This week: cultivating the next generation of public service lawyers at UCLA; speaking of L.A., funding for law and order isn’t great; $125K for foreclosure prevention in the Windy City; aspiring public defenders may want to look into getting barred in Massachusetts; Equal Justice Works hits the Big 2-5!; legal services for Gulf Coast oil spill victims; a wrongful imprisonment emphasizes the need for the Florida Innocence Commission’s work; let’s all celebrate the Greater Dayton Volunteer Lawyers Project; tough times and a leadership transition at the Georgia Public Defender Standards Council; the good work of the University of Louisville Law Clinic; a public-interest lawsuit targets allegedly excessive truancy fines; will Gideon finally be civil in California?; maybe he should be civil elsewhere, too.

• 1.28.11 – UCLA’s Daily Bruin features a short piece capturing the thoughts of Catherine Mayorkas, executive director of Public Interest Programs for the UCLA School of Law, on how the law school supports students exploring public-service career tracks – via an LRAP program, a Summer Public Interest Fellowship Program, etc. – while allowing those students to decide for themselves about whether public service is a long-term career destination. 

• 1.26.11 – in an indicator of the recession’s impact on state budgets, the Los Angeles County Superior Court system is bracing for continued fiscal strife.  From the National Law Journal (article may be password-protected): “Last year, the Superior Court, which employs 5,000 people and has 11 locations, laid off 329 employees and lost another 150 to attrition due to budget cuts, [Presiding Judge Lee] Edmon said. The cuts have resulted in long lines at filing windows and frustration among lawyers, she acknowledged. ‘Unfortunately, this pressure on the system will continue for some time.’ For the rest of the fiscal year, which ends on June 30, the system appears safe from any drastic measures due to last year’s efforts, which generated new sources of revenue from civil filing fees and funds redirected from new construction and computer projects.”  But looming on the horizon is Gov. Jerry Brown’s budget proposal, which “would eliminate more than $100 million from the Los Angeles Superior Court — about 10% of its annual budget, Edmon said.”  The article touches on the fact that 9th Circuit federal courts are strained as well, with a judicial emergency having been declared in the District of Arizona in the Tuscon shooting’s wake (link to more detailed coverage by the Arizona Republic).  

• 1.26.11 – funding for foreclosure prevention in Chicago.  Here’s a press release about a $125K joint donation made to the Chicago Bar Foundation, the funds from which will be divvied out to the Center for Conflict Resolution, the Chicago Legal Clinic, Chicago Volunteer Legal Services, and the Legal Assistance Foundation of Metropolitan Chicago to support local foreclosure prevention initiatives.  Good stuff.   The PSLawNet Blog is inclined to use this opportunity to poke some fun at our friend Bob Glaves, executive director of the Chicago Bar Foundation, on account of what we’re sure was the positively profound disappointment felt by Bob and all Bears fans upon their team’s utterly deflating playoff loss.  But the PSLawNet Blog is above such cheapshots.

• 1.25.11 – here comes the unusual scenario wherein the recession could create a whole bunch of public interest lawyer jobs.  The Boston Globe reports on Gov. Deval Patrick’s proposal calling for “the hiring of 1,000 lawyers under a new Department of Public Counsel Services within the executive branch, with up to 500 more support staff. The administration estimates its plan will save $45 million by eliminating the Committee for Public Counsel Services in the judicial branch and wiping out hourly legal wages paid out to roughly 3,000 lawyers who work on contracts.”  The proposal has caused a stir, particularly among those private counsel who are presently appointed, under the auspices of the judicial branch, to handle indigent defense matters. They argue that the program will result in cost increases.  How would Massachusetts stack up with other jurisdictions?: “According to the administration, 28 states have public counsel systems similar to the one Patrick outlined yesterday, and Massachusetts is one of six states whose public defenders fall within the judiciary.”   Beantown-based public radio station WBUR ran a piece on the controversy: “Although the findings show that public defenders are more effective in representing indigent defendants, the issue of cost is not as simple.”

• 1.25.11 – Congratulations, Equal Justice Works!  The organization which is responsible for launching so many public interest careers celebrates its 25th anniversary this year.  The 25th is a win-win for Equal Justice Works: a year of revelry and their car insurance is gonna go down.  (And if you thought that was bad, we were going to work in a “fellowSHIP is far from sinking” joke.)   

• 1.25.11 – the Mobile, Alabama-based Press-Register reports on legal services available to those affected by the Gulf Coast oil spill: “The Gulf Coast Claims Facility is funding 17 attorneys, one working part time, to offer free legal service to low-income claimants trying to recover losses caused by last year’s oil spill.  The Mississippi Center for Justice is spearheading the program, which involves a dozen legal aid groups from the affected Gulf Coast states, according to center spokeswoman Sharon Garrison.”  And while we hold Mobile in the highest regard, we just can’t help thinking about this song. 

• 1.24.11 – in the Orlando Sentinel, columnist Mike Thomas takes to task State Attorney Lawson Lamar, whom Thomas accuses of ignoring the role played by the prosecutor’s office in the imprisonment of a woman wrongfully convicted of vandalism.  The column notes that the prosecutor’s office was not alone in failing, and that other actors in the criminal justice system bear some responsibility as well.  Consequently, “[w]hat happened to [the wrongfully convicted Haitian woman, Malenne Joseph, who was indigent and could not afford her own counsel] is a perfect case study for the Innocence Commission.”  The Florida Innocence Commission is a government entity “established to provide a mechanism to recommend to the Supreme Court of Florida solutions to eliminate or significantly reduce the causes for wrongful or erroneous convictions.”

• 1.23.11 – the Dayton Daily News profiles the Greater Dayton Volunteer Lawyers Project, “a local program that helps people who are financially strained find lawyers who are willing to offer ‘pro bono’ work, or free services … Since 1988, the GDVLP has provided lawyers in more than 21,000 cases, providing more than $10 million in donated services to the poor … The GDVLP is located at the Dayton Bar Association and is supported by Legal Aid of Western Ohio. The program has 1,000 lawyers from various specialties who donate services.”

• 1.23.11 – the long-running funding woes afflicting Georgia’s indigent defense program persist.  The Associated Press reports that the incoming chief of the Georgia Public Defender Standards Council, who appeared to some a remarkable choice because of his background as a prosecutor, is inheriting a program that is short on funding, slated for additional budget cuts, and thin on staff as well.  Outside organizations have taken note of the GPDSC’s sorry state: “The specter of more legal challenges looms, as civil rights groups have filed one lawsuit after another that claimed the council failed its mission to provide adequate legal defense for Georgia’s poor defendants.”  Here’s information on a lawsuit filed last month from the Southern Center for Human Rights.   And here’s an additional blurb about discontent within the Peach State criminal defense community over th GPDSC’s present condition (from WALB, a Georgia-based NBC affiliate).  GPDSC’s new chief, Travis Sakrison, certainly does have his work cut out for him, and we wish him the best of luck. 

• 1.23.11 – the Louisville Courier Journal has a nice profile of the University of Louisville Law Clinic, through which law students represent low-income clients on a variety of matters, aiding, for instance domestic-violence victims and those facing evictions.  The piece emphasizes the hands-on experience that students acquire while making a difference in the local community.

• 1.20.11 – the Associated Press reports on a lawsuit initiated by the Philly-based Public Interest Law Center: “A federal lawsuit accuses a Pennsylvania school district of imposing excessive and illegal fines on truant children or their families, including one parent ordered to pay $27,000 and a 17-year-old student fined more than $12,000.   The suit against the Lebanon School District, filed Thursday in Harrisburg by the Public Interest Law Center of Philadelphia on behalf of four parents and the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, targets the court-imposed fines it says were above the state’s limit of $300 per violation.

• Is Gideon coming to California?  ProBono.net’s January newsletter include a piece from our friend Tiela Chalmers, executive director of the San Francisco-based Volunteer Legal Services Program, who comments on common, public misperceptions about when poor people are entitled to a lawyer, and progress in California toward securing a right to counsel in cases that gravely affect family integrity and economic security.  “You’d be surprised how many well-educated adults – journalists, politicians – even judges – believe that poor people have a right to an attorney in civil cases.  Our belief in the fundamental fairness of our justice system leads us to assume that there is a right to counsel, at least when someone is faced with eviction, or a challenge to the custody of their children … But no, Virginia – there is no right to counsel in civil cases … One of the most remarkable legacies of our outgoing Chief Justice, Ronald George, is his hard work to gain passage of the Sargent Shriver Civil Counsel Act …  This Act uses a small court fee to fund the creation of pilot projects in California, to explore what the right to counsel might look like in civil cases where important rights are at stake.” 

• More Civil Gideon.  The winter edition of the Phildelphia Lawyer contains a terrific piece, by Community Legal Services’ Michael Carroll and Penn Law professor and clinical programs director Louis Rulli, entitled “Filling Gideon’s Empty Chair.”  The article reviews the history of efforts to secure a constitutionally-rooted right to counsel for the poor in non-criminal matters, which began in some ways with the Supreme Court’s rejection of that right in the Lassiter case.  It then reviews more recent initiatives designed to ensure that the poor have access to counsel in civil matters that threaten health, welfare, and family security, all the while noting how our adversarial justice system – designed with lawyers in mind – so poorly serves those who can not afford legal help. The article is a particularly good read for law students and attorneys who are acquainting themselves with the “Civil Gideon” movement.  For more information we recommend exploring the National Coalition for a Civil Right to Counsel’s website.

This week: indigent defense budget wrangling between a county and state government; a new veterans clinic will operate out of a West Virginia Veterans Affairs building; Ithaca has gorges and a securities law clinic; it’s nice when a legal services lawyer is the GREATEST PERSON OF THE DAY; a 30-year prison ordeal ended for an innocent man following his exoneration in a Texas court (wow, if the PSLawNet Blog subtracted 30 years from his life he’d be writing this report in crayon and commuting to work on a Big Wheel); hail to the new LSC chief; a  new Top Ten Environmental Watch List from Vermont Law School; the “perfect storm” in legal services funding; the National Law Journal’s Pro Bono Awards; in California, you best not call yourself “legal aid” unless you’re really legal aid; mirroring a national trend, law-firm pro bono in Kansas City picked up during the recession; no honeymoon period for Texas’s new death-row appeals office; the remarkable story of a recovering drug addict who’s just become a California county’s chief prosecutor.

• 1.6.10 – according to the Poughkeepsie Journal, in a cost-saving move last year New York’s state government passed a bill that changed the nature of its relationship with Dutchess County for purposes of funding indigent defense services.  County officials are contending with a potential loss of revenue from the state unless the county moves away from an assigned-counsel system and toward a staffed public defense program.  This situation is but one illustration of the tension that will exist between state and county governments as they struggle with post-recession budget shortfalls.  Criminal justice is an area in which many state and municipal governments throughout the country have shared-cost arrangements, so it will be interesting to see how they maintain balances amidst fiscal pressures in the coming budget cycles.

• 1.5.10 – In West Virginia, the State Journal reports on a new veterans legal clinic that will station a lawyer at the VA building.  “The Louis A. Johnson VA Medical Center has a new legal aid program for its veterans. Legal Aid of West Virginia, Equal Justice Works, AmeriCorps, The State Nursing Home, and the VA Hospital are all working together to offer free legal assistance to Veterans and their family members.”  Once per week, an Equal Justice Works/AmeriCorps Legal Fellow will set up shop in the VA to meet with those in need.

• 1.4.10 – from the Ithaca Journal, we learn of a recession-era legal clinic operating at Cornell: “The Securities Law Clinic at Cornell Law School is available to provide legal services to investors in the Southern Tier and central and western New York who have suffered losses due to fraud or other improper conduct, the clinic announced.”

• 1.4.10 – the Huffington Post’s “Greatest Person of the Day” on Tuesday was Anneliese Gryta, a legal services lawyer doing community economic development work in Toledo (go Mudhens!).  Anneliese’s doing some terrific work as an Equal Justice Works Fellow.  Check out our earlier blog post to learn more about her efforts.

• 1.4.10 – NPR was one of several news outlets that covered the release of an innocent Texan man after 30 years of incarceration.  The story focused on the release of Cornelius Dupree, Jr., and went on to note that there’s something of a trend afoot in Dallas.  “For the past five years, Dallas has watched a parade of men, nearly all black, march out of the state prison system after wasting decades of their lives. Dupree, who served more time than any other Texas prisoner exonerated by DNA evidence, is the 21st from Dallas — that’s more than all but two states.  Barry Scheck and his staff at the Innocence Project have been behind many of these exonerations, including Dupree’s.”  It’s not necessarily that Dallas County juries get it wrong more than others, but Dallas happens to do a good job of storing DNA from old criminal cases.  So advocates for the wrongfully imprisoned have more evidence to work with.

Keep reading . . .

The National Law Journal just ran a well reported but very sobering (at best) piece about the funding woes confronting civil legal services programs throughout the nation.  This passage aptly sums up the circumstances:

Law firms may be benefiting from the slow economic recovery, but legal aid groups face the most dire circumstances in decades. The problem is a perfect storm of IOLTA funding declines, cuts in state and local funding, uncertain federal support and a tight private fundraising environment. The situation is exacerbated by steep increases in demand for free legal services as millions of low-income Americans face long-term unemployment, foreclosure and other serious problems.

The article offers a detailed, data-driven review of the funding cuts plaguing the nation’s legal services programs, and is well worth reading.  Very troubling for us are the numbers concerning staff constrictions and layoffs: 

• Texas RioGrande Legal Aid “stopped filling open lawyer positions in 2010 to prepare for cuts and may close offices, institute layoffs and roll back its caseload in 2011…”
• The Legal Aid Society in NYC “eliminated 30 staff positions in its civil division” and “can help only one of every nine people who ask for assistance.”
• Legal Services of New Jersey, an umbrella for Garden State legal services programs, was forced to “eliminate about 200 of its 700 positions since 2007, and President Melville Miller Jr. anticipates cutting another 50 to 70 jobs in 2011 if more money can’t be found.”
• New Mexico Legal Aid’s “employees agreed to a six-day furlough in 2010 to save money, but it may need to close one office and lay off four or five workers in 2012.” 

This is in keeping with what we’ve heard from other legal services executive directors, who have been struggling to make budgetary ends meet without cutting staff.  This situation is distressing for at least two reasons.  First, we know that many law students and recent grads have invested time, effort, and money in preparation for serving clients on society’s margins.  And while so many would-be advocates around the country want nothing more than the opportunity to serve as legal services lawyers, the opportunities to do so are increasingly few and far between.  Second, and more importantly, fewer lawyers means fewer clients served.  As noted in the NLJ piece, demand for services from the swollen numbers of low-income clients has skyrocketed in the recession’s wake.  It’s alarming, and positively disheartening, that the legal services community has been so hobbled by funding cuts at a time when it is needed to protect and assert the rights of so many vulnerable people and families.

NOTE: the PSLawNet Blog will skip next week’s Bulletin so that we can finish our Christmas shopping and have a little sip of the egg nog.  The Bulletin will return on Friday, December 30th.  Happy holidays, cats and kittens!

This week: a Tarheel State law school launches a new clinic; New York’s chief judge takes a pragmatic approach in appealing for increased legal services funding; a shady former legal services employee gets time in the clink for skimming funds; Yale Law School’s veterans clinic goes to (legal) war with the Department of Defense – twice!; mandatory pro bono in Mississippi(?); promoting diversity in the federal workforce; a public defense shakeup in San Bernardino, CA; geeks raise money for legal services; some appreciation for the retiring ED of Rappahannock Legal Services; the continuing importance of the DOJ’s access to justice program; a pro bono up-tick in Las Vegas; and, Ropes & Gray’s deferred associates return to the firm following one-year public service placements.

• 12.16.10 – the Greensboro News & Record reports that the Elon University School of Law is stepping in to provide legal services to immigrants and refugees in the wake of a long-time provider’s discontinuance of services.  Students  and law professors involved with Elon’s Humanitarian Immigration Law Clinic “will assist clients in applying for political asylum, permanent residency, citizenship and employment authorization, as well as reunifying families separated by war and conflict.”  The clinic is launching as Lutheran Family Services, on account of poor economic conditions, is discontinuing legal services to the immigrant/refugee community.  Here’s our blog coverage of these developments from yesterday.

• 12.15.10 – the Rochester City Newspaper reports on New York Chief Judge Jonathan Lippman’s efforts to better fund legal services providers in the Empire State.  “Last month, New York Chief Judge Jonathan Lippman released a report that recommends doubling the funding for New York’s low-income legal-service providers over a period of four years. He’s including a $25-million increase in his proposed 2011-12 budget, which state legislators will have to approve. New York’s legal service providers receive $200 million a year, some from the state, some from the federal government, and from other sources … What makes the judge’s report compelling…is that it focuses on the benefit to institutions and taxpayers. It doesn’t just reiterate the many important benefits to clients.  The report says that New York loses an estimated $400 million annually because state residents have difficulty collecting federal funds for which they are eligible, including disability payments and veterans’ benefits. State and local governments, and ultimately taxpayers, end up paying for that, the report says.”

• 12.15.10 – We’re not sure whether to feel satisfied or nauseated at this news.  The Washington Examiner reports that the “former chief of finance for the Maryland Legal Aid Bureau will serve two-and-a-half years in prison for stealing more than $1 million from the nonprofit.” Benjamin King served as MLAB’s chief financial officer for 20 years.  A little more than 10 years ago, he and an accomplice (who was not with MLAB) started skimming funds from MLAB’s coffers through inflated office supply invoices.  Yuck.  (Here, also, is more detailed coverage of the scheme and King’s sentencing from the Loansafe.org website.)

Keep reading . . .

This week: a controversial testing method for an NYC homelessness prevention program; TARP funds to prop up corporate interests, but not legal services for low-income homeowners?; the Skadden Fellowship Class of 2011 contains 29 budding public interest attorneys; funding calamity averted for D.C. legal services programs; will we lose more local/state government jobs in the recession’s wake?; significant changes in how NYC indigent defense cases are assigned to counsel; an Innocence Project report sees widespread prosecutorial misconduct in California; the Cleveland Plain Dealer looks at inefficiencies in the local criminal courts.

• 12.9.10 – in the New York Times, we look at a controversial social welfare program evaluation tool.  Borrowing an idea from the medical research arena, the City is essentially denying a homelessness prevention program’s assistance to half of a group of “test subjects” (who are actual people on the verge of homelessness), while giving assistance to the other half.  By doing so, the City will learn how effective the program – called Homebase – really is.  Given what’s at stake though – the welfare of families in crisis – many local public interest advocates have voiced concerns.  On the other hand, the piece notes that “randomized controlled trials” are increasingly used by philanthropies and governments because of their value in answering fundamental questions about social programs’ effectiveness.  And, due to funding shortages the program at issue in NYC is not able to serve all applicants anyway, so the net number of applicants denied is not actually rising as a result of the study.

• 12.9.10 – writing in The Nation, liberal commentator Katrina Vanden Heuvel laments that the Department of the Treasury, relying on an interpretation of current statutory authority, opposes the future use of some TARP funds by states to support civil legal aid for homeowners in distress.  There are pieces of legislation in the House and Senate, respectively, which would explicitly authorize states to channel TARP funding toward legal aid.

• 12.7.10 – The new class of Skadden Fellows has been announced.  Twenty-nine fellowships were awarded to students hailing from 21 law schools.  Four schools have multiple awards: Harvard (5), Michigan (2), Penn (2), and Stanford (3).  The 18 schools which have one Class-of-2011 fellow are a fairly varied bunch, including: Arkansas, Boston College, CUNY, Texas, UVA, and Widener.  Based upon our analysis of the past four annual classes, there has been increasing breadth and diversity with respect to the schools producing Skadden Fellows.  See our recent blog post containing comparative numbers for the classes of 2010, 2009, and 2008.

Keep reading . . .

This will remain an open question for some time . . . we began our coverage of the debate over the adoption of mandatory pro bono in Mississippi back in September.  The Clarion Ledger reported this week that the state’s Supreme Court Rule’s Committee is still considering the proposal that would require lawyers to complete 20 pro bono hours annually or in lieu of that service contribute $500 to the state bar for legal services programs. 

The need for increased access to legal services is clear – “one in five Mississippians lives in poverty” and “many of [the state’s] poorest residents lack knowledge of the legal system and/or the financial resources to secure legal help.”

The majority of lawyers in the state (that have voiced their opinion) are opposed to the adoption of such a requirement.   The former chief-of-staff to Governor Kirk Fordice, attorney Mark Garriga, categorized the adoption as a separation of powers issue:

“[i]t’s nothing more than a tax on 6,000 people (lawyers)” and the judicial branch does not have authority to impose a tax.

Sandy Middleton, the Executive Director of the Center for Violence Prevention in Pearl, Mississippi, while acknowledging the need for more lawyers to assist victims of domestic violence is still opposed to mandatory pro bono because she fears “if [lawyers] are forced to do it, they may not give their all in cases.”

While the Rules Committee continues to deliberate, the Mississippi Volunteer Lawyers Project (MVLP) has established Advancing Justice, Restoring Hope.  This annual campaign aims to raise $50,000 to:

Increase the number of volunteer lawyers statewide, Boost the number of legal clinics to match volunteer lawyers with pro bono clients, Ensure small fees do not impede legal actions, Provide outreach, and Support operations.

What do you think?  Should Mississippi (and other states for that matter) adopt mandatory pro bono requirements?

We took a break for Turkey Day last week (and hope you did too!), but we are back with your weekly public interest news blast.  This week:  New York’s top jurist continues his crusade to bolster support for legal services; Yale Law students put their skills to use creating opportunities for New Haven public school students; UDC’s law school launches initiatives to serve at-risk youth; SCOTUS looks at California’s prisons, which are bursting at their seams; a rise in domestic violence against immigrant women is troubling to West Virginia DV prevention advocates; new public defender positions in Wisconsin – you did not misread that: NEW PUBLIC DEFENDER POSITIONS in Wisconsin; the fight about subjecting a state law school’s clinic to open public records provisions continues in NJ; Kids in Need of Defense is making an impact in Houston; 32 candidates want to be the head public defender in Cincinnati – maybe some of them should move to Wisconsin; speaking of defenders, caseload woes in Missouri persist; praise for the Georgia Supreme Court; pro bono efforts of Wal-mart’s in-house counsel in Arkansas; EJW’s growth and pursuing a public interest career; Dade County Bar Association thinking outside the box to fundraise for local Legal Aid Society; Millennial law students vs. Gen-X predecessors:  who is more public-service oriented;  does Indiana need to define “law enforcement costs” for county prosecutors?; and sentencing for the former Maryland Legal Aid Bureau Chief of Finance and his partner for stealing more than $1 million from the nonprofit.

• 12.1.10 – exciting news for legal services in the Empire State this week with Chief Judge Jonathan Lippman calling for the state legislature to increase civil legal services’ spending by $100 million.  This increase for civil legal services funding in the judicial branch’s budget proposal is a result of recommendations by the Task Force to Expand Access to Civil Legal Services in New York.  According to WNYC News the Chief Judge explained that while the state is experiencing tough economic times, it still makes sense to increase civil legal services spending “[b]ecause the ones hit hardest by this economic collapse in the state is the poor and the most vulnerable among us and if you let these people fall off the cliff, the consequences in every way are damaging.”  Under this proposal, the spending increase would be phased in over a four year period and by 2015 result in a 50% increase in civil legal services spending in NY.  The New York State Bar Association and the Urban Justice Center are both applauding the recommended funding increase.

• 11.30.10 – student members of Yale Law School’s Community and Development Clinic have helped draft a multi-million dollar agreement between Yale University and the city of New Haven to establish the New Haven Promise Program.  This program “will pay the full college or university tuition of New Haven public school students who meet its requirements for achievement, starting with current freshman,” for at least four New Haven public school classes.   Contract negotiations began in September and resulted in a formal announcement of the program on November 9.

• 11.30.10 – the Washington Post reports on new initiatives at the University of the District of Columbia’s (UDC) law schoo to protect at-risk youth.  The momentum – and funding – for these projects comes from the law firm of Crowell & Moring, which granted UDC over $600K to create the Took Crowell Institute for At-risk Youth.  One of the Institute’s projects will aim to provide lawyers for students who challenge school suspensions so that they can return to the classroom.  According to the Post:  “In an effort to keep serious school misbehavior from spiraling into even more serious juvenile delinquency, the law school at the University of the District of Columbia is taking up cases of public school students who have been suspended for weeks or months.  Critics of [long-term suspensions] say that far from encouraging better behavior, the suspensions often open the door to more trouble.”  Here’s a fact sheet on the the Institute, a press release about its launch, and past coverage from the Blog of the Legal Times.

• 11.29.2010 – Tuesday the Supreme Court heard arguments regarding overcrowding in California’s prisons and access to health care for prisoners.  This past January, a federal district court held that “overcrowding in the state’s prison system, the nation’s largest, is the main cause of substandard medical and mental health care that violates the prisoners’ Eighth Amendment right to be free from cruel and unusual punishment . . . The state houses 164,000 inmates in a system designed to hold about 80,000, and the prisons have been beyond capacity for two decades.  The judges ordered the state to cap the inmate population at 137.5% of their capacity within two years, which would be about 110,000 inmates this year.” Inmates, together with prison guards, support the lower court’s decision while the state of California contends that the court “overstepped” its authority and should be overturned.     How did the overcrowding get so bad?  During the 90’s the state legislature adopted tougher sentencing laws, including 3-strikes-and-your-out and parole crackdowns.  What is California’s plan to address the overcrowding?  “[R]eleasing low level offenders, sending fewer nonviolent criminals to prison by changing sentencing laws and building new prisons.”  Stay tuned, a decision from the Court is expected in Summer 2011.

• 11.29.10 – the News and Sentinel reports that domestic violence advocates in West Virginia are seeing a rise in cases involving immigrant women.  In addition to the obstacles faced by every victim of domestic violence, immigrants face additional challenges:  “they speak little or no English, they are isolated, have no support system, can’t work because they don’t have the proper paperwork and have no financial support” (and are not eligible for public benefits).  Further this is not an issue isolated to West Virginia, in an earlier national study, domestic violence was estimated to be three times more prevalent in marriages between immigrant women and U.S. citizens than in the general population. “An estimated 70% of abusive U.S. citizen spouses, including those who consummate relationships through [International Marriage Brokers], withhold the filing of the proper paperwork necessary to validate the legal status of their immigrant female partners to cause them to fall out of legal status and to hold the threat of jail or deportation over the woman.” . . . Further underscoring the depth of this problem is the National Justice Institute’s estimate that more than 73% of domestic violence cases are unreported.

Keep reading after the jump . . .

NALP is pleased to release our first ever Public Interest Employment Market Snapshot Report.  The report is based on an online survey of public interest employers conducted in September.  The survey sought responses concerning:  (1) recent law student and law graduate hiring, (2) hiring expectations for the immediate future, and (3) employer advice for job applicants competing in today’s market.

The report’s quantitative data largely confirm what our own experiences and other forms of anecdotal evidence have shown us:  the economic recession had a serious, negative impact on public interest hiring, particularly in all areas outside of federal employment.  Further, in the wake of the recession, it will take time for many employers to achieve enough financial stability to bolster hiring. While not all of the news is positive, we hope that this modest-but-important first step toward a more data-driven understanding of the public interest employment market will be useful to public interest job seekers and employers.

Some useful data points on law student summer hiring trends and expectations include:

• Of the 128 respondents that did offer paid summer positions before the recession, 57% have reduced the number of paid positions offered.
• In Summer 2011, 72.0% of respondents anticipate offering the same number of unpaid positions and 11.5% expect to increase hiring levels for unpaid positions from Summer 2010 levels.

Key points on post-graduate hiring trends and expectations:

• At the time of the survey, 73.7% of respondents with civil legal services organizations, 78.3% of those with public defender offices, and 87.6% of those with nonprofit legal organizations reported hiring zero Class-of-2010 graduates.  The low hiring rates across low across various public interest employer types suggests continued freezes and reductions in hiring of permanent staff. (Advice for Class-of-2010 grads still seeking legal employment.)
• However, there is some good news on the horizon for Class-of-2011 graduates:  13.0% of respondents with public defenders, 9.7% of those with federal government agencies/offices, 9.5% of those with local prosecutors, and 8.3% of those with local government employers plan to hire more Class-of-2011 graduates than Class-of-2010 graduates.

In addition to the quantitative data, the report contains feedback from various types of public interest employers about what experiences/skills they wish to see from job seekers.  A few key insights include:

• Civil legal services providers look for a demonstrated passion for serving low-income communities and for direct experience interacting and working with low-income clients.  Civil legal service providers also highly value bilingual ability in their attorneys, especially knowledge of Spanish or of an Asian language.  (Check out our earlier post on Spanish immersion programs).
• Public defenders desire candidates with clinical and/or pro bono experience working with incarcerated and low-income clients.  According to one public defender,“previous experience in a PD’s office is always a plus for law students and a must for attorneys.”
• Nonprofit legal organizations look for a demonstrated passion about the organization’s mission and a diverse skill set that may include community outreach and exposure to nonprofit fundraising.

What were employers’ predictions for future “growth areas” in public interest practice?

Nicole Vikan is the Assistant Director for Public Interest and Government Careers at Georgetown Law Center’s Office of Public Interest and Community Service. Before moving to Washington DC, Nicole advised  students seeking employment in the private and public sectors as a member of Fordham Law School’s Career Planning Center and practiced law for five years as a criminal prosecutor at the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office.  Nicole’s NALP activities include service for the Public Service Section (Chair), LGBT Section, Newer Professionals Section (Vice Chair), and Bylaws Committee.  She has written numerous articles for the NALP Bulletin and participated on panels at the Annual Education Conferences.  Nicole received her J.D. from New York University and her B.A. from Carleton College.

Job Seekers from the Class of 2010 . . . You graduated in May 2010 and passed the Bar—congrats! But (as we all know) the job market is tight, and you’re still looking for a public interest job. What should you be doing as you look for that first legal position?

Volunteer. Find a pro bono position in a practice area of interest so you can meet professionals in the field, make a great impression for when the organization (or a similar employer) is ready to hire, and develop your legal skills.

Make ends meet. I know—this isn’t completely compatible with my first suggestion. But many organizations will be excited to have part-time volunteers, so you can work part-time in a non-legal position (bartending, holiday sales, LSAT tutoring, etc.) to pay the bills.  I understand that this can be a shot to the ego, and not what you expected when you began law school.  But you will get the job you want soon, and a few months from now you won’t care at all about what you did to stay afloat financially in those first few months out of school.

Handle your student loan debt. Yes, it’s painful to think about sometimes. But do not bury your head in the sand—defaulting on your loans could be a reason for prospective employers to reject your application. If necessary, find out your options for deferment on the Department of Education’s Federal Student Aid site. Learn about debt repayment options – including the Income Based Repayment (IBR) program – on the Equal Justice Works Student Debt Relief page and PSLawNet’s own Financing a Public Interest Career site so you know how different jobs will impact you.

Keep in touch. Write polite, friendly email updates to former supervisors, professors, and mentors to share your good news about the Bar Exam—and to tell them you’re looking for a job. Don’t ask them point-blank if they can hire you; instead, let them know what type of work you hope to find, provide an updated resume so they can see what skills you have developed, and ask them to please keep you in mind if they learn of a position that might be appropriate for you. Ask them if they know people in your field of interest who you can contact.

Which brings me to my next point: Meet more people in the field. Yes, that means NETWORK. Using your undergrad and law school connections, suggestions from family, friends, and professors, and online searching, make a list of two dozen people at various career stages in your practice area and location of interest. Write to at least two of those people each week to request informational interviews: Tell them why their background interests you and ask if you can meet for coffee to learn more about their work. Again, do not ask for a job, but do attach your resume.

Make a To Do list, with a timetable, so you make sure to send job applications and do personal outreach (i.e., networking) on a regular basis. Find affordable ways to reward your efforts—a long walk with friends, an item off the dollar menu at your favorite fast food restaurant, or a new library book, for example.

Take care of yourself and remember that you graduated into one of the toughest legal job markets in history. You shouldn’t despair and give up; instead, remind yourself that you are indeed a talented attorney, and in this economy it will take more persistence, patience, and effort to find that first job—but you can do it!

Visit PSLawNet for more job search fundamentals.

Need a job or internship? During the past week PSLawNet has posted:   21 new attorney positions,   12 new internships, and  7 new law related opportunities.  Additionally, there are currently 1,236 active opportunities in our job database.  PSLawNet enjoyed a Thanksgiving Holiday as well so we have a backlog of new attorney and internship postings, so make sure to check the database mid-week for a number of new openings.  To search the database visit PSLawNet. 

Featured New Positions:

The Harris County Public Defender is currently hiring for both an Assistant Public Defender to serve as Division Chief for their Mental Health Division and an Assistant Public Defender to serve as Division Chief of their Appellate Division.  Harris County, Texas hired its first public defender earlier this month and the office is gearing up to begin operations in 2011 (Read local coverage from Houston and check out our earlier coverage of this issue in the June 11, 2010 issue of the Public Interest News Bulletin).

The Urban Justice Center’s Community Development Project (CDP) is currently seeking law student interns interested in working with them in Summer 2011 to protect the rights of low-income people and to provide legal and technical assistance to advance diverse community development projects.  The CDP provides legal, technical, research, and policy support to community-based organizations working to improve conditions in low-income communities in New York City.  Applications are being accepted on a rolling basis, but must be received by January 10, 2011.  Check PSLawNet for additional details about the internships and application instructions.

Featured Public Service Career Resource:

Considering a career as a public defender?  The University of Virginia School of Law has shared their How to Get a Job in a Public Defender’s Office guide with PSLawNet’s Public Service Career Library.  The guide is designed to help students decide if they would like a career as a public defender.  It was also created to assist committed students in successfully landing a job at a defender’s office.  Among other features, this publication includes information on how to choose the right public defender’s office for you, how to develop a public defender resume, and how to prepare for a public an interview for a public defender’s office.   Check it out.

Learn more about getting a PSLawNet job seeker or employer account . . .