By: Steve Grumm

Bipartisan Bird. Big Bird kickin’ it with former first lady Pat Nixon.

Happy Friday, folks.   I hope your week is closing out well.  From my perch here in Washington, DC I’m looking out at a beautiful October morning.  Well, truth be told I’m looking out at an office building alleyway, a dumpster, a frozen yogurt place, and the guy in the office across the alley with whom I have a sort of awkward, and very quiet, relationship.  Nevertheless it is a nice day. 

What’s happened this week in the world of access to justice?  The Legal Services Corporation released a report from its pro bono task force.  There are two birthdays, one for a law school clinic and one for a legal aid organization.  Indigent defense caseloads continue making headlines throughout the country.  And more…

The news in very, very brief:

• show me new public defender caseload limits in Missouri;
• happy b-day, LANC;
• short on capital defenders in the bayou;
• a call for more legal-aid funding from the NY gov’t.;
• LSC’s Pro Bono Task Force report;
• LSC board meeting and an op-ed from its chair;
• former law school dean to administer NY’s new pro bono requirement;
• the importance of legal aid in serving domestic violence victims;
• happy b-day to a UC Davis clinic;
• new WA public-defender caseload limits cause stir among one county’s contract defenders;
• what is BABSEA CLE?;
• super music bonus!

The summaries:

• 10.4.12 – here is a trio of stories about how the criminal justice community is reacting to newly effective caseload limits in some Missouri public defenders’ offices:
  • from St. Louis Public Radio: “Several public defender offices around the state have notified courts they will not be taking cases beyond their maximum caseload this month.  The 18 offices around Missouri include ones in St. Louis, St. Charles, Jefferson City and Springfield.  In St. Louis instead of turning away all cases public defenders met with the 22ndCircuit Court and the Circuit Attorney’s office to craft a different solution. Director Mary Fox says the circuit’s presiding judge then issued an administrative order that the public defender’s St. Louis office will no longer take cases involving certain non-violent crimes.”
  • a Columbia Daily-Tribune piece looks at what’s happening in Boone County, where overwhelming caseloads several months ago led to supreme court action to take action: “The 13th Judicial Circuit has agreed on a protocol for assigning private attorneys to overflow public defender cases, and those attorneys will be assigned cases at the end of the month.  Public defenders in the circuit, which includes Boone and Callaway counties, today began transferring to an assignment docket misdemeanor cases as well as misdemeanor and felony probation cases of qualified clients not incarcerated….  The enactment of today’s protocol, however, is not a long-term solution. The Missouri Bar and the Missouri State Public Defender will be seeking additional funding for more attorneys and resources when the Missouri General Assembly gathers later this year.” 
  • same thing from this password-protected Columbia Missourian piece: “Monday marked the first day the Boone County Public Defender’s office operated under a monthly 1,727-hour caseload restriction.” 
  • 10.4.12 – Legal Aid of North Carolina has hit the big 5-0.  Here’s some coverage from the Winston-Salem Chronicle.

• 10.3.12 – short on capital defenders in Louisiana.  “East Baton Rouge Public Defender Mike Mitchell says his office is in ‘crisis.’ He says the office cannot accept any new death penalty cases…  In Louisiana, death penalty cases must be tried by lawyers who are certified to try those type of cases. Mitchell says he cannot accept any new cases because he has 7 current and 15 pending.”  (Story from WAFB.)

• 10.3.12 – an Albany Times-Union editorial calls on the state government to find more legal aid funding: “A major mechanism for funding legal aid in New York is the Interest on Lawyer Account Fund, which draws revenue from interest on some bank accounts set up by lawyers on behalf of clients. As interest rates on those accounts have plunged, from 2.25 percent in 2007 to just .25 percent, so has its annual revenue, from $31.7 million to just $6.5 million.  Indeed, when all government and private sources are added up, funding for civil legal aid has plummeted from $261 million three years ago to $223 million this past year.  Meanwhile, the need has soared, as more and more people struggle to keep their homes, obtain public assistance to feed their families, or get what’s due them from unemployment insurance.”

• 10.2.12 – the Legal Services Corporation’s blue-ribbon Pro Bono Task Force has issued a much anticipated report, laying out the need for increased pro bono work, and calling for specific actions from various actors in the legal community.  Here’s a summary of the reports recommendations, here’s the full report, and here’s a list of the task force members.

• 10.1.12 – with the LSC board meeting in North Carolina, board chair John Levy penned this op-ed in the Charlotte News Observer: “LSC’s programs throughout North Carolina and the rest of the country are increasingly overwhelmed with requests for help. As a result of the recession, nearly one in five Americans – 61 million people – now qualify for LSC-funded civil legal assistance because they live at or below 125 percent of the federal poverty guideline. That is an all-time high.   As demand has been rising, the combined funding for LSC programs from federal, state, local and all other sources has dropped from $960 million in 2010 to $878 million in 2012…. The circumstances in North Carolina mirror the national trend. More than 21 percent of North Carolinians now qualify for help from Legal Aid of North Carolina, but LANC is facing a 14 percent drop in funding from all sources this year.   Last fall, budget cuts forced LANC to shutter three field offices in largely rural areas and eliminate nearly 30 staff positions, impacting services in 11 counties. The budget crunch has also forced LANC to impose a salary and hiring freeze since 2008 and to narrow the kinds of cases it will accept.”

• 10.1.12 – – in the Empire State, Touro Law’s former dean is tapped to oversee implementation of the new rule that will require 50 hours of pro bono service in order to become licensed to practice.  “Lawrence Raful, the former dean of Touro Law Center on Long Island, has been appointed by Chief Judge Jonathan Lippman to oversee implementation of a new rule that all applicants to the New York bar first prove they have completed at least 50 hours of pro bono activities (NYLJ, Sept. 20).  Raful will be the Unified Court System’s “point person” in dealing with law schools, law firms, legal services providers and others who have questions about the new requirement, said Paul Lewis, chief of staff to first deputy state administrative judge Lawrence Marks.” (Story from the New York Law Journal.)

• 9.30.12 – October is Domestic Violence Awareness Month.  In Tennessee, a Legal Aid Society attorney emphasizes the importance of legal aid in supporting DV victims.  “Studies show that the most effective way to end the cycle of abuse is to help victims become independent of their abusers. Low-income victims often remain in abusive marriages or relationships because they can’t afford the legal assistance needed to get a divorce or an order of protection. A victim who understands that she can get an order of protection, divorce, job training, affordable housing and child care will have the confidence and courage to leave an abuser and become a stable, independent member of the community.”  (Full op-ed in The Tennessean.)

• 9.29.12 – happy 30^th to the Immigration Law Clinic at UC Davis Law: “Founded in 1982, the clinic was the first in the nation to train law students to represent non-citizens in immigration court, said Dean Kevin Johnson.  Guided by supervising attorneys, about 30 law students per semester have represented clients from Mexico, Guatemala, El Salvador, Nicaragua, Honduras, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Jamaica, Romania, Fiji, Laos, Cambodia, India, China and the Philippines.”  (Here’s a brief profile in the Sacramento Bee.)

• 9.29.12 – there’s all sorts of confusion in one Washington State county in the wake of a state high court order which will place caseload limits on public defenders.  In Benton County, a handful of contracted defenders handed in resignations – which may have been a form of protest –but then reconsidered.  “A Benton County public defense attorney who tried to rescind his resignation during a contract dispute has filed for an injunction to keep his job. Six of the county’s nine public defenders recently submitted letters of resignation following a stalemate in negotiations about new caseload restrictions mandated by the state Supreme Court. Four of the attorneys later rescinded their resignations, but it’s not clear if Benton County commissioners knew that when they voted this week to accept the resignations of Dan Arnold, Kevin Holt, Scott Johnson, Sal Mendoza Jr., Gary Metro and Larry Zeigler.”  (Story from the Tri-City Herald.)

• 9.29.12 – here’s an interesting piece on an American lawyer who runs a nonprofit training Southeast Asian lawyers on representing impoverished clients in countries where relatively weak rule-of-law protections can leave those on the economic margins on the justice system’s margins as well.  “Bridges Across Borders Southeast Asia Community Legal Education Initiative (BABSEA CLE), a nonprofit Lasky cofounded about a decade ago, trains young lawyers across the Asia-Pacific region to defend the powerless, even though law schools here typically place little emphasis on helping vulnerable groups.  Lasky’s organization has worked with more than 40 universities in nine Asia-Pacific countries to develop programs that teach lawyers to understand the need to provide legal services to at-risk communities.”  (Story from the Alaska Dispatch.)

Music! Last Sunday I attended a Unitarian Universalist service which included a “dedication” ceremony for my little cousin, Matthew Patrick Clowry.  (My roots are in Catholicism, so I’d liken a dedication ceremony to a christening.)  It was a lovely experience, the only downside for me being that Matthew, who is a year old, fidgeted less than I did during the service.  Some habits we do not lose.  In any event the service closed with an inspiring and pretty song that was new to me.  So here’s Nina Simone’s take on “I Wish I Could Know What It Means to Be Me”, which is a nice way to start a day.

Earlier today, the Legal Services Corporation (LSC) sponsored a forum in North Carolina to address the role of legal aid for the poor in safeguarding the fair administration of justice. Held in conjunction with a LSC board meeting, North Carolina Supreme Court Justice Sarah Parker and five other distinguished judges from the Southeast participated in the forum. The panel also emphasized the civil legal needs for military veterans.

In an op-ed to the Raleigh’s News & Observer, LSC Board of Directors chairman John Levi stressed the dire situation facing the nation’s legal community as it struggles to balance funding cuts, increased demands for civil legal services and rising poverty:

The 2 million people aided by lawyers at LSC-funded programs every year are seeking assistance with problems that go to the very heart of their safety and security. They are fighting to avert unlawful foreclosures, or to escape domestic violence. They are veterans returning from overseas and facing legal issues, or grandparents seeking legal guardianship of a grandchild in need of lifesaving surgery. Nearly three of four of them are women, and include Americans of all races, ethnic groups and ages.

LSC, established by Congress during the Nixon administration with a bipartisan board of directors appointed by the president and confirmed by the Senate, provides federal grants to 134 nonprofit legal aid programs with more than 900 offices in every state. LSC’s grantee in North Carolina, Legal Aid of North Carolina (LANC), operates 20 field offices across the state and gets nearly 50 percent of its funding from LSC.

LSC’s programs throughout North Carolina and the rest of the country are increasingly overwhelmed with requests for help. As a result of the recession, nearly one in five Americans – 61 million people – now qualify for LSC-funded civil legal assistance because they live at or below 125 percent of the federal poverty guideline. That is an all-time high.

As demand has been rising, the combined funding for LSC programs from federal, state, local and all other sources has dropped from $960 million in 2010 to $878 million in 2012.

Not surprisingly, the combination of increased demand and diminished funding has reduced LSC’s ability to meet the civil legal assistance needs of low-income Americans. Recent studies have shown, in fact, that the U.S. ranks 21st on access to justice for disadvantaged groups and 52nd in the world in terms of access to legal assistance.

By: Steve Grumm

Happy Friday, ladies and gents.  At the beginning of this month, I preemptively lamented the summer humidity that has stretched into recent Septembers.  The public interest news bulletin gods – and they are fearsome, powerful deities – must have been in a mood to accommodate.  While a bit muggy today, the weather this month has been beautiful.  I have this morning paid tribute to the news bulletin gods through the ritual consumption of an everything bagel.  So we’ve got that working for us.

I’ll begin this week’s bulletin by highlighting new NALP research which looks at the fluctuations in entry-level civil legal aid jobs over the past few years.  The picture is muddied by the increase in law-school-funded postgraduate placements in civil legal aid offices.  The upshot: “Based on…job counts alone, entry-level job prospects in civil legal services would appear to be doing just fine in recent years, with twice as many jobs reported as 12-15 years ago, and a far cry from a low of just over 300 jobs reported in 2000. But these figures do not…square with well-publicized reports of cutbacks in funding in general for legal services….  It turns out that law school funding played a major role in generating legal services jobs taken by the Class of 2011, with 44% of these jobs (or 324 actual jobs) reported as law school funded….  This means that, absent such funding, there would have been only about 400 legal services jobs, or about as many as in the early 2000s – coincidentally years in which the level of LSC funding, in real terms, was about the same as in 2011.”  Here’s the full article.

And while I don’t have time to weigh in on this issue, here’s an interesting blog post positing that the federal Income Based Repayment program could become the norm for how future law graduates manage their educational debt, and wondering whether that’s tenable or prudent policy.

On to the week’s access to justice and public interest news, which is bookended by law school clinical work.  The week in very, very short:

• a UT Law children’s rights clinic involved in a new community initiative to help at-risk youth;
• Yakima, WA officials sort out new public-defender caseload limits;
• DOJ to issue ~$3 million in grants in support of indigent defense;
• pushback on the much-discussed NY State 50-hour pro bono rule;
• MO moves toward implementing public-defender caseloads;
• LSC TIG grants, or “fun with abbreviations!”;
• CLASP’s ED outlines the basics of the civil legal aid funding crisis;
• butting heads over Michigan legislative proposal to bolster indigent defense;
• civil legal aid funding news potpourri, NY State edition;
• reauthorize state funding for legal aid in Florida;
• APBCo hangs out with Vice President Biden;
• lots of chefs stirring the pot in new DC-based pro bono project;
• the funding woes of Community Legal Aid in western MA;
• a PA county favors bigtime changes to state’s indigent defense system;
• the strain on indigent defense resources in ND’s oil-boom territory;
• more on Washington State’s move toward indigent-defense caseload limits;
• the Immigrant Justice Clinic launches at Wisconsin Law;
• Super Music Bonus!

The news in less short:

• 9.27.12 – “The [University of Texas] Law School’s William Wayne Justice Center for Public Interest Law and Children’s Rights Clinic have helped develop a multi-stakeholder pilot education reform project focused on youth entering the child welfare system in Travis County. The Education Advocacy Pilot Project, an initiative of the Travis County Model Court for Children and Families, launched last week and will continue through the 2012–2013 school year.  The Travis County Model Court for Children and Families is a multidisciplinary community initiative [to] facilitate systemic improvement of the court and child welfare systems. The Model Court works to improve outcomes for children and families…who are involved in civil suits filed by the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services as a result of findings of child abuse and neglect.”  (Press release from the University of Texas.)

• 9.27.12 – in Yakima, Washington – hey, I used to live there! – “…city leaders faced the reality of contracting up to 20 more public defenders and spending a million more of your tax-payer dollars” in order to comply with new defender caseload limits being imposed in the Evergreen State.  “But city leaders have a new plan to cut those costs dramatically.  ‘Having the prosecution unit actually do the charging versus the police officers and looking at a pretrial diversion program,’ said Yakima City Manager Tony O’Rourke.  This would give more discretion to city prosecutors on what cases are taken to court, without limiting the violations prosecuted.
  O’Rourke said as it stands now, Yakima police handle the majority of charging.”  (Story from KIMA’s website.)

• 9.26.12 – the Department of Justice “announced nearly $3 million in grants to improve access to criminal legal aid services….  The announcement of grants from the Office of Justice Programs (OJP) represent part of the Justice Department’s continuing efforts to ensure that all criminal defendants, regardless of ability to pay for an attorney, can be guaranteed their rights.   The grants are administered by OJP’s Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA) and National Institute of Justice (NIJ).” (Full press release on the Sacramento Bee’s website.)

• 9.26.12 – a commentator takes issue with New York’s new 50-hour pro bono requirement.  On top of the administrative burden that pro bono supervisors may shoulder in trying to facilitate more pro bono work, writes Matt Leichter, the rule constitutes yet another practice restriction added to an already dense set of rules for admitting lawyers.  Further, “pro bono” is defined too broadly, and law schools could have to spend more money (and charge more tuition) to administer new clinical and pro bono programs.  Finally, Leichter sees the rule’s creation as a cynical approach to addressing the plight of the poor.  Hmmm.  While I have some questions about the rule’s breadth and overall effectiveness, I think it’s fairly seen as a sign of the profession acknowledging barriers confronting the poor – not a bad thing since citizens’ access to the justice system can be effectively barred without financial means.  And after all, the judge who conceived of the rule has been one of the most vocal champions of increasing access to justice.  It’s hard for me to ascribe cynical motives to the rule’s adoption.  (Full piece in the American Lawyer.)

• 9.26.12 – more developments as Missouri public defenders move toward implementing caseload limits:
  • “Public Defenders Can Now Refuse Cases – But Seek Long-Term Solution” from Saint Louis Public Radio.
  • Earlier in the week a News Tribune editorial noted that the state high court’s latest intervention to prop up the overloaded public defender system “is systematic postponement, not a solution….  In the absence of tax dollars to hire additional state public defenders, a reasonable remedy is greater pro bono participation by private attorneys.”  The piece goes on to encourage the state bar to figure out play an active role in figuring out how to staff indigent defense matters.  (Here’s the full editorial.)
  • 9.22.12 – the Columbia Daily Tribune’s editor/publisher emeritus has an interesting solution: reduce the need for public defenders by legalizing drugs.

• 9.26.12 – “To improve access to civil legal assistance for low-income Americans, the Legal Services Corporation (LSC) has announced new technology grants to increase access to Web-based resources, enhance pro bono, expand websites for veterans and disaster recovery, and – a new category this year – improve data collection and analysis.  Through its Technology Initiative Grants (TIG) program, LSC plans to award 43 grants in 2012, totaling more than $3.4 million. The grants will fund LSC grantee programs in 25 states and the territory of Guam.”  (Here’s the LSC announcement, and here are specifics on the how awardees will use the grants.  Good to see Guam on the list.  Rock on, Guam.)

• 9.25.12 – Alan Houseman of the Center for Law & Social Policy (CLASP) looks at the crisis in civil legal aid funding.  Houseman’s blog post presents a broad look at how legal aid funding originates from various sources, and how LSC funding in particular has recently stagnated.  (Here’s the post on the American Constitution Society’s blog.)

• 9.25.12 – in Michigan, a proposal in the state house to bring some uniformity to the county-by-county, patchwork indigent defense system has some state and local officials at odds. (Story from the Iron Mountain Daily News.)

• 9.24.12 – civil legal aid news potpourri out of New York:
  • “Attorney General Eric T. Schneiderman today announced the grantees of the Homeowner Protection Program, his office’s commitment of $60 million over three years to fund housing counseling and legal services for struggling New York homeowners. Today’s announcement covers the first year of program funding at $20 million to aid struggling homeowners across the state who are fighting to avoid foreclosure and remain in their homes. Throughout New York State, 35 legal services organizations and 59 housing counseling agencies will receive over $16.1 million to provide free foreclosure prevention services. An additional $3.9 million has been allocated for training, technical assistance, and other support services to assist homeowners in foreclosure.”  (Full post from Albany Times Union blog. And here’s a related piece from the Buffalo News looking at how the funding will be administered in Western New York.)
  • “The State Department of Aging, the State Office of Court Administration and the New York State Bar Association are teaming up to help senior citizens and state residents with disabilities afford legal services…. The collaboration will develop a strategy using existing resources, including pro bono programs, to target the needs of older adults and individuals with disabilities. The plan also calls for a “think group” of attorneys, judges, health care professionals and experts on aging and disabilities. An interactive Web site is expected to be launched to help raise awareness, provide education, and increase accessibility to low-cost legal services.” (Story from the Legislative Gazette.)
  • “Neighborhood Legal Services of Buffalo, working with Haven House and the Bar Association of Erie County’s Volunteer Lawyers Project, has been awarded a $497,847 grant through the U.S. Justice Department’s Legal Assistance to Victims Grant Program to continue in its work to aid Buffalo-area victims of domestic violence, sexual assault, dating violence and stalking, Sen. Charles E. Schumer announced….  [T]he grant will help Neighborhood Legal Services in supporting four attorneys to provide direct legal services for victims….”  (Story from the the Buffalo News.)

• 9.24.12 – an editorial from Panama City, Florida’s News Herald laments the state of legal aid funding in FLA, and calls on the governor to pony up: “Funding for legal assistance for the poor and financially troubled has hit rock-bottom all across Florida.  In April, Gov. Rick Scott vetoed about $2 million in state funding for legal assistance centers. It was money that would have helped fund a lot of attorney hours for the poor. It was a relatively small budget item that could have had a significant impact on legal services for people who can’t afford to hire a lawyer.  Scott should rethink the state contribution to legal aid centers, either through next year’s budget recommendations or as a request to a legislative commission with the authority to make mid-year budget changes.”

• 9.24.12 – “On Wednesday, September 19, 2012, the Board of Directors of the Association of Pro Bono Counsel (“APBCo”) and senior management from board members’ firms met with Vice President Biden and White House staff…in Washington D.C.  The Vice President convened the meeting to focus on access to justice issues and the role that pro bono counsel at law firms play in the delivery of legal services to the poor….  The participants committed to a long-term project to improve law firm efforts to expand access to justice, and the Vice President commended their commitment to increasing pro bono services.”  Here’s the full press release.  Shout out(!) to David Lash and my other APBCo friends.  Hobnobbing with the Veep, who is, I suppose, the Phillies Fan-in-Chief.  Pretty cool.

• 9.23.12 – Skadden Arps is at the center of a new, Washington, DC pro bono project that engages three legal aid offices – the Legal Aid Society, the Children’s Law Center, and Bread for the City – as well as corporate counsel from Living Social, Northrop Grumman, and Cisco Systems.  The Impact Project ”is structured so that lawyers from the firm and the companies can join one of three teams — domestic violence, guardianship (guardians are court-appointed lawyers who look out for the interest of children in divorce, child abuse and other proceedings) or housing — and be trained by staff attorneys from legal aid organizations in those areas of the law. Skadden’s technology specialists are also building an intranet that will have training materials, relevant laws and sample documents that can be accessed at any time.” (Story from the Washington Post.)

• 9.23.12 – a Worcester Telegram article looks at the funding woes of Community Legal Aid, which serves clients in Western Massachusetts.

• 9.23.12 – “The Northampton County Bar Association last week joined colleagues throughout the state by endorsing a series of changes that would drastically alter the way criminal cases are defended in Pennsylvania.  By unanimous vote Thursday night, the bar recommended 10 principles that should be required of public defenders.  The standards, which were already approved by the American, Pennsylvania and Philadelphia bar associations, include requiring public defenders to continue to receive training after law school and to be reviewed by their supervisors, and they set limits on how many cases they can be assigned…. As of now, Pennsylvania is the only state in the nation that does not provide funding to public defenders, according to a study [from a state legislative committee] released in December.” (Story from the Express–Times of beautiful Lehigh Valley, PA.)

• 9.23.12 – the indigent defense system, such as it is, in western North Dakota’s oil-boom territory is stretched thin.  (Story from the Oil Patch Dispatch website.  Great name!)

• 9.22.12 – Three of the six Benton County public defenders who resigned earlier this month in a contract dispute have decided to keep representing poor court-appointed clients [by withdrawing their resignations]…. The resignations stem from a stalemate in negotiations with the county about new caseload restrictions mandated by the state Supreme Court.  The justices, in a 7-2 vote earlier this year, said full-time public defenders can take no more than 150 felony cases each year or 300 misdemeanor cases.  In Benton County, attorneys previously negotiated a 150-case cap on their contracts. They get paid $82,105 a year.”  (Story from the Tri-City Herald.)

• 9.21.12 – The University of Wisconsin is stepping into a new service area, with the launching this semester of the Immigrant Justice Clinic at the UW Law School.  The clinic…will provide free representation to people fighting deportation, [according to] clinic director and assistant professor Stacy Taeuber.  The students will focus on undocumented immigrants being held in detention for federal immigration authorities at the Dodge County Jail, which is where people taken into custody in the Madison area typically are sent.  (Full article from the Cap Times of Madison.)

• Super music bonus!  One of my favorite indie rock bands was Uncle Tupelo, the now-lauded trio that combined the energy of punk rock with the songwriting and accompanying instrumentation of country-western music.  Sounds like a poor marriage, right?  It worked out remarkably well, though, and spurred the Americana musical movement of the 1990s.  What did not ultimately work out was the artistic marriage of the band’s two singer-songwriters.  Uncle Tupelo split amidst risen personal tension in 1993.  Jeff Tweedy went on to lead the critically acclaimed Wilco.  Jay Farrar hewed more closely to the singer-songwriter mold, founding his on-again-off-again project Son Volt.  Here’s one of my favorite Son Volt songs, which combines a pretty melody with some engagingly metaphorical lyrics.  Enjoy “Medicine Hat.”

by Ashley Matthews

In a new NALP Bulletin article by PSJD’s own Steve Grumm and NALP Research Director Judith Collins, employment data shows a slight decrease in the amount of legal services jobs taken by the class of 2011. While the numbers are down from last year, they are still dramatically higher than the amount of legal services jobs reported a decade ago – which could mean that entry-level prospects for civil legal services are doing just fine.

But with widespread reports of funding cuts for legal aid, it may be hard to imagine such a thriving employment landscape for legal services organizations. How are the numbers of entry level jobs in legal services rising, while the funding continues to dwindle? Research points to the role law school funding has played in developing job opportunities for their graduates in the field of public interest law. The NALP Employment Report and Salary Survey showed that 44% of legal services jobs reported for the class of 2011 were law school funded.

Absent this funding, what could the landscape of entry-level legal services employment look like? The answer may be frightening, but it’s worth questioning. Funded by a law school, postgraduate legal aid opportunities are a great way to get your foot in the door with organizations that may not be able to afford new hires – but is this type of opportunity a gateway to permanent legal employment?

As the end of the grace period for student loan repayment nears, it’s time to start thinking smart about debt management – especially for public interest advocates. Even if you haven’t graduated from law school yet, it’s never a bad idea to get a headstart on financial planning. Understanding how student debt works and researching available resources is key to your financial literacy.

If you want to learn how to make public interest law an affordable career path, check out PSJD’s Financing a Public Interest Career page for background and resources!

By: Steve Grumm

Hi, folks.  There is much news to cover in the access-to-justice, pro bono, and public interest arenas – including, of course, information about New York State’s newly implemented rule requiring 50 hours of pro bono service before getting licensed to practice.  Before that, a few other items that caught my attention this week: 

• as I mentioned in a previous bulletin edition, new data are out looking at poverty in the U.S.  Here, from the Census Bureau, is Poverty: 2010 and 2011 – American Community Survey Briefs. 
• nonprofit news: the Chronicle of Philanthropy reports on a Forbes study of wealthy charitable donors’ giving habits: “The richer a donor is, the less likely he or she is to make unrestricted gifts, a new study of the world’s wealthiest donors has found. Nearly 70 percent of donors with $1-million to $5-million in investable assets say they prefer to give unrestricted gifts to charity, while among those with assets of $50-million or more, just 45 percent say they prefer to make unrestricted gifts.”
• a report getting much attention this week was this one, from the New York Times, about collaborations between debt collection agencies and prosecutors’ offices through which the former issue notices to debtors on the latter’s letterhead. 

Okay, the public interest news in very brief:

• more legal aid funding from the national mortgage foreclosure fraud class-action settlement (MA and RI):
• Missouri public defenders about to implement new policies to limit caseloads;
• the legal aid community should use more research and data to make progress on the access-to-justice front;
• a new veterans initiative from 2 Florida legal services providers;
• an update on San Fran’s Neighborhood Prosecutor Initiative;
• details on NY’s new 50-hour pro bono requirement for admission to the bar;
• light on lawyers to help the poor in NW Texas;
• Contra Costa County prosecutors headed for the picket lines(?);
• rolling out the Ohio Veterans and Military Legal Assistance Project;
• trouble in Warren County, NY meeting new state indigent defense standards;
• educating nonprofit funders about legal aid’s importance;
• LSC has a new VP for grants management;
• call for proposals for the Equal Justice Conference’s law school pro bono pre-conference;
• more self-help legal centers in Illinois (keeping w/ a national trend);
• NorCal pro bono all-stars;
• public defenders should not post pictures of clients’ underwear (leopard-skin or otherwise) on the Facebooks;
• Harvard, Stanford, NYU, and Yale law schools get Ford Foundation funding to promote student public interest work;
• Super music bonus!

The summaries:

• 9.20.12 – some good legal-aid funding news out of New England, stemming from the national foreclosure fraud class-action settlement:
  • Rhode Island: “To assist low and middle income families facing foreclosure, Attorney General Peter Kilmartin today announced a two-year, $1.57 million grant to Rhode Island Legal Services (RILS) to fund the Foreclosure Prevention Project.  The Foreclosure Prevention Project grant is funded through the National Mortgage Settlement between the five largest mortgage service providers and attorneys general nationwide…. With the grant, RILS expects to help stop, prevent, or delay the foreclosure of approximately 1,800 homes each year.”  (Full article on LoanSafe website.) 
  • Massachusetts: “The Massachusetts Legal Assistance Corporation (MLAC) and the National Consumer Law Center (NCLC) are set to launch a two-year effort to give legal help to homeowners facing foreclosure or eviction.  The Borrower Representation Initiative is being funded by a $6 million grant from the Massachusetts Attorney General’s office.”  (Story from the Boston Business Journal.  And here’s more info from AG’s website.

• 9.20.12 – Missouri public defenders are about to implement new policies regarding caseload restrictions in order to alleviate pressures and increase quality of service to defendants.  Here is an interview with Cat Kelly, head of the statewide indigent defense program.  An excerpt of Ms. Kelly explaining forthcoming changes: “As of October, 17 district public defender offices serving 54 counties will be operating on limited availability — meaning they will be able to take cases during that month only up to their maximum allowable monthly caseload and then their doors will have to close.  Any remaining applications will have to go on a waiting list for defender services unless the judges choose to do something else with them — e.g. dispose of the cases without jail time (since the possibility of jail time is the constitutional trigger that requires appointment of counsel) or appointing private attorneys to handle the cases pro bono (without pay).  Another 10-12 offices are in line to do the same in the next month or two.  All but three public defender trial offices are significantly overloaded and those three (Moberly, Maryville, and Kirksville) are operating right at or just slightly over their capacity.” More coverage: 
  • 9.20.12 – a story from TV station KY3: The Missouri State Public Defenders office is bursting at the seams. It’s a problem that’s been brewing since the early 1990s.  Caseloads keep growing but staffing increases are not keeping up.   In 2008, the Public Defender Commission decided enough was enough.  It limited the number of cases each district could take as a way to deal with the growing overload.   The commission’s ability to impose such caps was tied up in litigation.  That changed in last July.  That’s when the Missouri Supreme Court decided judges cannot appoint public defenders to additional cases after they’ve reached their
  • 9.13.12 – “Boone and Callaway County attorneys who practice civil law found out yesterday they might be assigned criminal defense cases as soon as next month as the result of a new cap local public defenders are placing on their caseloads…. Thirteenth Judicial Circuit Presiding Judge Gary Oxenhandler [went on to say,] ‘Don’t think for a moment that somehow this crisis is the fault of the public defender. It is not. For the past 40 years, the public defender has been the savior of the private bar.”  (Story from the Columbia Tribune.)   

• 9.20.12 – the Pro Bono Institute’s Esther Lardent calls for increased use of statistical- and research-based processes in evaluating access-to-justice needs in the civil legal services community.  “All too often in the civil legal services and pro bono worlds we simply rely on our sense of what works and anecdotal information, rather than rigorous and evidence-based research on what strategies, fora, and approaches work best for which low-income clients. With so many low-income families facing foreclosure, can we identify with any degree of confidence and evidence of outcomes, which approaches – mediation, litigation, negotiation – work best for which types of homeowners? As the number of bankruptcies grows, have we analyzed the outcomes of these cases to identify the most effective steps and protocols? At a time when more and more people come to court without a lawyer, have we examined the different models of pro se/self-representation and their usefulness for various matters such as landlord/tenant versus small claims?  Sadly, the answer is that, with some notable exceptions, we have not.”   Here’s Lardent’s full piece.

• 9.20.12 – in Florida, the Legal Aid Service of Broward County and Coast to Coast Legal Aid of South Florida are collaborating on a goal “to create a veterans’ initiative, expanding upon current services provided to military members and their families. Expanded services include representation in securing veterans’ benefits and Social Security benefits for homeless veterans, and obtaining driver’s licenses and birth certificates. The initiative will assist in eviction and foreclosure prevention; family issues such as child support, custody and divorce, and probate and consumer matters.”  (Full op-ed in the Sun-Sentinel.)

• 9.20.12 – in San Francisco, “District Attorney George Gascón updated reporters Wednesday morning on his office’s 18-month old Neighborhood Prosecutor Initiative and announced his plan for a program for juvenile offenders throughout the city.  The initiative aims at curbing recidivism and keeping non-violent crimes such as infractions out of the criminal court system.  There are currently nine neighborhood courts, each with prosecutor assigned to work with two police districts.”  The initiative uses volunteer “adjudicators” who work with prosecutors to determine criminal punishment and treatment options that will help defendants avoid future criminal activity.  (Story from the MissionLocal website.)

• 9.19.12 – Details of the new 50-hour pro bono requirement for applicants to the New York bar were unveiled yesterday by Chief Judge Jonathan Lippman…. The first-in-the-nation requirement will take effect immediately for first- and second-year law students, who will have up to 34 months to fulfill the mandate. Current third-years are exempt.  Starting Jan. 1, 2015, every applicant to the bar will be required to fulfill the requirement….  Approved pro bono work includes legal services for people of “limited means”; not-for-profit organizations; individuals or groups seeking to promote access to justice; and public service in the judiciary and state and local governments….  Participation in law school clinics for which students receive credit would count.   (Here’s a New York Law Journal article.)  Also noteworthy is that New York Law School, where Chief Judge Lippman made the announcement, rode its momentum by announcing a new pro bono program to help its students meet the requirement.  Finally, some additional materials from the state high court: 
  • an FAQ sheet;
  • a press release;
  • a report from the committee tasked with crafting the rule.

• 9.18.12 – despite the efforts of Legal Aid of Northwest Texas and a group of pro bono volunteers, “the demand [for legal aid] is still far greater than the available help”  (Article on the NewsWest 9 website.) 

• 9.18.12 – “Deputy district attorneys in Contra Costa County said that a strike is a distinct possibility given the wave of deep cuts that have swept through their office.  Since 2006, the Contra Costa District Attorney’s Office has lost more than 30 prosecutors – many to neighboring counties that pay more with lighter workloads…. In July, the county imposed a contract on deputy district attorneys, cutting wages by 5.25 percent while also reducing benefits.”  (Report on the KCBS website.)
  • Here’s more coverage, from the San Jose Mercury News, on how budget cuts are adversely affecting Contra Costa’s criminal justice system.

• 9.18.12 – well, “OVMLAP” doesn’t exactly roll off the tongue, but this is still good news: in Ohio, diversionary courts have helped veterans to avoid getting into criminal trouble.  But many Ohio vets  have unmet civil legal aid needs.  With grants from Walmart Foundation and Ohio State Bar Foundation, the Ohio Veterans and Military Legal Assistance Project is starting now.  “The project will connect low-income veterans to lawyers who are willing to help them with landlords, credit-card companies or some family-law cases.”  (Article in the Columbus Dispatch.)

• 9.17.12 – “Warren County (NY) officials are protesting a change to the way the state funds legal services provided to the indigent [criminal defendants].  The county Board of Supervisors Mandate Relief Committee plans to contact the state Mandate Relief Council about the change.  The new policy requires the county Public Defender’s Office to add or improve services each year or risk losing a quarter of its $213,000 annual state funding.” (Article in the Post-Star.)

• 9.17.12 – educating nonprofit funders about civil legal aid’s importance.  From the Lawscape blog: “The Public Welfare Foundation has been making important grants in the area of access to civil justice.  Mary McClymont, PWF President, has also been making a major effort to talk to her foundation colleagues about the importance of supporting civil legal aid. She was interviewed recently by Tamara Lucas Copeland, president of Washington Regional Association of Grantmakers, about the needs of low-income people and what private funders can do to help. This video, aimed at the funder community, is available on the PWF’s website, www.publicwelfare.org . It’s also found on YouTube here.”

• 9.17.12 – a Legal Services Corporation staffing announcement: “Amid continuing tough times for the Legal Services Corp., the group has announced a new vice president.  Lynn Jennings joins the LSC, the largest source of funding nationwide for civil legal aid, as vice president for grants management. Her duties include overseeing programmatic operations, the competitive grant process, and assessment and oversight of grantees.” (Story from the National Law Journal.)

• 9.17.12 – The 2013 Equal Justice Conference Law School Pre-conference planning team invites you to submit program recommendations for this year’s pre-conference.  Please refer to the proposal guidelines and complete the training proposal submission form online.  If you have questions about filling out the online form, please contact Adrienne Packard at adrienne.packard@americanbar.org.  Training proposals are due no later than October 15, 2012.

• 9.14.12 – the continuing rise of self-help centers for litigants who represent themselves in civil matters (in most cases b/c they can’t afford a lawyers and legal aid doesn’t have the resources to handle the case): People in Macoupin County [Illinois] who can’t afford to hire an attorney soon will be getting online help through the efforts of the court system and the Carlinville library.  A free online legal self-help center will be accessible to anyone with a computer connected to the Internet….  The Macoupin legal self-help center is one of 91 throughout Illinois, each in a separate county.  Start-up funding for the legal center is provided by the Illinois Equal Justice Foundation through a state appropriation.” (Story from the State Journal-Register.

• 9.14.12 – The Recorder recognizes the outstanding pro bono efforts of 10 law-firm offices in Northern California.

• 9.14.12 – this news items contains a good lesson for law students about a very, very inappropriate use of social media.  “A Miami-Dade judge declared a mistrial in a murder case Wednesday after a defense lawyer posted a photo of her client’s leopard-print underwear on Facebook.  [Defendant Fermin Recalde’s] family brought him a bag of fresh clothes to wear during trial. When Miami-Dade corrections officers lifted up the pieces for a routine inspection, Recalde’s public defender Anya Cintron Stern snapped a photo of Recalde’s briefs with her cellphone, witnesses said.   While on a break, the 31-year-old lawyer posted the photo on her personal Facebook page with a caption suggesting the client’s family believed the underwear was ‘proper attire for trial.’  Although her Facebook page is private and can only be viewed by her friends, somebody who saw the posting notified Miami-Dade Judge Leon Firtel, who declared a mistrial.  And Cintron Stern was immediately fired, according to Miami-Dade Public Defender Carlos Martinez, whose office represents clients who cannot afford a private attorney.”  (Article from the Miami Herald.)

• 9.13.12 – “The Ford Foundation…announced plans to place as many as 100 students from Harvard Law School, Stanford Law School, New York University School of Law and Yale Law School in public interest summer jobs in 2013.   Public interest fellowships typically pay stipends just large enough to cover basic costs. By contrast, the Ford fellows will receive $15,000 for summer work at an array of high-profile public interest organizations, including the Brookings Institution, the Environmental Defense Fund and the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund. The foundation has committed $1.75 million for the inaugural year.”  (Article in the National Law Journal.)

• Music!  A few weeks ago I went to a great concert featuring punk-rock legend Bob Mould.  Mould’s had a fascinating music career trajectory.  He started off as the front-man in legendary punk band Husker Du, moved into indie rock, then electronica, then back to rock.  Now one never knows quite what he’s going to get into.  But he played a great rock show here in DC a couple of weeks back.  So here’s “See A Little Light,” a lighter song from his 1989 s0lo debut. 

By: Steve Grumm

Happy Friday, folks.   It’s been a light news week, and I’m traveling.  So you’re spared from my typical musings, ramblings and editorializing.  Here’s the access-to-justice and public interest news in very short:

• defense lawyers association backs NM measure to convert public defense program to independent state agency;
• Honoring lawyer pro bono/public interest contributions in NY;
• from UT, a look at the Legal Aid Society of Salt Lake;
• new U.S. poverty data;
• in CA, Riverside County’s public defender blasts budget decisions that amount to “amputations”, not just cuts;
• the rotten state of IOLTA funding in FL
• back in CA, a unique new clinic at UC  Davis Law;
• Michigan’s state house considers creating a commission to promote public defender standards;
• public defender reality TV in NY;
• public defender caseload standards to take effect in MO.

The news in less short:

• 9.14.12 – “Criminal defense lawyers are helping to finance a campaign for a ballot proposal to make the New Mexico Public Defender Department an independent state agency.A campaign finance report shows the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers contributed $10,000 last month to a newly formed political committee that’s promoting voter approval of the proposed constitutional amendment.  (Here’s the short AP story.)

• 9.12.12 – the New York Law Journal honors its “Lawyers Who Lead by Example”: We asked the legal community to nominate their colleagues who demonstrate a sustained commitment to improving the lives of poor or nearly poor New Yorkers. We received about 70 nominations, all of them worthy.  Our 14 honorees for 2012 are truly part of the solution, demonstrating the highest level of commitment to their profession and their communities, tapping their training, business acumen, creativity and humanity to solve legal problems for those in need.  This year the Law Journal expanded the range of categories. Our 2012 honorees include one law firm; eight private attorneys; an in-house lawyer; three public interest attorneys who reached beyond the borders of their programs to bring attention and resources to the cause, and a law school clinic.”

• 9.12.12 – a piece in the Salt Lake Tribune looks at the Legal Aid Society’s nine decades of work on behalf of low-income Utahans.

• 9.12.12 – The U.S. Census Bureau released 2011 poverty data this week (press release).  The poverty rate remained essentially unchanged between 2010 and 2011.  Here’s a little more from the Census Bureau.

• 9.11.12 – Riverside County’s new budget is balanced, but hardly fair, in the view of the public defender: “Public Defender Gary Windom protested what he characterized as a draconian cut to his office, which earlier this summer laid off three people. Lawyers in the office represent people accused of crimes who cannot afford their own attorneys.  ‘These cuts are not cuts, they are amputations,’ Windom said. Windom said he was particularly concerned about a $1.5 million reduction for a unit that represents people who face the death penalty, if found guilty. He said that unit handles 20 death penalty cases a year and the cut would cripple the program by gutting 50 percent of its revenue.  Windom also objected to an additional $1 million cut to the public defender’s office budget overall.  And he questioned a projection that a new $50 fee charged to the accused when county lawyers are assigned to them would generate $1 million for the office.” (Article from the Californian.)

• 9.11.12 – the rotten state of legal services funding in Florida.  “[Florida Bar Foundation Executive Director Jane Curran] said that the Foundation’s revenues, generated by short-term interest on trust accounts, shrank from $44 million in 2007, before the recession, to $5.58 million last fiscal year, which ended June 30. ‘Our funding cuts alone … will result in the layoff of 120 legal aid lawyers,’ Curran said.”  (Story from the Daytona Beach News-Journal.)

• 9.11.12 – at UC Davis Law, a clinic focused on the state high court.  “The only course of its kind in the country, the California Supreme Court clinic is designed to train select students in the art of researching and writing briefs for the state’s highest court.  Some law schools in California and other states have similar programs that focus on the U.S. Supreme Court, but none is devoted to a state high court.
  [T]he students will provide pro bono representation to individuals and organizations in both criminal and civil matters pending before court. The class will enter a case either as co-counsel to a party or as an amicus curiae…”  (Article in the Sacramento Bee.) 

• 9.10.12 – a short article on Michigan Public Radio’s website: “Michigan’s public defender system is consistently rated one of the worst in the country. But this week, the House Judiciary Committee will consider creating a commission to establish standards for indigent defense.”

• 9.10.12 – public defender reality TV. “The special, Criminal Defense: And Justice for All, was scheduled to air in two half-hour episodes beginning Tuesday [9/11] at 10 p.m. Eastern Time on the National Geographic Channel. Filmed over a span of three weeks, the shows offer a day-in-the-life look at several lawyers as they defend their clients.  The show’s executive producer…says most television programs focusing on criminal justice are based on the police or prosecution point of view. ‘The idea of having access to the work of public defenders is something that has almost never been shown before to the public,’ he tells the ABA Journal in an interview.  Law-and-order policies get lots of public debate, he points out. Now viewers will get ‘an opportunity to see how the policies that are talked about in the abstract and in the public square affect individual people’s lives’.”  The two episodes were filmed as a pilot and have the potential to become a series.”  (Full story from the ABA Journal.) 

• 9.7.12 – in Missouri, a new public-defender caseload standard to take effect on 10/1: “Boone County public defenders might have to decline immediate representation for some clients under a formula set to take effect Oct. 1 that will cap their monthly caseload.”  (Story from the Columbia Tribune.)

by Ashley Matthews

Next year, New York will start implementing the nation’s first state-mandated pro bono for new lawyers trying to pass the bar. This requirement has led many graduating law students to amp up their volunteer efforts in hopes of meeting the 50-hour requirement.

But it’s not just New York’s graduating law students who are reaching out to populations in need. From the ABA Journal:

Call Richard Horstman the poster child for pro bono programs.

For more than 34 years, Horstman has worked in Houston-based Marathon Oil’s corporate legal department, where he now oversees all international legal operations. Until five years ago, he didn’t give a second thought about doing pro bono legal work.

“I always felt I did enough law at work,” he says. “I focused my public service and community work on nonlegal matters.”

In 2007, Marathon’s then-general counsel instituted a formal pro bono program for the company’s lawyers. As part of the new effort, Catholic Charities made a presentation highlighting the legal needs of immigrant children in the United States.

Horstman agreed to tackle a single case. It changed his perception of himself and his practice. “I realized that I am one of the few who can do this because of my expertise as a lawyer,” he says.

While Horstman doesn’t favor state-mandated pro bono, he thinks law firms and in-house corporate legal departments should implement formal pro bono efforts that strongly encourage their lawyers to get involved.

“I regret that I didn’t start doing pro bono earlier,” he says.

In New York, recent law graduates are now required by law to get the head start Horstman never had. Do you think state-mandated pro bono work should be required to practice law in your jurisdiction?

By: Steve Grumm

Happy Friday, folks.  The Bulletin went on holiday last week while its author observed the Labor Day weekend and hiked around Harper’s Ferry, WV.   Three noteworthy items before moving to the access-to-justice and public interest news:   

• I was initially attracted to this op-ed because it offers data on state/local government job cuts between 2008 and the present.  But more interesting is its exploration of the importance of community engagement in our government fiscal decisions.  When We The People aren’t engaged and informed, fiscal policy decisions become less factually grounded and more “quixotic and arbitrary.”  If nothing else it’s a testament to why it’s our civic duty to, well, actually engage in civics.  (Here’s the New York Times op-ed.)
• What personal/professional traits drive entrepreneurship and creative action in the legal arena?  There are eight of them, it turns out, and the ABA has collected them for us.  They boil down to: “Be a glass-half-full person and welcome new ideas.”  But the list is worth a read.
• With record-level numbers of food stamp recipients these days, here’s some insight, via The Atlantic, as to whom those recipients are: 
  • Some 43 percent of SNAP recipients live at or below half the poverty line. Only 15 percent can say they live above the poverty line.
  • Children under 18 account for 47 percent of all food stamp recipients. Eight percent are seniors.
  • Forty-one percent of beneficiaries lived in households with partially- or fully-employed workers.  

The public interest news in very short:

• $50 for a public defender in Riverside County, CA?;
• what Alabama is to college football, Vermont Law is to environmental law (with due respect to my Oregonian law-school friends);
• a class of 14 new assistant district attorneys in Massachusetts’s most populous county;
• the American Bar Foundation receives federal grant funding to explore access-to-justice issues;
• appointed counsel or staff public defenders for NYC conflicts cases?;
• Baylor Law School starting up veterans legal aid clinics;
• LSC v. CRLA moves to the federal appellate level;
• a new nonprofit law office in Oklahoma serving low- and moderate-income clients;
• Warren County, NY is re-examining its public defender salaries;
• a federally mandated overhaul of Shelby County’s (Memphis) juvenile court system plods along;
• the strain on Legal Aid of the Bluegrass’s resources;
• experimenting with Civil Gideon in San Diego;
• U. of Memphis School of Law goes to a pro bono graduation requirement;
• report highlights the economic benefit that Iowa Legal Aid provides for the Hawkeye State;
• Kansas lawmakers emphasize importance of indigent defense funding;
• more good news re legal aid funding from national foreclosure class-action settlment funds (IL and WA);
• the dire financial straits of Jacksonville Area Legal Aid (FL);
• kudos to the San Fran defender’s Mobilization for Adolescent Growth in our Communities (MAGIC) program;
• Ohio prosecutor moonlights as civil legal aid lawyer;
• pro bono developments stemming from Dewey & LeBoeuf’s downfall;
• DOJ funding will provide loan repayment assistance for some prosecutors and defenders in Vermont;
• Super music history music bonus(!) for those who read all the way to the bottom, and for those rulebreakers who just scroll down.

The summaries:

• 9.6.12 – “Criminal defendants in Riverside County [CA] using public defenders may soon have to pay $50 for the service.  The Board of Supervisors will consider establishing the registration fee at its meeting Tuesday, Sept. 11.  County officials suggested the fee to avoid using taxpayer dollars to recoup court costs. As much as $1 million annually could be raised through the fee, according to a county staff report.  The fee would apply to defendants during arraignments who say they can’t afford their own lawyer. Defendants fill out confidential affidavits under penalty of perjury about their finances, which the courts examine to determine their ability to pay toward their defense.  The fee would be waived if the defendants prove they can’t pay it and legal services would not be denied if there’s no payment, the staff report read.”  (Story from the Press-Enterprise.)

• 9.6.12 – Vermont Law School has received a $1.5 million grant from the U.S. State Department to support a three-year project designed to improve environmental and public health in China.  The U.S.-China Partnership will work with Southwest Forestry University in Kunming, Yunnan Province, to create a “legal ecosystem” that includes an environmental and biodiversity law clinic to serve nongovernmental organizations, communities and underserved citizens. The school will host workshops to educate environmental leaders, lawyers and citizens on legal avenues to address environmental and public health issues.”  (Story from the VTDigger.com website.)

• 9.6.12 – real, actual, good hiring news on the public interest front – 14 new prosecutors in Middlesex County, MA: “District Attorney Gerry Leone announced today that eighteen new Assistant District Attorneys have been hired as part of the 2012 Fall Class of ADAs. Fourteen of the new ADAs will be assigned to the district courts throughout Middlesex County, located in Ayer, Lowell, Concord, Framingham, Woburn, Cambridge, Malden, Somerville, and Waltham. Additionally, four of the new ADAs will be assigned to the Appeals and Training Bureau.”  Of the fourteen new ADA’s, all but one went to law school in Boston.  (Full announcement on Boston.com.) 

• 9.5.12 – bringing some analytical precision to the quest for equal access to justice.  From Richard Zorza’s blog: “On December 7 and 8, in Chicago, the American Bar Foundation, with [Nat’l. Science Foundation] funding, will be conducting a two day event on research into access to justice. The scheduling is planed [sic] to facilitate attendance by those going to the NLADA Conference.   On Friday December 7, in the afternoon, there will be an open event — a poster session and town hall meeting, bringing together researchers and practitioners to explore issues of research into access to justice.  On Saturday Dec 8, there will be an all day invitational meeting to explore the possibilities further and move the agenda ahead.  Moreover, while the Saturday meeting is by invitation, it is possible to apply to be asked.  The application to attend is here.  The application is due Sept 28, 2012.  Additional information is available from A2JWorkshop(at)abfn.org.”

• 9.5.12 – appointed counsel or staff public defenders?  Indigent defense controversy in NYC:  “New York City’s plan to shift tens of thousands of criminal cases involving indigent defendants from private attorneys to the Legal Aid Society and other groups is illegal and an attempt to usurp judicial authority, attorneys for a group of bar associations told the Court of Appeals on Wednesday.  Six bar groups are challenging the plan, which was adopted in 2010 and would only affect cases in which the initial legal aid group assigned to a defendant cannot provide representation due to a conflict.  Before 2010, cases in which aid groups had a conflict were reassigned to approximately 1,100 private attorneys, known as 18-B lawyers, who were identified by the county bars. But the city decided to solicit contracts from aid groups to handle conflict cases instead of continuing to rely solely on 18-B lawyers.”  (Article from Thomson Reuters.)

• 9.4.12 – “Baylor Law School will host free legal aid clinics each month to help local veterans with a variety of civil issues.  Law Professor Bridget Fuselier, who is coordinating the program, said veterans will meet one-on-one with a local attorney for help with anything from estate planning and help filing for disability benefits to filing for divorce or pursuing a civil suit.  The law school is recruiting local attorneys to provide pro bono legal counsel and case-management services. The attorneys also will be paired with law students who will assist in preparing legal documents or law research.  The initiative is supported by a $22,500 grant the law school received from the Texas Access to Justice Foundation. The funds will help purchase laptops lawyers will use to complete transactions at the clinics, as well as purchase legal forms, and cover filing and administrative costs.”  (Article from the Waco Tribune.)
  • Here’s a little more from a Baylor Law School press release: Baylor Law School is one of 11 Texas nonprofits which are splitting over $400K in Texas Access-to-Justice Foundation grant funding to provide legal services to veterans.  “The Texas Access to Justice Commission – through its Champions of Justice Gala – raised more than $413,000 in 2012. TAJF will use the money raised to provide the grants to the selected nonprofit organizations. Now in its third year, the Champions of Justice Gala has raised more than $1 million for veterans’ legal services since its inception.” 

• 9.3.12 – “For more than six years, federal officials have pressed for client information and internal policy documents from [California Rural Legal Assistance, Inc. (CRLA)].  The inspector general for the Legal Services Corp. (LSC), which funds organizations that offer civil legal services to low-income families and individuals, is investigating whether…CRLA has abused its receipt of grant money — potentially violating federal law.  [CRLA’s] lawyers have resisted complying with an administrative subpoena, pushing the U.S. Justice Department to ask a judge in Washington’s federal trial court to force the organization to obey the demand for documents. CRLA lost at the trial level last year, and now the…dispute is unfolding in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit.  The case spotlights a clash between government oversight of federally funded legal service groups and state-based professional rules of responsibility that govern attorney[s].  Lawyers for CRLA contend disclosure of the information the government has demanded will violate attorney-client confidentiality and intrude on protected work-product documents.”  (Full story from the National Law Journal.)

• 9.3.12 – a new nonprofit law office in Oklahoma serving low- and moderate-income clients: Oklahoma Attorney Resources (OAR) is a private, 501(c)(3) non-profit organization that provides family law legal assistance for low- to middle-income working public who need help with legal issues, according to a media release. Some of those issues are divorce, child custody, child support, paternity, guardianship and adoptions. The group also assists with Chapter 7 bankruptcies.  The program is designed to meet the need for access to the justice system by low-income residents whose resources are insufficient to pay prevailing rates for private attorneys. The attorneys working with the organization are all licensed in Oklahoma and experienced in family law. They have agreed to work at reduced rates to provide legal services to families in need who would otherwise be without representation. (Article from the Muskegee Phoenix.)

• 9.3.12 – Warren County, NY is looking at its public defender salaries, in part because, well, defender salaries are low, but also because a new state law will have the defenders providing counsel in some divorce matters (in addition to the more traditional criminal docket.) The county “…Public Defender John Wappett told county supervisors last week his two top assistant public defenders are searching for new jobs because of their stagnant salaries and a change in law that has assigned some of them to cases of divorce, in which most of the assistants do not have significant experience. Assigned counsel for the indigent has typically only been available in criminal and Family Court cases.”  (Article from the Post Star.) 

• 9.2.12 – “The federally mandated overhaul of Shelby County Juvenile Court is expected to cost millions — even if the county can avoid a federal lawsuit.  That’s because the proposed changes would create new positions, including full-time juvenile public defenders and a court-based Disproportionate Minority Contact coordinator who would work to reduce the number of black youths brought to court, held in jail and transferred to adult court.” (Article in the Commercial Appeal.)

• 8.31.12 – “Legal Aid of the Bluegrass (LABG) expects to provide legal assistance to nearly 20,000 individuals this year in 33 northern and central Kentucky counties.  LABG will be financing its operations with $1.1 million less than it had to work with the previous year.  Richard Cullison, executive director and program director for Rowan and 11 other area counties, said the Morehead office is working with the fewest number of attorneys it has had since its inception…. The Covington-based LABG said they already turn away 7,063 people annually who are eligible for services.”  (Story from The Morehead News.)

• 8.31.12 – experimenting with Civil Gideon in San Diego: “Courts around the state are in the middle of adjusting to budget cuts that have led to courtroom closures, reduced hours at clerk’s offices and concern the reductions will limit access to the justice system for state residents.  But a groundbreaking program in San Diego that began this year goes against that grain, providing legal representation to a select group of people in cases involving landlord-tenant disputes and child custody matters.  With a $2 million in annual funding from the state under legislation passed in 2010, the San Diego Legal Aid Society and the San Diego Volunteer Lawyer Program have been providing lawyers for free to indigent people in some civil law cases.”  (Story from the San Diego Union-Tribune.)

• 8.30.12 – the University of Memphis Cecil C. Humphreys School of Law has implemented “a new pro bono requirement that will affect students this fall. Students entering the law school at that time will be among the first class that will have to perform…pro bono legal work to graduate.  Students entering this fall and thereafter will be required to complete 40 hours of supervised pro bono work. (Story from the Memphis Daily News.) 

•  Iowa Legal Aid has released a study reviewing the economic impact that its work on behalf of low-income Iowans has on the state economy and Iowans more broadly: “All told, Iowa Legal Aid’s financial impact on the Iowa economy in 2011 totaled $28,729,291.29. This represents a return of $5.71 for every single dollar invested in Iowa Legal Aid by sources within Iowa. Investing in Iowa Legal Aid is important because Iowa Legal Aid works to provide hope, dignity, and justice to Iowa’s poorest and most vulnerable citizens. But clearly, investing in Iowa Legal Aid also makes good economic sense.”  

• 8.29.12 – Here we are in Kansas: “A Senate committee grilled appointees to a board that oversees the state’s public defenders Wednesday, asking repeatedly if they will fight to ensure the program is properly funded.  Sen. Tim Owens, R-Overland Park, said the state could be “in dire trouble” if it doesn’t provide more money for public defenders for defendants who can’t afford them. Owens, a lawyer, suggested that the state could face lawsuits if it fails to do so…. Owens wasn’t the only member [senator] to express concern. Sen. Jean Schodorf, R-Wichita, said she believed the indigent defense program had been “underserved and underfunded” throughout her 12 years in the Legislature and warned Beck to gird himself for further cuts.  Sen. Jay Emler, R-McPherson, the committee chairman and a lawyer, said his colleagues’ concerns about public defense are valid.”  (Article from the Topeka Capital-Journal.)

• 8.29.12 – a couple of good-news items regarding legal services funding:
  • From Illinois: “A legal aid group in Chicago is getting $4.7 million from a national foreclosure settlement to help homeowners hit by the mortgage crisis.   Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan announced on August 28 that the Legal Assistance Foundation in Chicago would receive the money from her state’s portion of the $25 billion settlement reached with five banks in March. Illinois received about $1 billion from the settlement, and Madigan has said that $20 million would go to legal aid.  Illinois joins other states that have committed proceeds from the settlement to legal aid.”  (Article from the National Law Journal.) 
  • Washington State: “Thirteen…non-profit organizations will split the $43.8 million the state received to fund foreclosure relief as part of the landmark $25 billion national settlement with the country’s five largest mortgage servicers….  The Legal Foundation of Washington’s Home Justice project will receive…roughly $13 million to provide legal representation for the more than 30,000 low and moderate income people who are expected to face foreclosure in the coming years or who are among the more than 135,000 households whose homes were foreclosed upon in the last four years.”  (Article from the Seattle Medium)

• 8.28.12 – a Florida Times-Union editorial laments the dire financial straits of Jacksonville Area Legal Aid.

• 8.27.12 -in Michigan, the Jackson County Legal News takes note of the state’s indigent defense woes: “The plight of the public defender in Michigan has come under scrutiny since a state report said the Michigan wasn’t doing enough to represent indigent people.  The Michigan Advisory Commission on Indigent Defense released a report in June that found the state wasn’t meeting minimum standards for indigent defense as set forth by the American Bar Association.  In 2008, the National Legal Aide & Defense Association’s report found Michigan ranked 44th in the nation on per-capita spending on indigent defense.”  

• 8.27.12 – “The San Francisco Public Defender’s MAGIC program will be honored by public school officials Tuesday for its service to tens of thousands of low-income San Francisco children… .Mobilization for Adolescent Growth in our Communities (MAGIC) was initiated by the San Francisco Public Defender’s Office in 2004 in Bayview-Hunters Point and in the Western Addition in 2006. The program convenes more than 100 community organizations and concerned citizens who work to reduce the number of kids who fall through social service gaps by efficiently coordinating opportunities, support and resources.” (View full press release.)

• 8.25.12 – public service times two.  In addition to his day job, an Ohio city prosecutor moonlights by running a civil legal aid clinic through his church.  (Article from the Toledo Blade.) 

• 8.24.12 – some pro bono developments in the wake of law firm Dewey & LeBoeuf’s downfall.
  • First, an American Lawyer article entitled, “Dewey’s Former Pro Bono Clients Feel Strain of Firm’s Closure”: “Although other law firm collapses—including those of Coudert Brothers, Heller Ehrman, Howrey, and Thelen——have left organizations scrambling to reassign pro bono work, Dewey’s disappearance has struck a particularly significant blow given the extent of its contributions. In 2011 The American Lawyer ranked the firm fifth among the nation’s largest law firms for its commitment to pro bono.  That’s not to say all pro bono work died when Dewey did. In fact, many Dewey lawyers took ongoing matters with them to their new professional homes, and several still sit on the boards of the organizations the firm once served.”
  • Second, the firm’s former pro bono director has launched a consultancy, offering support services for law firms that don’t have internal pro bono infrastructure.  I’m surprised that I’ve never heard of such an undertaking before. 

• 8.23.12 – “Vermont Student Assistance Corporation (VSAC) has received a grant of $51,515 from the U.S. Department of Justice to go toward student loan forgiveness for attorneys who work as state prosecutors or state or federal public defenders in Vermont.  This is the third year VSAC has received the funding, although federal cuts resulted in a grant amount this year that is half that awarded each of the prior two years. VSAC administers the program at no charge so that all of the funding can go to eligible recipients. By law, half the dollars must go to prosecutors and half to public defenders.  VSAC works with the state’s Office of the Defender General, its Department of State’s Attorneys, and the Federal Public Defender for the District of Vermont to identify eligible applicants and award funding.”  (Press release hosted at VTDigger.org.)    

Music!  It’s September.  September used to be one of my favorite months because the summertime humidity would abate.  Now August seems to stretch and stretch, ever defiant.  September may be corrupted beyond salvage.  I accept it.  Nevertheless, it’s worth paying tribute to the ninth month with Big Star’s “September Gurls” (goofy spelling theirs).  Big Star, while not achieving commercial success during their active period in the 1970s, later emerged as a powerful influence on indie-rock bands.  (Here’s NPR’s take on the band’s history.)  Alex Chilton, Big Star’s major creative force, had already felt some 1960s fame as a member of the Box Tops.  Their song “The Letter” was a hit single back when my parents were young and hip.  Then came Big Star.  After Big Star ceased to be, bands from the Replacements (their song “Alex Chilton” is an unapologetic tribute, and the video displays the band’s contempt for MTV culture) to Counting Crows (who aspired to be “big stars” in their mega-hit “Mr. Jones”) praised Chilton loudly and proudly.  Though Chilton continued making music, the influence he had on rock & roll far outsized the little bit of money he made.  Later in life he spent time washing dishes in a New Orleans restaurant.   Chilton died in 2010 without the trappings of (big) stardom.  But not without a legacy.

So we’ve gotten a little far afield from plain old September.  Anyway, enjoy the September weekend.

For many recent law graduates, the six-month grace period for student loan repayment is getting closer and closer. If you’re looking for guidance on educational debt management, Equal Justice Works is hosting a series of webinars on managing loan repayment while pursuing a career in public service.

The first webinar, titled “How to Pay Your Bills AND Your Student Loans: Utilizing Income-Based Repayment,”  is Thursday, September 13. For the full schedule, check out the message below from Equal Justice Works!

Educational debt has become a crippling burden for far too many, and especially for those who want to pursue careers in public service. Equal Justice Works provides in depth information on loan repayment assistance programs and relief programs like Income-Based Repayment and Public Service Loan Forgiveness to help everyone pursue the career of their dreams.

As part of this continuing work, we’ve created a free manual that details how these programs work and covers the basics of student loans and repayment options. Click here to download your free copy.

 As always, our weekly U.S. News blog the Student Loan Range was full of in-depth and timely information. Among other things, we took a look at the report from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s report on private student loans, reviewed law professor Brian Tamanaha’s controversial new book Failing Law Schools and warned students about campus debit cards.

 Every month, our free, live webinars also provide a comprehensive overview of the debt relief options available for students and graduates – including Public Service Loan Forgiveness and Income-Based Repayment – and provide viewers with the opportunity to ask questions. Click here to view a schedule of our webinars and to register for an upcoming session.

 Our current sessions include:

How to Pay Your Bills AND Your Student Loans: Utilizing Income-Based Repayment

Thursday, September 13, 3-4 p.m. EDT

Saddled with high student debt? This webinar reviews Income-Based Repayment, a powerful provision of the College Cost Reduction and Access Act that allows anyone with high debt relative to their income to reduce their federal student loan payments.

This interactive webinar will teach you:

• How to understand your federal loans
• How Income-Based Repayment works and if it is right for you
• How to sign up for Income-Based Repayment

 Get Your Educational Loans Forgiven: Public Service Loan Forgiveness

Thursday, September 20, 3-4 p.m. EDT

For recent graduates with jobs in government or at a nonprofit, this webinar explains how to make sure you immediately begin fulfilling requirements to qualify for Public Service Loan Forgiveness so that your educational debt will be forgiven as soon as possible.

You will learn about:

• The importance of having the right kind of Federal Loans
• What you need to do to qualify for Public Service Loan Forgiveness
• How long it will take to have your educational debt forgiven

 Drowning in Debt? Learn How Government and Nonprofit Workers Can Earn Public Service Loan Forgiveness

Thursday, September 27, 3-4 p.m. EDT

A must attend for anyone with educational debt planning to work or currently working for the government or a nonprofit, this webinar explains how you can benefit from the College Cost Reduction and Access Act, the most significant law affecting public service in a generation.

This webinar will teach you how to:

• Understand your federal loans
• Manage your monthly payments using income-driven repayment plans like Income-Based Repayment plan
•  How to qualify for Public Service Loan Forgiveness