed to provide a roadmap to the ways in which legal services can enhance Federal strategies for serving vulnerable and underserved populations.  (DOJ Justice Blogs)

September 29, 2015 – “Officials with the Legal Aid of North Carolina say that state and federal budget cuts are crippling the agency, resulting in layoffs statewide.” “George Hausen, executive director of Legal Aid of North Carolina, said the agency is in the process of eliminating 45 positions from out of about 300 statewide. The agency lost about $1.4 million in state and other financing last year, Hausen said. Legal Aid could lose another $2 million from the federal government, based on the proposed U.S. House budget, he said. That would be a total of $3.5 million, he said. If the agency loses the $2 million in federal financing, that could mean that Legal Aid would have to cut another 50 positions, Hausen said.” “Hausen said that Legal Aid does not plan to reduce services.” (Winston-Salem Journal)

September 29, 2015 -“Some lawyers on Monday gave the new Staten Island Courthouse glowing reviews, but don’t count the Legal Aid Society among them. The nonprofit group, which represents those who can’t afford an attorney, will file a lawsuit later this week to remove video cameras from interview rooms for lawyers and criminal defendants awaiting arraignment, contending the cameras trample on their clients’ rights.” “‘It is a blatant violation of the attorney-client privilege and doesn’t happen in any other part in the city,’ Justine Luongo, the society’s attorney-in-charge of the criminal practice told reporters at the new $230-million courthouse just hours after its doors opened to the public for the first time. ‘Potentially, what we have here is an evidence-gathering mechanism that violates our clients’ rights.’ Luongo said the society would seek an injunction asking the court to stop the cameras from recording until a ruling is made on their legality. The brief is expected to be filed Wednesday, in either state or federal court. She said the city Correction Department said the cameras were installed for security reasons – a point Legal Aid vigorously contests.”  Many other groups share Legal Aid’s concerns, and will monitor the situation going forward. (Staten Island Live)

September 30, 2015 – “Providing civil legal services to low-income New Yorkers not only benefits the clients directly but benefits society as a whole by reducing spending on social programs and bringing more federal funding into the state, witnesses said at a hearing Tuesday held by Chief Judge Jonathan Lippman in Manhattan. The hearing at the Appellate Division, First Department, was the first of four—one in each of the state’s four judicial departments, that will be held over the next few weeks. Among the speakers was Mayor Bill de Blasio, who said that by investing in legal services to address evictions, homelessness and domestic violence, the city can save money on shelter costs. Additionally, providing services can reduce the cost of litigation and increase the efficiency of the courts, he said.” “This is the sixth year in which Lippman has held hearings to address the ‘justice gap.’ Funding for civil legal services in the Judiciary budget is $85 million in the current fiscal year, up from about $12.5 million in 2011. Lippman will conduct the hearings alongside Chief Administrative Judge Lawrence Marks, New York State Bar Association President David Miranda and the presiding justice for the judicial department where each of the hearings are being held. On Tuesday, the panel included First Department Presiding Justice Luis Gonzalez.” (New York Law Journal)(free subscription required)

Spotlight on Outstanding Public Servants:  

“Since 2009 Attorney Richard S. Ravosa has been helping Massachusetts residents who need to file for bankruptcy, but cannot afford the cost. Ravosa, a native of Springfield, recently won the Paul H. Chapman award given to only five recipients a year from a national pool of nominations by the Atlanta based, Foundation For Improvement of Justice. The award recognizes those whose work improves the local, state, and federal systems of justice in the United States. Ravosa was selected due to his pro bono debt relief program, the Massachusetts Debt Relief Foundation, which he founded in order to represent residents free of charge who cannot afford to hire an attorney to file bankruptcy, but without bankruptcy relief, would be living in poverty or dangerously close to it.”  Congratulations! (Mass Live)

Super Music Bonus!  Music pick from the PSJD Fellow Eulen Jang.

https://youtu.be/j_BNiN_2p24