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

Happy Friday!  The first day of summer is today, and I’ve been reminded often this week of events 50 years ago during a particularly volatile summer in US history.  Most would agree, that summer changed America forever.  So, we look back at those who fought the good fight and strive to help those continuing today to serve in the public interest.

Spotlight on Outstanding Public Servants:  If you know someone we should honor, drop me a line.

Here are the week’s headlines:

• CA poised to require practical skills training AND pro bono before bar admittance;
• Massachusetts Attorney General announces new Summer Public Interest Scholarship;
• NOLO prosecutors commended for bringing down murder rate – PD Office can’t handle indictments;
• Michigan set to overhaul criminal indigent defense system;
• Local nonprofits gain grant to help domestic violence victims in Georgia;
• Could the unpaid internship be gone forever?;
• Another way to create community practices – law school incubator programs;
• NY mandatory disclosure of pro bono hours and contributions will be publicly available;
• And the NY Courts broadened the definition of pro bono for the disclosure requirement;
• DC Bar Foundation grants &700,00 to civil legal services;
• MD Court of Appeals to decide Public Defender access to arrestees;
• Spotlight on Public Service Servants – Lawyer’s Committee for Civil Rights Under Law;
• Super Music Bonus featuring Ashley Matthews, PSJD Fellow!

The summaries:

June 14, 2013 – “A task force of the State Bar of California has recommended that new attorneys be required to complete at least 15 hours of practical skills training and 50 hours of pro bono service before they are admitted to practice. ”  If passed, California would be the first state to require the practical skills training.  The State Bar Board of Trustees could vote as early as October and the measure could be implemented for 2015.  (National Law Journal)

June 14, 2013 – Massachusetts AG Martha Coakley announced the establishment of the Nathaniel Downing Public Interest Internship for the Massachusetts Attorney General’s 2013 Legal Intern Program.  The internship is in honor of Nathaniel S. Downing, a third year law student and employee of the Attorney General’s Medicaid Fraud Division who died unexpectedly last April.  The first recipient is Michelle Bauer.  She will receive “a scholarship over the course of the summer to help further pursue her goals.”  (Mass.gov)

June 14, 2013– In the last 30 days, there have been major indictments of multiple defendants to include multiple counts of murder in the Orleans Parish.  There has been a 22% decrease in homicides year-to-date over last year.  “The public defender’s office in New Orleans called group prosecutions ‘a commendable effort to address the city’s violence.’ But the office noted that effort ‘stresses an already strained public defense office and criminal justice system.'”   With large indictments comes a number of requests for public defenders.  After the PD and conflict offices are exhausted, the other defendants may qualify for contract counsel.  But, with the recent budget cuts, there are not enough contract attorneys to handle the overflow.  Chief Public Defender Derwyn Bunton agreed with District Attorney Cannizzaro’s policy of making the City safe, but he said, “Without resources – including stable, predictable, reliable, adequate funding – many of these cases will go nowhere. You can only prosecute as fast as you can defend.”  (The Times Picayune)

June 14, 2013 – “The Senate and House on Thursday approved identical bills, setting the stage for them to be finalized and sent to the governor as early as next week, to create the Michigan Indigent Defense Commission. The 16-member body would be tasked with researching, developing and enforcing minimum standards for constitutionally-guaranteed legal representation in jurisdictions around the state.”  The system is currently managed at the county level, which can lead to varying levels of representation.  The commission would establish state-wide standards.(MLive)

June 14, 2013– The Judicial Council of Georgia Domestic Violence Committee awarded an almost $1.7 billion grant that “will help bring legal services to around 4,500 people with low income around Georgia who have suffered from domestic violence and are working to bounce back.  A spokeswoman for the Judicial Council reported that the funds are given each year to develop domestic violence training and legal services for victims.”  “For the Fiscal Year 2014, the nonprofits receiving the grant include Atlanta Legal Aid Society, Inc., Gateway House, Georgia Law Center for the Homeless, Georgia Legal Services Program, Northeast Georgia Shelter Collaborative, Northwest Georgia Family Crisis Center, Inc., Peace Place, Salvation Army of Central Georgia and Wayne County Protective Agency/Fair Haven.”(Mableton 11 Alive)

June 15, 2013– Not for every organization, but for for-profit employers, it could be on the decline.  A Georgetown Law Student successfully sued Fox Searchlight Pictures.  “A federal judge in New York ruled this week that Fox Searchlight Pictures violated minimum wage and overtime laws by not paying interns who worked on production of the 2010 movie Black Swan.”  In response to the company’s assertion that the interns gained valuable benefit, the Judge wrote, “Undoubtedly Mr. Glatt and Mr. Footman received some benefits from their internships, such as resume listings, job references and an understanding of how a production office works.  But those benefits were incidental to working in the office like any other employees and were not the result of internships intentionally structured to benefit them.”  This ruling may cause many organizations to rethink their internship programs. (Sun Herald)

June 17, 2013 – Even in a good market, it might be tough for law students and graduates to find their public service niche.  In a down economy, they need all the help they can get.  That is where law school incubator programs can come in.  Similar to law school clinics in structure, one big difference is the number of cases handled.  A typical law graduate in an incubator program could handle 25 cases vs the 1 or 2 in a clinical setting.  But this is not for the faint of heart.  After the term of the program, participants will open their own practices and one must have the drive to serve the community or the venture will fail.  Four schools are featured in the article, but there are about a dozen more programs if you are looking to start one.  (US News)

June 19, 2013 – The pro bono hours and contributions to groups providing legal services that New York lawyers will need to provide on the biennial registration forms will be available to the public.  “It is our responsibility to give it out,” Chief Judge Jonathan Lippman said in a recent interview. “If someone asks for the information, they can have it.”   Some lawyers don’t feel so good about the new rule.  Many are worried about what they consider a disclosure of confidential information.  Some are concerned the next step is mandatory pro bono.  The disclosure requirement has been in place in Illinois, Florida and Maryland for years.  In Maryland and Illinois the information is confidential.  In Florida, it is subject to public disclosure.  (New York Law Journal)

June 19, 2013 – Responding to a major concern that transactional attorneys who frequently advise nonprofit clients in their pro bono practice would be deterred for doing so if it didn’t count as pro bono for the rule, the NY Courts expanded the pro bono definition.   “In response to the objections, the court amended its definition of pro bono for the disclosure rule: lawyers should now use the pro bono interpretation under Rule 6.1 of the Rules of Professional Conduct to report their hours.”  (New York Law Journal)

June 20, 2013– The DC Bar Foundation announced DC Civil Legal Services (DC-CLS) awards totaling $700,000 to support direct civil legal services for the poor and underserved in the District, as well as $7,770 in mid-year Poverty Lawyer LRAP (Loan Repayment Assistance Program) Awards, the latter funded by an appropriation from the District of Columbia Council, and awarded by DCBF pursuant to its grant agreement with the District of Columbia, Office of Victim Services. (DC Bar Foundation)

June 20, 2013 – MD Court of Appeals set to decide when indigent criminal defendants are first entitled to counsel.  The issue is whether lower-income arrestees had the constitutional right to a public defender at the initial stage of the judicial process.   Currently, public defenders are available only after an indigent client has been held as per a commissioner’s decision, and has to appear before a District Court judge for a bail review hearing. (Baltimore News)

Spotlight on Outstanding Public Servants:  In honor of Juneteenth and the 50th Anniversary of dedicated work on behalf of those who couldn’t fight for themselves, today we honor the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law.  Conceived by President John F. Kennedy on this date in 1963, it enlisted the private bar’s leadership and resources in combating racial discrimination and the resulting inequality of opportunity.  And work still remains.  You can help in moving America toward justice.  Here’s how.

Super Music Bonus! From PSJD Fellow Ashley M. – If I Had A Hammer – the Trini Lopez version hit the charts in the Summer of 1963.  Enjoy!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1AvULw1mfJA

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

Happy Friday!  And Happy Father’s Day to all those Dads, Grandads, and Dads in spirit.  We so appreciate you!!

Spotlight on Outstanding Public Servants:  If you know someone we should honor, drop me a line.

Here are the week’s headlines:

• Legal Sector sheds 500 jobs in May;
• Texas State Bar budget includes funding for pro bono fellowships;
• Law School clinics provide legal services worthy of a fee award;
• ABA announces 2013 Innovation Grants;
• The unpaid internship debate rages in Canada as well;
• NJ proposed bill would allow money from increased court fees to go to legal aid;
• Harvard is taking the school funded fellowship to the next level;
• Good tips for taking on pro bono at any experience level;
• Another federal defender victim of sequestration – complex or high-profile cases;
• Legal Services NYC strike taking toll on clients;
• Senator urges funding for law school clinics to help vets;
• Spotlight on Public Service Servants – Shout out to Touro Law School’s Disaster Relief Clinic;
• Super Music Bonus featuring Ashley Matthews, PSJD Fellow!

The summaries:

June 7, 2013 – The legal sector shed 500 jobs in May, but may not be a sign of continuing bad times.  “While the legal sector lost jobs in May, that did not significantly affect the number of people employed in the legal industry, which remained about 1.129 million, the bureau said. The report also showed there were 7,800 more people employed in the sector in May compared to the same time in 2012.”  Could this be a sign of improvement?  (Thomson Reuters)

June 7, 2013 – Subscription required – In response to a controversy over pro se divorce forms, “the next budget for the State Bar of Texas includes funding for fellowships for three new legal-aid family lawyers and for launching a pro bono awareness campaign.”  (Texas Lawyer)

June 7, 2013 – Apparently it took a court ruling to confirm what we already know – law school clinics provide “real” and valuable representation.  In a case that took more than 4 years, Fordham University School of Law’s Family Advocacy Clinic aksed the New York City Department of Education for legal fees.  The Department objected saying much of the work was for educational purposes only.  Not so, responded the Judge.  He acknowledged that while some of the hours should be cut because it might have been duplicative for learning purposes, most of the hours billed were legitimate.   (National Law Journal)

June 7, 2013 – The ABA Access to Justice Commission Expansion Project announces its 2013 Innovation Grants.  These grants “promote innovation by encouraging Access to Justice Commissions to develop and test innovative new projects replicable in other states and expand the scope of their ongoing activities into broad new areas beyond existing work. Grants target critical areas of potential innovation.”  The other goal is to replicate these innovations elsewhere.  (ABA)

June 10, 2013 – With fewer law firms hiring articling students and more students graduating from law school every year, the possibility of students taking unpaid articling opportunities has risen sharply.  The applicable rules are very similar to those in the US.  There is agreement that law students should have an opportunity to work on pro bono cases with law firms for free.  There is also a strong argument detailing the deleterious effects of unpaid internships.  (Canadian Lawyer Magazine)

June 10, 2013 – Proposed legislation in New Jersey would allow the NJ Supreme Court to raise court fees to fund modernizing the record-keeping system and provide a steady source of additional funding for legal aid.  If enacted, the bill would go into effect July 1, 2013. (NJToday)

June 10, 2013 – Taking on pro bono work, especially for law students and younger attorneys, may seem daunting.  As more states appear poised to require some amount of pro bono hours prior to admittance to the Bar, we’re going to see more students who never thought about pro bono before having to find resources and get it done.  Here are some great tips from our friends at the Washington State Bar Association that might help.  (Washington State Bar Association NWSidebar)

June 11, 2013 – Those who know me know a big issue for me is funding for students to go out and make their dreams a reality.  Harvard Law School has taken up the call.  “Sixteen public service visionaries and social entrepreneurs from Harvard Law School have been selected as the inaugural recipients of grants from the Public Service Venture Fund, a unique program which will award up to $1 million each year to help graduating Harvard Law students and recent graduates obtain their ideal jobs in public service—even if those jobs don’t yet exist.”  The program is in response to the greater demand for more funding options for student-led projects.  (Press Release – HLS)

June 12, 2013 – The Federal Defender in Idaho is requesting withdrawal from a terrorism case due to limited resources.  In making the request, Executive Director Samuel Richard Rubin correctly points out that their responsibility is to handle 74% of federal indigent defense in Idaho.  That would become much more difficult if the resources required to be expended in the case were used in just one case.  The Judge has yet to respond to the motion.   (NPR as reported by Minnesota Public Radio)

June 12, 2013 – As the Legal Services NYC strike enters its second month, services have been affected.  A sign on the door of the Harlem office says they are not accepting any new clients. Potential clients are being referred to other legal aid organizations.  (WNYC News)

June 12, 2013 – U.S. Sen. Jeanne Shaheen urged members of the Senate Committee on Veterans Affairs Wednesday to pass a bill that would enhance law school programs that provide free legal services to veterans.  The bill she co-sponsored “would allow the VA to coordinate with law schools that offer legal services to veterans. She said 18 states have law school clinics for veterans but the goal is to have one in every state.”  (Air Force Times)

Spotlight on Outstanding Public Servants:  This week we say thank you to Touro’s Disaster Relief Clinic and the many like it who are helping folks after natural disasters.  Long after the news media moves on to the next story, thousands of people with complicated legal problems are left behind.  This is where law students are so valuable!  Check out the details of one of their cases.  (Long Island News 12)

Super Music Bonus! PSJD Fellow Ashley M. says Happy Father’s Day from PSJD (she let me pick this one :))  She may never let me choose one again.  Enjoy!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wIt0NLJQvTY

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

Happy Friday! Welcome to June.  I hope those of you attending the Diversity Summit are enjoying the wonderful programming and camaraderie.

Spotlight on Outstanding Public Servants:  If you know someone we should honor, drop me a line.

Today we congratulate the 2013 ABA Pro Bono Publico Award winners.

Here are the week’s headlines:

• Pro Bono Institute summary of Marketplace of Ideas;
• July hike in student loan interest rates explained;
• Student loans part II – a good summary of the legislation;
• A break down of which states have the highest/lowest law graduate to legal job ratio;
• Burlington, Mt Vernon public defenders on trial;
• Florida’s capital punishment system going from bad to worse?;
• Missouri bill could ease public defender caseload;
• Boston Bar task force examines legal aid issues in state;
• Laura and John Arnold Foundation Announces Partnership with Louisville Metro Government to Improve Criminal Justice system;
• California Senate Passes Law to Revoke Status of Nonprofits With Anti-Gay Policies;
• Law graduate discharges student loan in bankruptcy;
• Update: Talks resume in Legal Services NYC strike;
• Late bar exam results negatively impacting graduate employment statistics;
• Spotlight on Public Service Servants – ABA Pro Bono Publico Winners
• Super Music Bonus featuring Ashley Matthews, PSJD Fellow!

The summaries:

May 30, 2013 – The Pro Bono Institute held its annual conference, which included two dynamic sessions entitled “Marketplace of Ideas.”  Here organizations discussed their pro bono innovations.  Check them out.  (PBEye)

June 3, 2013 – Ok, I think everyone knows by now that student loan repayment is not my strong suit.  Well, here is an article that explains the pending hike in interest rates in terms that even I can understand.   The good news is the interest rates will only increase on federally subsidized Stafford Loans, which are need-based and for undergraduate students only.  But stay tuned, there is proposed legislation that would effect law student loans and debt that we will be following closely.  (ABC News)

June 3, 2013 – Student loan crisis, part II.  Here is a pretty good summary of the proposed legislation.  (Tuition IO)

June 3, 2013 – By now we all know that the law school graduate legal job ratio is not 1-1.  For those folks counseling students with some geographic flexibility, this article may be of some use.  Unfortunately, as with most things, the data lags, so this is based on 2011 employment data.  But, according to this analysis, Alaska, Wyoming and Nevada are the best bets.  (The Atlantic)

June 3, 2013 – The public defenders in Burlington and Mt Vernon, Washington go on trial today.  “They are accused of spending little or no time on client cases.”  “The suit is asking a federal judge to require the cities to appoint supervisors to make sure the public defenders are doing all they can for their clients. ”   (MyNorthwest.com)

June 3, 2013 – A debate over the Timely Justice Act in Florida is highlighting the potentially dismal defense those accused of capital crimes could face because their public defenders are so overworked and underfunded.  “The measure would require the governor to sign a convicted murderer’s death warrant within 30 days after the conclusion of all appeals and would require an execution by lethal injection to take place within 180 days. It also limits the appellate options available to defense attorneys fighting on behalf of their clients and seeks to ensure — feebly, under the circumstances — that death row inmates are given better representation by their court-appointed counsel.”  In a state which has averaged more than one capital exoneration every two years since 1973, moving the capital punishment system to go faster does not seem like a good solution to the problem.   (The Atlantic)

June 3, 2013 – “Legislation that could ease the caseload of Missouri public defenders is being considered by Gov. Jay Nixon.”  The bill would allow the public defender system to petition the presiding judge of a judicial circuit for a conference to discuss caseload issues. The judge could then decide whether to grant relief in a particular case.  (the News Tribune)

June 3, 2013 – “This first stage will involve determining which geographic and demographic segments of the Commonwealth are in greatest need of civil legal aid, but not getting it, said J. D. Smeallie, president of the Boston Bar, in a statement.”  The next steps will be to identify ways to deliver civil legal aid in the most cost effective manner.  Additionally, a Supreme Judicial Court decision which took effect in January will allow corporate counsel who are not licensed in Massachusetts to provide pro bono legal aid.  (Boston Business Journal)

June 4, 2013 – The Laura and John Arnold Foundation (LJAF) has announced a multi-year partnership with the Louisville Metro government to increase public safety and make the criminal justice system more cost-effective, efficient, and fair.  The focus of the grant is to use data-driven solutions, technology, and analytics to reduce crime, promote just outcomes, and make the best use of public resources.  The Foundation plans to evaluate which tools and system reforms work best and replicate them nationwide.  One of the areas the Mayor hopes to address with the grant is overcrowded jails.  The focus of the project is the front end of the criminal justice system from arrest to sentencing.  (The Foundation Center)

June 5, 2013 – The California Senate passed the Youth Equality Act, which would require tax-exempt organizations that discriminate to pay state taxes, while donors supporting such groups would have to pay taxes on their donations. The bill now advances to the state assembly. (Sacramento Bee)

June 5, 2013 – A law student has been allowed to discharge most of his student loan debt in bankruptcy.  The facts of this case are fairly specific, but this ruling by the Ninth Circuit could have a widespread impact on student loan debt.  In this case, the individual failed the bar twice (thus losing his attorney job) and then missed the third test due to a mishap.  Since then, he has made every effort to pay his monthly payment, including accepting a garnishment of wages.  When the lender sought to increase the garnishment to something he couldn’t afford, he filed for bankruptcy.  One of the keys to this discharge is that the borrower did everything in his power to repay the debt.  But, I’m certain there are equally as compelling stories out there, so this is something to watch.  (Morning Money)

June 5, 2013 – Both sides are negotiating in good faith and seem to be making progress on some key sticking points.  Union and management officials are hopeful as they resume talks.  The strike is now in its third week.  (New York Law Journal)

June 6, 2013 – Law school deans across the country have concerns that late bar exam results are having a significant negative impact on graduate employment statistics.  In response, the “ABA’s Council of the Section of Legal Education and Admissions to the Bar on Friday will take up a proposal to move the data collection timeline from nine months after graduation to 10 months. The council’s data policy and collection committee, which put forth the proposal, said it is an effort to level the playing field between states that release bar exam results and admit new lawyers relatively quickly, and states that take more time.”  “Should the council sign off, the new timeline could go into effect for this year’s graduating class, said Barry Currier, the ABA’s managing director of accreditation and legal education. ”  Note: NALP Executive Director James Leipold contributed to this story.  (The National Law Journal)

May 30, 2013 – “Gov. Rick Perry has signed into law a bill that will increase funds dedicated to legal aid for indigent Texans from civil penalties and civil restitution recovered by the Texas attorney general.  House Bill 1445, authored by State Rep. Senfronia Thompson, D-Houston, will raise the cap on the amount of money raised through civil penalties and civil restitution that can be dedicated to legal aid for indigent Texans.”  (Austin Business Journal)

Spotlight on Outstanding Public Servants:  The ABA Pro Bono Publico Award is presented each year by the Standing Committee on Pro Bono and Public Service to honor individual lawyers, law firms, law schools, government attorney offices, corporate law departments and other institutions in the legal profession that have enhanced the human dignity of others by improving or delivering volunteer legal services to the poor.  The recipients are:  Bruce B. Blackwell | Orlando, FL; Jeffrey Trachtman | New York, NY; Patricia Lee | Las Vegas, NV; Exelon | Chicago, IL; Leonard, Street and Deinard | Minneapolis, MN  (ABA)

Super Music Bonus! PSJD Fellow Ashley M. keeps bringing the fun with a particularly applicable choice! Enjoy!

This is dedicated to all the public interest law grads struggling to pay off their student loans:

by Christina Jackson

Happy Friday!  I can’t believe it’s the end of May already.  Now it’s time to turn our attentions to summer interns and summer counseling.  It’s also the time to update resources, so stay tuned.  And here’s this week’s headlines.

Spotlight on Outstanding Public Servants:  If you know someone we should honor, drop me a line.

Here are the week’s headlines:

• Is access to a computer for legal research the same as access to the courts?;
• Six entities in Alabama receive funds to help families facing forclosure;
• Law Schools – veteran’s benefits an area begging for pro bono;
• OPM launches new job search and operating status apps;
• Penn Law launches new center to improve U.S. justice system;
• New pro bono program provides DCF (Connecticut) kids with legal representation;
• New York Chief Judge Jonathan Lippman creates advisory group to examine role of non-lawyer advocates in legal service to the poor;
• Cuts in staff at Gulfcoast Legal Services could mean a loss of funding and closing of an office;
• ABA says law students should be able to work for free on pro bono matters;
• Federal Government posting jobs during sequester;
• Are ethics rules impairing access to justice?;
• Federal Defender furloughs increased to 20 days;
• Texas legal aid increase signed into law;
• Spotlight on Public Service Servants – ProBono.net
• Super Music Bonus featuring Ashley Matthews, PSJD Fellow!

Read the rest of this entry »

by Christina Jackson, Director of Public Service Initiatives & Fellowships

Happy Memorial Day weekend everyone!  It’s been quite a week, so let’s get to it. . .

Spotlight on Outstanding Public Servants:  This week we congratulate and say thank you to Assistant Dean Eve Biskind Klothen of Rutgers School of Law-Camden.  She retires after 11 years directing the pro bono and public interest programs.

Here are the week’s headlines:

• New proposal for lessening student loan debt – reduce number of undgrad years required for a JD;
• Juris Master programs on the rise?;
• Muskegon County, Michigan creates a Public Defender Department;
• A Federal District Judge in Omaha has an interesting solution to cuts in indigent defense due to the sequester;
• Bay Area Rural Access to Justice Collaborative launched;
• Let in-house corporate counsel do pro bono work  – An “easy” way to add more pro bono attorneys to the mix, right?;
• University of Kansas School of Law cutting incoming 1L class size.  Should other schools follow suit?;
• NJ Public Defenders sue to halt closing of jail;
• Dean of the University of Arkansas School of Law pledges money to create Fund for summer stipend for students committed to committed to public interest work and rural community sustainability;
• Ron Flagg appointed as Vice President of Legal Affairs for Legal Services Corporation;
• LSC to provide grants for legal assistance for Sandy victims;
• “Low Bono” an emerging trend in the practice of public service law;
• Florida Governor Rick Scott vetoes legal aid appropriation;
• Miami-Dade public defender allowed to withdraw from cases due to workload;
• Spotlight on Public Service Servants – If there is someone you think we should recognize, let me know.
• Super Music Bonus featuring Ashley Matthews, PSJD Fellow!

The summaries:

May 18, 2013 – In an interesting twist on the debate about how we balance the high debt load of law students against the shrinking job market.  Instead of the usual calls to lower law school tuition or shortening JD programs, the National Law Journal suggests reducing the required undergraduate general education.  The Journal posits that since, in their opinion, many JD programs have a component of general education to them, that a 4-year undergraduate degree might not be required to go to law school.  It is an interesting theory with a good comparison to the European model of legal education.  What do you think?  (from the National Law Journal)

May 18, 2013 – Need legal knowledge, but don’t want a JD and don’t need to sit for a Bar?  That’s the population the Juris Masters programs want to attract.  Emory Law School is the latest in a string of nearly 30 law schools that have or soon will offer a master’s degree for nonlawyers, up from just a handful two years ago.  This move is just one way schools are responding to the economic impact of reduced applications for the traditional JD program.  (from the Connecticut Law Tribune)

May 20, 2013 – “Muskegon County is taking a step forward in its ability to provide indigent defense services in the county.”  The new department will consist of a staff of 16, including the County Public Defender, two senior Assistant Public Defenders, two more junior attorneys, and one entry-level attorney.  Officials are planning for the office to open January 1, 2014.  (from LegalNews.com)

May 20, 2013 – U.S. District Judge wrote on his blog that he is “seriously contemplating” dismissing a number of criminal immigration cases where the crime is being in the U.S. illegally.   He said this “will free up the 10 federal public defenders in Omaha and Lincoln who have a constitutional obligation to defend an accused person who cannot afford to hire counsel.”  A representative from the US Attorney’s Office said this would just mean they would have to refile the cases.  The Judge responded that he would dismiss then again.  While I’m not sure this is the solution to sequestration, this article does demonstrate the very dire circumstances already very strapped public defender offices find themselves. (from the DailyDealOmaha)

May 20, 2013 – “OneJustice and Cooley LLP, in collaboration with other Bay Area law firms and legal service providers, have launched the Bay Area Rural Justice Collaborative.” The Collaborative was developed to meet the goals of the Association of Pro Bono Counsel’s (APBCo) IMPACT Project. The objective of the IMPACT Project is to design innovative and sustainable new solutions that will increase access to free legal services by utilizing pro bono volunteers.  The first of eleven free clinics set to be held over the next three months focused on immigration.  Subsequent clinics will focus on housing or immigration issues.  (from Stockhouse)

May 21, 2013 – like this guest blogger for the Pro Bono Institute, I thought a great way to get more lawyers involved in pro bono is to allow a pro bono exception to the in-house counsel rules in all states.  I now see that’s it’s much more complicated than that for a number of good reasons.  Adam Hellman, Senior Associate General Counsel in the UnitedHealth Group Corporate Legal Department, and member of the PBI/CPBO Multijurisdictional Practice Task Force provides good insight on why this is still a work in process.  (from the Pro Bono Institute The PBEye)

May 21, 2013 – The University of Kansas School of Law is cutting the size of its incoming class in light of dwindling applications.  Law schools across the country are seeing a decrease in the number of law school applications.  So, schools will have to either cut class sizes or accept students with potentially lower credentials.  Either solution could have broad implications for the public service sector.  What do you think is the right way to go?  (from the Kansas City Business Journal)

May 21, 2013 – Access to justice also means being able to find your client when you want to talk to him.  That is one premise of the lawsuit filed by New Jersey’s public defenders want to stop Gloucester County from closing its county jail and splitting its 250 to 350 inmates among four other county jails.  The public defenders rely on jail visits to meet with their clients because there is no other workable space.  If moved, the inmates would have even less access to their attorneys.  Burlington County Superior Court Judge Ronald E. Bookbinder will hear arguments May 24. (from Philly.com)

May 21, 2013 – The Legal Services Corporation announced today the appointment of Ronald S. Flagg, senior counsel in the Washington, DC office of Sidley Austin LLP, to the position of vice president for legal affairs, general counsel, and corporate secretary.  He previously served in a number of public service positions including president of the DC Bar, chair of the DC Bar Pro Bono Committee, chair of the Governing Board of the AARP Legal Counsel for the Elderly, and member of the board of the Washington Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights and Urban Affairs and LSC’s Pro Bono Task Force.  He currently chairs the board of the National Veterans Legal Services Program. (Press Release from LSC)

May 22, 2013 – Also from LSC – Legal Services Corp. will provide $950,000 in legal assistance to low-income people (that appropriations was reduced by $50,000 due to sequestration) and another $250,000 in financial assistance to cover damages caused by Sandy. All applications for these LSC grants must be submitted by June 21.  (from Government Security News)

May 22, 2013 – Stacey L. Leeds, Dean of the University of Arkansas School of Law, pledged $50,000 for an endowed fund to support JD and Master of Law students committed to public interest work and rural community sustainability. The Public Interest and Rural Community Sustainability Fund will provide summer stipends to students who are pursuing public interest law or working with private firms in underserved communities. The Fund will allow students to accept jobs in sectors where they may not otherwise be paid for their work or where compensation is well below market rates compared to positions at private firms in the region.  The ultimate goal of the fund is to address problems of access to justice and rural economic development.  (from the University of Arkansas Newswire)

May 23, 2013 – Low Bono is a phrase we’re going to be talking about a lot more in the coming months.  The idea is to capture the clients who are currently going unrepresented because they make too much for legal aid but not enough to afford a private attorney.  Several recent Quinnipiac University School of Law grads are among many recent grads who are hoping this is a trend that’s going to catch on quick.  (from Law.com)

May 23, 2013 – Florida Gov. Rick Scott vetoes a $1million appropriation for legal aid as part of a series of appropriation vetoes.  The money would have gone to help in cases of elder and child abuse, domestic violence, disabilities, consumer fraud and immigration.  (from the SaintPetersBlog)

May 23, 2013 – “Describing what it called a ‘damning indictment’ of representation for poor criminal defendants, the Florida Supreme Court on Thursday ruled that the Miami-Dade County public defender’s office could withdraw from a large chunk of felony cases because of excessive workloads.”  This decision is a resolution of two related cases pending since 2008.  (from the Miami Herald)

Spotlight on Outstanding Public Servants:  “As a female student in the male-dominated law school culture of the early 1970s, Eve Biskind Klothen had such a terrible time that she figured she would leave, go into public-interest law, and never return to academia.”   But return she did, and made both Rutgers Law School-Camden and her community a better place.  She created a culture of service at the law school, where pro bono has become an important and expected part of the law student experience.  This is how she describes a law school’s duty to its community in civil cases where no right to counsel currently exists.  “A lot is at stake in those civil cases – you can be thrown out of your home, you can lose your child, you can lose your job. There are all kinds of really critical things that get litigated in civil actions, and if you can’t afford counsel, sadly, that’s too bad,” Dean Klothen says. “There is no meaningful access to justice without access to counsel, and because lawyers have a monopoly on the courthouse, they really hold the keys.”  She has put the philosophy into action by expanding the program and giving 1Ls and 2Ls the opportunity to contribute.  Congratulations to Dean Klothen on a wonderful career and an even better contribution to her community.  (Complete article from Philly.com)

Super Music Bonus! PSJD Fellow Ashley M. is kicking off the long weekend right with a Stepkids’ Jazz Cover of the Top 40 hit “Suit & Tie” by Justin Timberlake ft. Jay-Z. Enjoy!

Happy Friday folks!  Let me first introduce myself – I am Christina Jackson, the new Director of Public Service Initiatives & Fellowships.  For those of you who don’t know me, I come from a law school counseling background after many years of law practice.  I was most recently at American University Washington College of Law.  I appreciate Steve in so many ways, but never more so than when I would read his weekly News Digests.  I think it’s going to take me a little while to get used to reading news with an eye toward what the entire public service sector may want and need, but hopefully this first installment gets it done.   The News Digest will now be posted as a Discussion so that those who want to comment may do so, and we will continue the weekly format.  There is a story below that rehashes what we already know – big justice gap that should be met with unemployed lawyers.  Easier said than done, but it’s always good to continue exploring ways we can get lawyers where they are needed most.

New Feature:  Spotlight on Outstanding Public Servants.  Last week was Public Service Recognition Week.  Well, I think that should be every day.  So in each issue (I hope), we will be highlighting great work by great people!  And today we have an amazing story.

And in homage to Steve, the PSJD Fellow, Ashley Matthews, will provide us with the weekly music bonus.  So here we go. . .

Here are the week’s headlines:

• New York lawyers must now disclose pro bono hours;
• UMMC, Center for Justice form partnership to benefit those with HIV/AIDS;
• Legal Services New York staff goes on strike;
• Time to put lawyers back to work in the public service – my thoughts exactly;
• Another law school tries a 2-year law degree model;
• Are law schools changing their admissions standards in the wrong way?;
• 2013 Equal Justice Conference;
• Equal Justice Works announces 2013 EJW Fellows;
• Legal Aid is coming to Osceola County, Florida;
• New Jersey may be the next state to require pro bono;
• Spotlight on Public Service Servants – John Meynink, a Coos County public defender, retiring after 30 YEARS!
• Super Music Bonus featuring Ashley Matthews, PSJD Fellow!

The summaries:

May 6, 2013 – this story’s password-protected, but FYI: New York lawyers must disclose on their biennial registration forms how many pro bono hours they provided and the amount of financial contributions they made to pro bono programs during the previous two years.  From the Legal Intelligencer

• May 14, 2013 – Op Ed response to the mandatory disclosure requirement – from the New York Law Journal

May 9, 2013 – “The University of Mississippi Medical Center and the Mississippi Center for Justice, both in Jackson, are forming a partnership aimed at providing free civil legal services for people living with HIV and AIDS.  The Center for Justice, a nonprofit public interest law firm, will offer on-site legal assistance at the Crossroads Clinics. The assistance will focus primarily on HIV-related housing and employment discrimination.”  (Story from the Mississippi Business Journal)

May 15, 2013 – from the Wall Street Journal and Thomas Reuters: The staff of Legal Services NYC, the largest civil legal services provider in the country, went on strike Wednesday morning for the first time in two decades.  More than 200 attorneys, paralegals and other employees voted overwhelmingly to reject management’s proposal for a new two-year labor contract.  The union has worked without a contract since July 2012. The last strike, in 1993, lasted for a month.

• And continuing coverage from the New York Law Journal regarding the “significant cut” in intakes.

May 16, 2013 – “A recent report by the non-profit Legal Services Corporation cites estimates that at least 50 percent of Americans who qualify for free legal assistance because of their income or needs don’t get the help they need because legal aid organizations don’t have the funding or capacity to meet their needs. That’s a large number when you consider that 61.4 million Americans qualify for legal assistance from non-profit and government-funded programs — a number that has increased by more than 10 million since 2007.”  This is something we all know, but the Huffington Post does a good job of consolidating statistics on the issue.  (Story from the Huffington Post)

May 16, 2013 – Brooklyn Law School joins a few other schools in offering a 2-year JD program.  It is a 24 month program with no breaks, making it a very intense program.  There will be a separate admissions process for this program.  The program was created in an effort to target a new group of students who may not want to take off 3 years to gain a law degree and in relation to declining enrollment.  (from the ABA Journal and the National Law Journal)

May 16, 2013 – For my law school peeps – here is one example of how law schools may be reacting to lower application rates nationally.  Many law schools are considering other factors (other than LSAT scores) in admissions.  This was a big topic of news this week, so I leave it to you to discuss whether this is a good or bad trend.  (from the ABA Journal)

May 16, 2013 –  The Equal Justice Conference was held last week, and by all accounts was fantastic.  Sponsored by the ABA and the National Legal Aid and Defender Association, it ”brings together all components of the legal community to discuss equal justice issues as they relate to the delivery of legal services to the poor and low-income individuals in need of legal assistance.”  If, like me, you were unable to attend this year, you can access the workshops and materials on the ABA website.

May 16, 2013 – Equal Justice Works announces it 57 2013 EJW Fellows with a variety of projects in 11 states.  The complete list of fellows is now available.

May 16, 2013 – The Osceola County (Florida) Bar Association voted to establish the first legal aid society in the county.  The organization will initially focus on family law, veteran’s affairs, and credit card mediation.  (from the Orlando Sentinel).

May 17, 2013 – A committee made up of attorneys, law school officials and retired judges has recommended the NJ follow NY’s lead and adopt a 50 hour pro bono requirement in order to sit for the Bar.  The proposal is based on a broad definition of pro bono, which includes a number of existing law school programs, such as clinics, internships and clerkships.  The committee will accept public comments on the proposal through June 21Under the proposal, the pro bono rule would apply to anyone admitted to the New Jersey bar after Jan. 1, 2015, as is the case with New York’s requirement. (from Thompson Reuters)

Spotlight on Outstanding Public Servants:  John Meynink, a Coos County public defender, is retiring after 30 years on the Southwestern Oregon Public Defenders Office.  For more about this outstanding individual, here is the full article from The World.

Super Music Bonus!  Our PSJD Fellow Ashley Matthews is fabulous!  One of the things I love about her is her wide-ranging taste in music.  So to honor Steve’s tradition and to get a new voice into the conversation – here is Ashley’s first super music bonus (a double!):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zz1ntKkWitQ

By: Steve Grumm

Happy Friday, folks.  As many of you know I’m leaving NALP to take a position directing the ABA’s Resource Center for Access to Justice Initiatives.  I’m excited to join the ABA and to focus squarely on ATJ work, but there is much I will miss about NALP, PSJD, and the community I’ve worked in for the past seven-plus years.

I joke sometimes that this weekly blog post’s readership consists of four people.  I’m just being modest, of course.  The readership is nearly double that.  Well, in fact it’s a little larger, but I’m not setting any Web-traffic records either.  Numbers aside, what I see when I look at my email distribution list for this weekly post is a group of people who operate in every corner of the public interest legal world: law school administrators and clinicians, law students, nonprofit and government lawyers, legal-aid executive directors, law firm pro bono counsel, bar association officials, and so on and forth.  I’ve worked with a remarkably diverse, talented group of individuals.  I’m grateful for that.

What will become of the Public Interest News Bulletin? It will enter into a brief, late-winter hibernation.  But a few weeks from now NALP will return to publishing the bulletin here on the PSJD Blog.  Keep any eye out for it.  In the meantime, if you want to read a newsletter focused on the larger legal industry then check out my boss’s weekly offering here (updated every Friday).  I’ve learned a lot from Jim’s observations on the business of law and his aggregation of the week’s important stories – despite the inexplicable lack of a Super Music Bonus.

Separate from that, in early March I will begin publishing a weekly access-to-justice news digest on a new platform.  If you would like to receive this digest, please email me at sgrumm[at]hotmail.com.  I’ll add you to the distribution.

I don’t think of myself as a sappy person.  But my NALP departure has me thinking all the way back to my arrival in the public interest world.  It came when I served for a year, just after college, as a Jesuit Volunteer in the Northwest Justice Project’s Yakima office.  One of my enduring memories is of reading a quote which was framed and nestled in the bookcase of the first legal aid lawyer I met – Don Kinney.  Here’s the quote, penned by Bonaro Overstreet:

You say the little efforts that I make
will do no good: they never will prevail
to tip the hovering scale
where justice hangs in balance.

I don’t think I ever thought they would.
But I am prejudiced beyond debate
in favor of my right to choose which side
shall feel the stubborn ounces of my weight.

That quote’s appeared in some form or fashion in every office I’ve occupied since that experience in 1999.  It’s pegged to a corkboard next to me right now.  And it will follow me to Chicago, where I look forward to placing my stubborn ounces on the scales of (access to) justice.   Thanks for reading this blog post for the past few years.  Let’s stay in touch.

Okay, the week’s news in very, very short:

• $800K in class action residuals going to Legal Aid of W. Missouri;
• a new social justice center at Temple Law (hey, I went to school there!);
• debate continues on how to fix the Show Me State’s public defense system;
• New York Law School offers scholarships to government employees;
• recap of recently passed ABA resolutions impacting ATJ;
• pay Montana public defenders more;
• California county bows to pressure and starts assigning defenders at felony arraignments;
• corporate pro bono in Canada;
• find more funding for Wisconsin’s public defense program;
• a Georgia county’s public defense program closes;
• the “business case for pro bono” is made outside the legal arena;
• some changes in providing legal aid to low-income seniors in N. California;
• Super Music Bonus!

The summaries:

• 2.14.13 – from a press release: “Legal Aid of Western Missouri has received nearly $800,000 in additional funding to help provide services to low-income families in the state.  The funds are residual proceeds from a class action lawsuit settled in 2011 titled Allen & Lande v. UMB Bank. The court-approved settlement was secured by plaintiffs’ attorneys from the law firms of Tycko & Zavareei LLP, Stueve Siegel Hanson LLP and Gray, Ritter & Graham, P.C. The Court’s order approving the settlement provided that settlement checks not presented by individual class members for payment within one year would be distributed to Legal Aid to carry out its charitable mission.”
  
• 2.14.13 – good things from my alma mater.  “The Temple University Beasley School of Law will use a $1.5 million donation to launch a center for social justice.The gift is from plaintiffs attorney Stephen Sheller and his wife, Sandra Sheller, an art and family therapist.  The Stephen and Sandra Sheller Center for Social Justice is slated to open in the spring. It will work with city agencies and nonprofit organizations that focus on social justice throughout the Philadelphia region in areas including civil liberties, consumer protection, the environment and disability rights.” (Short article from the National Law Journal.)

• 2.13.13 – this story’s password-protected, but FYI: “A bill that would transfer the majority of cases from the Missouri State Public Defender system to private attorneys was greeted with both support and skepticism at a House committee hearing Wednesday.”  (Story from the Columbia Missourian.)  And here are dueling op-eds re the state public defense system’s problems (both from St. Louis Public Radio):
  • 1.30.13 – law professor Michael Wolf says the system’s woes stem from a lack of resources;
  • 2.13.13 – prosecutor Jennifer Joyce lays blame at the feet of the system’s management.

• 2.12.13 – “Police, firefighters and other public workers in New York City now have the chance to land a free ride at New York Law School.
  Administrators have announced the Public Service Scholarship Program, which will pay full tuition to three public servants next fall and half-tuition scholarship to 12 more…  The scholarships are open to public workers at the city, state, or federal levels, and recipients may attend either full time or part time. Recipients will be selected based on their [LSAT] scores, their undergraduate grade-point averages and a ‘dedicated commitment to community service’.”  (Story from the National Law Journal.)

• 2.11.13 – recently passed ABA House of Delegates resolutions pertaining to indigent defense and civil legal aid issues:
  • from the ABA Journal: “Resolution 104A urges Congress to create and fund an independent, federally funded Center for Indigent Defense Services to help governments carry out their constitutional obligation to provide effective assistance to indigent defendants…. ”  Resolution 104C urges state lawmakers to pass laws that would prohibit firing a chief public defender or other indigent-services leader who limits acceptance of new clients in a good-faith effort to ensure competent representation.”
  • again, from the ABA Journal: “Resolution 10A approved by the ABA House of Delegates on Monday urges federal lawmakers to assure adequate funding for federal courts and the Legal Services Corp.”
• 2.11.13 – from the Treasure State: “[P]ublic defenders are paid far less than other state-employed attorney and county attorneys. The office has high turnover and high caseloads.  Turnover in the public defenders’ office has been more than 40 percent annually. According to testimony last week at a legislative hearing, public defenders routinely get 600 cases in their first year out of law school….  The appropriations subcommittee got the full picture of the importance of public defenders. We call on all lawmakers, especially those from Yellowstone County, the busiest defenders’ office in the state, to study this problem and help remedy it in the upcoming budget.”  (Editorial from the Billings Gazette.)

• 2.11.13 – “Public defense attorneys are now staffing felony arraignment courtrooms in Contra Costa County, where the prior absence of such attorneys spurred a federal class action lawsuit.  Contra Costa County’s former practice — not uncommon in cash-strapped and rural counties in the nation — was to assign defense attorneys to indigent criminal defendants after their initial court appearance. That meant that people who couldn’t afford bail would sit in jail for up to two weeks before a public attorney would appear at their side in court. Public Defender Robin Lipetzky said that the office had been fighting for money to have deputy public defenders appear at arraignments long before a local attorney in December filed suit in U.S. District Court in Oakland to force the issue. The lawsuit seeks damages for allegedly violating defendants’ Sixth Amendment right to counsel.”  (Full story from the Mercury News.)

• 2.11.13 –  corporate pro bono in Great White North.  The executive director of Pro Bono Law Alberta offers insight as to how and why corporate counsel to get involved in pro bono work.   (Full piece in Canadian Lawyer.)

• 2.10.13 – bolstering Badger State support for indigent defense: “The budget for the state public defender’s office is $83.4 million for fiscal 2013.  And that isn’t enough to keep up with demand.  For instance, the state has fallen behind in its payments to private attorneys who are hired to help handle cases at $40 per hour for in-court work. That rate doesn’t meet industry standard and doesn’t come close to the cost of running a law firm…  In addition, assistant state public defenders have been passed over for a system of pay raises that has been implemented for assistant district attorneys in our state.  The investments required to pay the bills on time and to treat staff equitably are relatively modest. But those moves are the right approach to support a system that is crucial to a fair trial and vital to living up to our constitutional requirements.”  (Full editorial in the Lacrosse Tribune.)

• 2.10.13 – “In a few months the Dougherty County Public Defenders’ Office will close as a cost saving measure.  Starting July 1st Dougherty County will no longer have public defenders on their payroll. It’s been decided that two already vacated public defender positions and two administrative jobs will go away….  Dougherty County’s Public Defenders’ Office has already begun the transition by hiring several contract workers. Officials say the next step is to talk with county leaders to find out how much money will be allotted for more contract positions.”  (Story from FOX 31 in Southwest Georgia.)

• 2.8.13 – this Q&A piece in the Huffington Post explores how Capitol One has incorporated pro bono into its culture, and highlights this accomplishment in the legal arena: “[L]ast year, a pro bono team of 15 volunteers from across Capital One’s IT, Legal, Communications, Supply Chain Management, Business Systems Analysis, and Brand teams partnered with the Virginia Legal community to create a technology solution, called JusticeServer, which matches low-income clients to volunteer attorneys offering pro bono legal services. The new tool came at a critical team for Legal Aid in Central Virginia, which had lost half their staff attorneys, while demand for their services increased by nearly 60 percent.”

• 2.8.13 – “A North Coast nonprofit is expanding its legal offerings to focus on seniors in Lake and Mendocino counties.  Legal Services of Northern California began offering the new services at the start of the year in order to fill the void left by the closure of the Lakeport-based Senior Law Project.The Senior Law Project, which had provided free legal services to seniors in Lake and Mendocino counties, closed after 30 years….”  (Story from the Lake County News.)

Super Music Bonus!  Long-distance drives are one of my true loves, and I’ve logged thousands of miles throughout the country.  I’m about to hop in a moving van and drive to Chicago.  (Driving a U-haul truck through Ohio and Indiana may not prove the most relaxing excursion, but you get my larger point.)  In a country of such size and geographic diversity, an American does herself a huge disservice by not taking the ground-level tour.

In 1995 the band Son Volt released the album “Trace.”  The band’s songwriter, Jay Farrar, was living in St. Louis.  Two bandmates were living in Minneapolis.  Farrar’s girlfriend was living New Orleans.   As a result the album’s writing and recording took place up and down the Mississippi River.  Trace has been referred to as a love poem to America’s mighty river.  And the lyrics reflect that.  The album’s opener is “Windfall.”  It’s a song about healthy restlessness, and the feeling of liberation that comes with movement.  (It’s also the song that taught me that Country & Western music can be cool.)  So here’s “Windfall.”  Cheers.

By: Steve Grumm

Happy Friday, ladies and gents.  Washington, DC has been touched only by a bit of rain today, but a few hundred miles north of here folks are preparing for a large snowfall.  A winter storm is a bittersweet pill: great for some, terrible for others.  As I wrote after Sandy hit the Northeast, storms of this size remind us that we are as much subject to nature as masters of it.  If you are affected by the storm I hope you get through it just swell.

On to this week’s public interest and access-to-justice news, through which we’ll explore Montana public defender salaries, a faith-based ATJ project, and the relationship – if any – between pro bono work and kittens.  The week in very, very short:

• Montana public defense program looking to shore up salaries and attorney retention;
• NYSBA, focusing on civil and criminal legal aid funding, gets behind New York judiciary’s proposed budget.
• progress(?) in a Pennsylvania lawsuit about the alleged inadequacy of a county public defense program;
• a faith-based ATJ innovation in the Volunteer State;
• could/should compulsory law student pro bono be implemented in the UK?;
• government hiring, which had been growing, grows no longer;
• expanding conversation, and action, on pro bono and ATJ;
• the growth of corporate pro bono;
• Super Music Bonus!

The summaries:

• 2.6.13 – “Public attorneys tasked with defending high-profile criminal cases are among the lowest paid in state government, prompting many of them to take jobs as staff attorneys in state agencies and elsewhere, the Office of the Public Defender told lawmakers Wednesday.  Turnover in a year can exceed 40 percent due to pay inequity, agency officials said in arguing that a budget increase is needed to boost pay and add more attorneys to reduce the caseload. Lawyers right out of college are routinely handling 600 cases in their first year….  The public defender’s office is asking for about $5 million in each of the next two years to hire around 37 more staffers, on top of the 209 it has right now, and to increase pay closer to market standards.  A law school graduate…currently receives a starting salary of $43,000, the agency said.”  (Full story from the Billings Gazette.)

• For a little bit of context, according to NALP’s 2012 Public Sector & Public Interest Attorney Salary Report the national median starting salary for defenders was $50,500.  Read the report’s accompanying press release for more data on defender and other public-interest salaries.

• 2.6.13 – “New York State Bar Association President Seymour W. James, Jr. today urged state lawmakers to adequately fund the state Judiciary and provide that ‘all people, including the weak, poor and unpopular as well as those who rely on the courts to resolve their business and commercial disputes,’ have access to the courts.  ‘The effective operation of the court system is crucial to maintaining an orderly society,’ James said in testimony submitted to the fiscal committees of the state Legislature.  James (The Legal Aid Society in New York City) endorsed Chief Judge Jonathan Lippman’s no-growth budget plan for the Unified Court System.”  (Read the full NYSBA announcement, which includes details on how the proposed budget would handle short- and long-term legal aid funding.)
  • Oh, hey, as I’m putting finishing touches on the Bulletin I see this National Law Journal op-ed from Seymour James (who besides being NYSBA president is also the Legal Aid Society’s head criminal defense lawyer: “Just six weeks ago, Congress took last-minute action to avert automatic across-the-board federal budget cuts that would have significantly harmed the federal court system and legal assistance programs for the poor.  With the new March 1 deadline, the federal judiciary and the Legal Services Corp. (LSC) continue to find themselves in dangerous fiscal waters. Their day-to-day operations are threatened by cuts that will devastate the ability of businesses to resolve their disputes, for the middle class to be heard on civil rights and bankruptcy cases, and for our most vulnerable citizens to secure access to justice.  That is why the New York State Bar Association will be proposing a resolution at the upcoming American Bar Association midyear meeting on Monday, February 11, that urges the ABA, the national voice of the profession, to speak out and condemn these cuts.”

• 2.6.13 – from the Keystone State: “A judge has scheduled a conference next month to discuss the failed attempt to settle a lawsuit alleging gross underfunding of the Luzerne County Public Defender’s Office.”  The ACLU of Pennsylvania filed the suit in state court on behalf of the county defender and other plaintiffs.  (Full story from the Citizens Voice.)

• 2.5.13 – “In an effort to reach more people in need of information about legal services, the Tennessee Supreme Court’s Access to Justice Commission has formed a faith-based initiative to engage lawyers within their place of worship.  The Tennessee Faith and Justice Alliance (TFJA) is a program developed by the Access to Justice Commission to support and encourage faith-based groups in Tennessee who commit to providing legal resources to their congregations and communities….  It is one of the first programs of its kind in the country created to align needs seen at the local church level with possible legal resources that are nearby, perhaps even within the same congregation.”  (Full story from The Chattanoogan.)

• 2.4.13 – compulsory law-student pro bono, a la New York State, in the UK?  A piece in The Guardian notes that there is presently no momentum to make this change in legal education, and that there is no infrastructure in place that could support such a program.  Nevertheless, with huge legal aid cuts coming down the pike this spring, “…there is a new call for more law students in the UK to attend pro bono clinics and an increase in partnerships between pro bono organisations and law schools.”

• 2.4.13 – Government hiring on all levels, which had been growing in the recent past, grows no more.  “Federal agencies shed 5,000 jobs in January, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported Friday.  On the whole, government, including the state and local sectors, lost 9,000 jobs during the month. Further losses may be on the horizon, with budget sequestration that would cut tens of billions of dollars from agency budgets looming at the end of February. Several federal agencies already have implemented hiring freezes in anticipation the sequester could go into effect.”   (Story from Government Executive.)

• 2.1.13 – Chicago Volunteer Legal Services director Meg Benson chimes in on how to turn pro bono talk into action: “Pro bono, as a concept, is stronger than ever. Pro bono, as a solution, is also stronger than ever. Pro bono, in practice, continues to limp along.  Why this disconnect? No one in the legal community, either local or national, dares to suggest that pro bono is not awesome. That’s like suggesting that kittens are not adorable. The problem is that, while most people agree that kittens are adorable, many would not have one in their home. Pro bono is like an adorable kitten — we love it, but not in our professional homes.”  Benson goes on to explore two possible reasons why there isn’t more pro bono engagement: 1) many attorneys are not personally touched by access-to-justice issues, and 2) “[m]ost attorneys have not been invited to participate in the access to justice crisis discussions…. At a minimum, we need to invite solo practitioners and attorneys from small and midsize firms to help formulate effective pro bono policies and strategies. This also means involving attorneys from diverse practices such as divorce, real estate, commercial and business, probate, etc.”.  (Read the full piece in the Chicago Lawyer.)
  • On a personal note I do not find kittens to be cute.  They grow up to be cats.  Cats are cunning, untrustworthy creatures.  I’ve met Meg a few times and have a lot of respect for her, but this conflation of kittens and pro bono threatens to shatter my entire pro bono worldview.  Very troubling.

• 1.30.13 – a blog post from the Pro Bono Institute reminds us of the growing role that corporate counsel play in delivering pro bono services, and that the Association of Corporate Counsel has been leading the charge to promote more pro bono from in-house counsel.

Music!  This week’s song, from Canadian songwriter A.C. Newman, is called “Like a Hitman, Like a Dancer.”  The song’s first lines are “Like a hitman, or like a dancer – all muscle.”  I’ve always thought this a clever, artful way to express the idea of two things having exact likeness of form but unlikeness of purpose.  I also love the line in the refrain, “You’re gonna change sides, but you wanted to wait,” which speaks to me about the moral push and pull we feel when forced to choose between what’s right and what’s popular, and how we sometimes cling to the hope that what’s right will become popular.   Enjoy this nearly note-perfect, in-studio performance of “Like a Hitman, Like a Dancer.”

Happy Friday, ladies and gents.  This week’s bulletin brings you two weeks of news (read: your author dropped the ball last week).  A legal education update before that.  This New York Times story suggests that law schools will face smaller student bodies and decreased revenue in the near future.  A National Law Journal piece focuses on the recent enrollment decline.

On to the public interest and access to justice news.  In very, very brief:

• the poor job market in civil legal aid;
• profiles of pro bono champions;
• $1 million in Sandy relief funding to LSC;
• Massachusetts lawyers march for more legal aid funding;
• family law pro bono in the Bay Area;
• controversy over Nebraska’s indigent defense system;
• ditto, Washington State;
• pro bono’s growth in Charm City;
• indigent defense hits the silver screen;
• a recap of two events promoting technology as an ATJ tool;
• the work of Iowa Legal Aid
• MN practice rule change could result in more in-house pro bono;
• New York’s top jurist is intrigued by proposal to allow bar exam after 2 years of law school.

The summaries:

• I just wrote about recently collected data on the civil legal aid job market:  “As has been well documented, the Great Recession led to a great diminution in the funding that supports the civil legal aid community. Federal funding for the Legal Services Corporation (LSC) has been slashed. Interest on lawyers trust account (IOLTA) funding, which supports LSC-funded providers and legal aid providers that don’t receive LSC funds, has bottomed out.  Foremost on the minds of all legal aid stakeholders is the impact that this funding shortage will have on clients, of whom there are recently many more— also a consequence of the recession. One facet of the legal aid funding crisis is the limitation that providers suffer in hiring and retaining attorneys to serve clients. Data compiled separately by LSC and NALP in 2012 shows that strains on funding are drastically limiting the legal aid community’s hiring capacity.”  Here’s the full piece, which reviews the new data,  in the February edition of NALP’s Bulletin.

• Speaking of February editions, the cover story of this month’s ABA Journal is entitled “Working for free: Lawyers incorporating pro bono into their lives talk about its rewards, challenges.”  The piece notes the increasing sophistication of pro bono programs in law firms, and profiles a handful of lawyers who maintain pro bono practices.  “Once perceived and defined as ‘charity work’ governed solely by personal conscience, pro bono has evolved into a professional responsibility and a powerful force inside the practice of law.”

• 1.29.13 – an announcement from LSC: “The Hurricane Sandy Disaster Relief Bill (H.R. 152), which passed the U.S. Senate last night on a 62-36 vote, includes $1 million for the Legal Services Corporation (LSC) to provide assistance to low-income people in areas significantly affected by the super storm.  The House passed an identical version of the bill on January 15^th.  President Obama is expected to sign the bill this week.”

• 1.28.13 – “Lawyers are planning an event to urge Massachusetts lawmakers to increase state funding for civil legal aid for children and adults living in poverty.  ‘Walk to the Hill,’ scheduled for Wednesday, is sponsored by the Equal Justice Coalition, the Boston Bar Association, the Massachusetts Bar Association and other bar associations throughout the state.”  (Short report from the AP.)

• 1.27.12 – from the Bay Area, an Oakland Press story looks at the work of the Family Law Assistance Project, a pro bono clearinghouse through which “more than 150 volunteer attorneys offering their services to low-income Oakland County residents.”

• 1.25.13 – a battle over how county-generated funds are used by Nebraska’s state indigent defense program.  “Omaha Sen. Scott Lautenbaugh has renewed his quest to let Douglas County quit contributing to a state commission that defends indigent people in criminal matters.  That’s because Douglas County rarely uses the commission, most often opting instead for private, court-appointed lawyers to augment its county public defender’s office….  ‘We (in Douglas County) have our own defense bar we retain for indigent defense when our public defender has conflicts,’ Lautenbaugh said. ‘We don’t need the commission, and shouldn’t have to fund such a large portion of it.’  The commission, which has six lawyers and two administrative staffers, has an annual budget of some $1.1 million — all paid for by a $3 surcharge on all state court cases. Douglas County sends some $385,000 to the commission each year, or 35 percent of the commission’s budget.”  (Story from the Lincoln Journal Star.)

• 1.25.13 – from Washington State: “The state Attorney General’s office is trying to put the brakes on a legal settlement that would give public defenders access to the same state pension benefits as prosecutors and other court employees. In a letter earlier this month to attorneys for the plaintiff and King County, AG senior counsel Anne Hall said the settlement appears to violate state law and could be “catastrophic” for the pension plan’s financial health.  Meanwhile, public disclosure documents recently obtained offer new–and some say, troubling–information about a related plan to make public defenders county employees.”  (Story from a Seattle Weekly blog.)

• 1.25.13 – a password-protected Baltimore Business Journal story looks at the growth and sophistication of law firm pro bono programs.

• 1.23.12 – the director/producer of “Gideon’s Army”, a new documentary focusing on public defenders and the country’s indigent defense framework, talks about her film in a New York Times video piece.

• 1.22.13 – LSC’s newly appointed Chief Information Office, Peter Campbell, recounts his experience at two LSC-sponsored events which focused on technology’s role in promoting access to justice.

• 1.20.13 – a local paper highlights the work of Iowa Legal Aid, which has staff of 50 attorneys and coordinates the work of 2,500 volunteer attorneys [who provide] more than $2 million worth of pro bono service each year.”   (Story from the Times-Republican.)

• 1.18.13 – a practice rule amendment in Minnesota makes it easier for in-house counsel to do pro bono work.  (Short story from the Minnesota Lawyer.)

• 1.18.13 – “A proposal to allow students to take the New York Bar Exam after two years of law school has piqued the interest of the state’s top judge.  Court of Appeals Chief Judge Jonathan Lippman stopped short of formally endorsing the idea when it was taken out for a public airing on January 18 at New York University School of Law. But he told the more than 100 gathered legal educators, practitioners and judges that the concept deserves serious study.”  (Story from the National Law Journal.)

• Super Music Bonus: let’s hear a new song from Benjamin Gibbard, with an assist from Aimee Mann.  Here’s a live version of “Bigger Than Love.“

By: Steve Grumm

Happy Friday, folks, from a windy but otherwise beautiful Washington, DC.  I hope your week is wrapping up well.  Ever felt the solo-driver’s frustration at not being able to use the carpool lane?  Ever experienced Bay Area traffic?  Ever wondered for what purposes a corporation is a person?  Mix ’em all together and you get this: “Jonathan Frieman…failed to convince a Marin County Superior Court jurist Monday after he argued that he was not alone when a California Highway Patrol officer pulled him over…while driving in the carpool lane.  Instead, Frieman admitted that he had reached onto the passenger’s seat and handed the officer papers of incorporation connected to his family’s charity foundation.  By Frieman’s estimation, if corporations are indeed persons as was first established in the 1886 Supreme Court case Santa Clara County vs. Southern Pacific Railroad Co., and he offered evidence that a corporation was traveling inside his vehicle – riding shotgun, of course – then two people were in his car.”  Brilliant!

It’s perhaps fitting that Mr. Frieman bears a close resemblance to the highly eccentric Detective John Munch, a character from the old crime drama Homicide: Life on the Street.  For those of you too young to remember Homicide, it was a gritty, critically acclaimed show based on a book by David Simon, who went on to create HBO’s even grittier, even more acclaimed The Wire.  For those of you too young to remember The Wire, well you are indeed too young.

Moving ever closer to topical relevance, it’s noteworthy that officials in New York State are looking at the importance of law school’s third year.  From the National Law Journal:  “Legal educators and top New York state court officials will gather on January 18 to discuss whether to allow candidates to sit for the New York state bar examination after just two years in law school. The idea was floated by Samuel Estreicher, a professor at New York University School of Law, who believes skyrocketing law school tuition and diminishing job prospects for new lawyers have created a climate favorable to reform.”  Here’s a New York Times op-ed co-authored by Professor Estreicher, making the case for change.

One more preliminary: we hosted a webinar this week for law students, focused on drafting the best cover letters and resumes for the summer public interest job search.  The webinar’s archived here.  Critics rave: “The most riveting one-hour spectacle since The Wire!”  On Tuesday, 1/22, at Noon Eastern, our friends at Equal Justice Works are taking the reins to present a webinar on interviewing and networking.  Learn more and register here.

Okay, this week’s public interest and access to justice news in very brief:

• NYC’s Legal Aid Society returns to lower Manhattan office after extended Sandy displacement;
• the Last Resort Exoneration Project is up and running at Seton Hall Law;
• pro bono’s down Down Under;
• IOLTA FDIC insurance change explained;
• is law school pro bono’s future bright?;
• in Gideon’s 50th anniversary year, a criminal justice reform proposal;
• LSC’s TIG conference;
• Super Music Bonus!

The summaries:

• 1.16.13 -“The Legal Aid Society is finally home again.  Hundreds of staffers returned to their headquarters on Tuesday, 2-1/2 months after Superstorm Sandy damaged the building at 199 Water Street and forced them to seek other office space.  The group found refuge at Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom and at Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison, as well as at Legal Aid’s other satellite offices around the city.  The telephone lines remain out of service, but everything else is back to normal, said spokeswoman Pat Bath.  Legal Services NYC and the New York Legal Assistance Group also were displaced by Sandy but have already returned to their offices.  NYLAG’s staff members were housed at UJA-Federation of New York and at a host of law firms around the city before remanning their office at 7 Hanover Square last Thursday, said president Yisroel Schulman.  Legal Services was forced out of its downtown offices for about a week, with most of its lawyers moving to its Harlem office.”  (Story from Thomson-Reuters.)

• 1.16.13 – “In the last 15 years, eight people have been exonerated in New Jersey, the majority with DNA evidence….  In an effort to bring more of these cases to light, the Last Resort Exoneration Project at Seton Hall University School of Law was established to offer pro bono legal services. It is the first and only program dedicated exclusively to the convicted innocent in New Jersey.  The Last Resort Exoneration Project recently filed its first petition…”  (Story from PolitickerNJ.com.)

• 1.14.12 – “The Legal Services Expenditure Report 2011-2012 found that more than half of the top 30 Australasian firms reporting in both 2011 and 2012 registered a decline in pro bono work.  According to the web site Legal Business Online, the report also found that only 11 of the 46 firms that reported their 2012 figures hit the aspirational target of 38 hours of pro bono work per lawyer.”  (Story from the Global Legal Post.)

• 1.14.13 – “With Congress failing to take action to extend unlimited coverage, as of Jan.1, 2013, FDIC insurance available to IOLTA accounts is limited to the standard amount of $250,000 per owner of the funds (client), per financial institution, assuming that the account is properly designated as a trust account and proper accounting of each client’s funds is maintained.”  (This blog post from the Washington State Bar Association goes on to explain how insurance coverage for IOLTA funds has generally reverted back to the pre-Dodd Frank norm.)

• 1.11.13 – David Udell and Liz Tobin Tyler look toward the future of law student pro bono: “Law students have long been key players in important pro bono legal assistance efforts. They engage in a range of access to justice activities―working with mentoring attorneys on pro bono cases, staffing court pro se assistance programs, providing community legal education, and more. But the announcement last spring by the New York Court of Appeals of a 50 hour pro bono requirement for applicants to the New York Bar has brought the role of law student pro bono work into the foreground like never before. What is the role of law student pro bono in addressing the growing justice gap? In providing law students with practical legal skills? In instilling a professional responsibility for pro bono service in new attorneys? The effect of the New York rule―on the focus and structure of existing and developing law school pro bono programs, on law school accreditation standards, and on other state access to justice reform efforts―remains to be seen, but a significant impact seems likely. This article describes current law school pro bono program goals and structures, highlights key elements of the New York pro bono rule, and posits some of the potential implications of this first-of-its kind rule.”  (Full piece on the Bloomberg Law site.)

• 1.8.13 – “The ‘perpetual crisis in indigent defense’ could be lessened by moving minor infractions—including minor drug offenses—out of the criminal justice system, according to a new report by an ABA committee and a national group of criminal defense lawyers.  The report concludes that the criminal justice system is flooded with petty infractions that could be dealt with through two front-end reforms: reclassification and diversion. In reclassification, criminal statutes are changed so that minor illegal acts are changed from criminal offenses to civil infractions that carry a fine. In diversion programs, individuals charged with low-level criminal offenses can have the charges dismissed if they perform community service, enter substance abuse treatment or follow other requirements.  The report (PDF) was released in advance of the 50th anniversary of Gideon v. Wainwright, the March 1963 U.S. Supreme Court decision finding a Sixth Amendment right to counsel.”  (Story from the ABA Journal.)

• Finally it’s noteworthy that the Legal Services Corporation this week convened the 13th Technology Initiative Grants (TIG) Conference this in Jacksonville, FL.  LSC bills the event as “the nation’s largest convening of experts and persons interested in the use of technology to address the civil legal needs of low-income Americans.”  I haven’t seen news coverage, but conference attendees are, appropriately enough, creating a record using the Twitter hashtag #lsctig.  Check out the happenings.

Music!  Tennessee’s Lucero has long been one of my favorite rock bands.  Here’s “Tears Don’t Matter Much”, their homage to some fellow songwriters and to the way that a good song can stop you dead in your tracks.  Great chorus.