By: Steve Grumm

Happy Friday, ladies and gents.  And Happy 2013.  The Bulletin returns after a one-week holiday hiatus.  You are all undoubtedly looking for an authoritative source to tell you which pop culture trends to follow in 2013, and which to leave behind with 2012.  I am not that source.  (I recently had to spend 10 minutes convincing someone that my suggestion to “watch a DVD” was made in earnest.)  However, the Washington Post’s “The List: 2013” provides zeitgeist guidance in convenient “What’s Out?/What’s In?” format.  Tofu is out, in favor of insects.  That’s all well and good but I still classify both as “things that are not food.” 

Before the public interest news, a heads-up for law students that we’re hosting a public interest summer job search webinar series with our good friends at Equal Justice Works.  Dates: 1/15 and 1/22.  Registration info and all other details here.

Also, here’s a “fiscal cliff” dispatch focusing on two angles that may interest this blog’s readership:

• the potential impact on charitable contributions to nonprofits, courtesy of the Chronicle of Philanthropy: “Throughout December nonprofits [had] been lobbying Congress and President Obama not to impose limits on the tax savings wealthy donors get when they make charitable contributions.  The Senate-crafted plan enacts limits that charities have opposed. It reinstates a provision eliminated in 2010 that reduces the value of itemized deductions by 3 percent for household incomes over $300,000. Write-offs grow more limited the more taxable income a person has, and could reduce the value of deductions by up to 80 percent for the highest-income taxpayers, according to the Tax Policy Center.”
• the potential impact on the federal government labor force, courtesy of Government Executive.

On to the week’s public interest and access-to-justice news.  In very, very brief:

• the ongoing dispute over public defender caseload strains in Missouri;
• Oklahoma AG and legal aid collaborate on program to help low-income homeowners facing foreclosure;
• teaching law students about technology’s role in bridging the justice gap;
• Cash-strapped CA courts could see more cuts, closures;
• a CA county’s public defender sued for not providing counsel at defendants’ initial court appearances;
• ideas for how state-level access-to-justice networks should develop;
• law school clinic news potpourri;
• U.S. farmworker advocates take their pleas for farm access to the U.N.;
• no legislative action last year on Michigan indigent defense system reforms;
• a shift in post-Hurricane Sandy pro bono efforts;
• IOLTA funds to lose unlimited FDIC insurance backing(?).
• Music!

The summaries:

• 1.4.12 – this lengthy piece in The Missourian brings readers up to speed on the caseload controversy surrounding the Missouri Public Defender System.  In 2012 the rhetoric between prosecutors, judges, and those speaking for the defender system was at times quite heated. And there is still much disagreement on how strained the indigent defense system is.
  • And on a related note: “The chair of Missouri’s House Judiciary Committee is proposing reductions in the state’s public defender system.  Republican State Representative Stanley Cox of Sedalia says public defenders would still handle the most serious cases for indigent defendants, but the more minor cases would be bid out to private attorneys.”  (Story from St. Louis Public Radio.) 

• 1.2.13 – “The Attorney General’s Office and Legal Aid Services of Oklahoma are providing free legal help to homeowners who are facing mortgage issues or foreclosure.  The program – Resolution Oklahoma – is designed to help Oklahoma residents stay in their homes or seek the best outcome for their situations. The program is provided by a grant from the Attorney General’s Oklahoma Mortgage Settlement Fund.  The fund was created in March, following a settlement by the AG’s Office with five of the nation’s largest mortgage servicers.”  (Story from LoanSafe.org.)

• 1.2.13 – from a press release: “The Center for Computer-Assisted Legal Instruction (CALI®) will announce at the annual meeting of the American Association of Law Schools in New Orleans on January 6, 2013 that they have reached agreements with faculty members from six law schools to develop course kits as part of the Access to Justice Clinical Course Project (A2J Clinic Project). Participating law schools include Columbia Law School, Concordia University School of Law, CUNY School of Law, Georgetown University Law Center, UNC School of Law, and University of Miami School of Law. Each participating faculty member will develop and document a course model that uses A2J Author® to teach law students how technology tools can be used to lower barriers to justice for low-income, self-represented litigants. CALI will use those course models to assist other law schools in establishing A2J Clinical Courses as a permanent part of their law school curriculum.”

• January 2013 – “California’s judicial branch and its allies in the legal community are starting off the New Year under a cloud of uncertainty over further budget cuts…. Courts have been decimated by four years of cuts that have reduced the judicial branch budget by about 30 percent, or $475 million. In addition, the governor revealed to court leaders last month that he’s considering sweeping out local trial court reserves one year earlier than expected, which court leaders say would translate into an additional $200 million cut…. Many counties have already eliminated all non-mandatory spending, shuttered courthouses and reduced services. Litigants in remote reaches of San Bernardino County, for example, will have to travel 175 miles to the nearest courthouse starting in May. Los Angeles County Superior Court is considering a major restructuring that would close 10 courthouses and consolidate all personal injury cases to two judges”  (Story from the California Bar Journal.)

• 12.31.12 – “Contra Costa County’s long-standing practice of assigning defense attorneys to indigent criminal defendants after — and not at — their initial court appearance has resulted in a federal class action lawsuit against Public Defender Robin Lipetzky. Point Richmond attorney Christopher Martin, one of two attorneys who filed the lawsuit in U.S. District Court in Oakland on Dec. 21, says the illegal practice could cost the county a minimum of $4,000 for each defendant whose civil rights were violated…. The lawsuit alleges that indigent, in-custody defendants are left in County Jail without an attorney for five to 13 days after their first court appearance, in violation of the right to assistance of counsel from the time one first faces a judge.”  (Full story from the Contra Costa Times.)

• 12.30.12 – Richard Zorza blogs on the priorities which should govern development of state-level access-to-justice infrastructures, and offers recommendations about promoting AtJ’s evolution in the states.

• 12.28.12 – law school clinic news potpourri:
  • 12.28.12 – “When students at the University of Detroit Mercy School of Law return from winter break, those enrolled in clinics will enjoy new digs in a refurbished former city firehouse.  The law school in December opened the 6,000-square-foot space, which will now house its 10 legal clinics, just steps away from its main building.”  (Story from the National Law Journal.)
  • 12.27.12 – Stanford Law starting a religious liberties clinic, which “administrators say is the first of its kind at a U.S. School. The clinic was established with $1.6 million in seed funding from the Washington-based Becket Fund for Religious Liberty, which supports the free expression of religious beliefs regardless of the faith. Unlike many public interest law groups that support religious freedom, Stanford’s clinic will take on clients from any religion, said director James Sonne.  ‘The point of a clinic is to teach professional skills to law students using real cases and live clients,’ said Sonne. ‘We think the religious liberty aspect offers a unique way to do this work, and it’s something the students get excited about. As our culture becomes more diverse, it’s a great way for students to represent clients whose beliefs are different from their own.’  (Story from the National Law Journal.)
  • 12.21.12 – “The University of Louisville Louis D. Brandeis School of Law has received a $1 million gift that will permanently endow a student-run clinic that provides legal advice to the poor.  The donation from Sue Ellen Ackerson of Louisville and her family was made to honor her late husband, Robert Ackerson, who founded the Ackerson and Yann law firm. The clinic will be renamed The Robert and Sue Ellen Ackerson Law Clinic.”  (Story from the Associated Press.)

• 12.27.12 – Voice of America reports on a group of U.S. farmworker rights advocates that has gone to the United Nations on the issue of being able to get access to workers on farm property. “[A]  coalition of 28 rights groups, including Maryland Legal Aid, the Southern Poverty Law Center and the labor union AFL-CIO, submitted a complaint to the United Nations on December 13. The coalition argued that the lack of meaningful access to migrant labor camps ‘stymies’ farmworkers’ access to justice and, as a result, ‘violates international human rights law.’  It has called on the U.N. Envoy for Extreme Poverty and Human Rights, Magdalena Sepúlveda, to pressure the U.S. government to allow aid workers better access to migrant farm camps.”

• 12.24.12 – “A proposed overhaul to Michigan’s public defense system will have to wait until next year for action by the state Legislature.  State lawmakers passed a flurry of bills in their “lame duck” session. But there were a number of high-profile bills that didn’t move at all.  One of those would change the way the state appoints lawyers to people who can’t afford one.  Michigan’s public defense system is considered one of the worst in the country….  Critics of the [reform] plan say it would burden cash-strapped county governments, and doesn’t lay out specific standards they would have to meet.”  (Story from Michigan Public Radio.) 

• 12.24.12 – “Eight weeks after Hurricane Sandy, New York lawyers who have been assisting storm victims pro bono say they are in the effort for the long haul.  However, their focus is shifting from the most pressing legal needs in the immediate aftermath of the storm to grinding long-term problems.  At first, the lawyers concentrated on securing temporary housing, food stamps and unemployment benefits for storm victims, and later, documenting damages for homeowner and flood insurance and Federal Emergency Management Agency claims.  Now, people are increasingly experiencing difficulties with FEMA officials, landlords, insurance companies and contractors.”  (Full story from the New York Law Journal.)

• 12.20.12 – “Lawyer IOLTA accounts that help fund civil legal aid and other legal programs are likely to lose their unlimited federal insurance coverage on Jan. 1.  The ABA Governmental Affairs Office says it appears unlikely that lawmakers will act this year to extend the unlimited coverage provided by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp., according to an ABA statement.  If Congress does not act, the amount of FDIC insurance available will be $250,000 per client, per financial institution, as long as the account is properly designated as a trust account and there is a proper accounting of each client’s funds.”  (Article in the ABA Journal.)
  • [update from Steve: an IOLTA administrator contacted me to offer some context about this, which I should have thought to include.  To closely paraphrase said administrator: Congress chose not to extend the FDIC’s temporary program that had provided unlimited insurance to certain checking accounts, including IOLTA accounts.  IOLTA accounts remain in the same position as this group of checking accounts — and the insurance picture looks pretty much the same as it did up until the 2008 emergency action that created a temporary unlimited insurance program. The biggest change from the pre-2008 picture?  The insurance cap remains at $250,000 per depositor instead of the pre-2008 cap of $100,000.  There are important details to this, of course, but none that end up treating IOLTA accounts unfavorably.  Here’s the link to the FDIC’s explanation of the change: http://www.fdic.gov/deposit/deposits/changes.html.]

 Music!  In 2006, The Long Winters of Seattle, WA released a pop gem with the album Putting the Days to Bed.   Here’s “Fire Island, AK.”

Are you a public interest law enthusiast and a social media pro? Want to learn more about nonprofit administration? Interested in gaining some editing/publishing experience?

If the answers to any (or all) of those questions was yes, then look no further! Today’s Job o’ the Day is for you – and, for obvious reasons, we think it’s the best summer gig around.

Our office is hiring a summer 2013 Public Interest Projects & Publications Coordinator to help us produce public interest guides and other resources. From the PSJD job listing:

The coordinator’s primary responsibilities are threefold:

1. editing and producing the 2013 PSJD Comprehensive Fellowship Guide;
2. developing original content for the PSJD website and blog; and
3. contributing to the 2013-14 PSJD Federal Legal Employment Opportunities Guide’s production.

The employment period is approximately 10 weeks and includes a stipend. The position is ideal for a law or graduate student who has editing/publishing experience and is interested in public interest law and/or nonprofit administration. The coordinator serves as an integral part of the PSJD team, which has two full-time employees.

…

Specific responsibilities associated with the coordinator position include:

• Research and update all PSJD online fellowship listings for use in the hard-copy guide. This is accomplished through email and phone outreach to employer organizations.
• Search for new fellowship listings to be added to the guide.
• Edit content and layout for publication.
• Aggregate resources and produce original content for NALP’s annually published Federal Legal Employment Opportunities Guide.
• Aggregate resources and produce original content for the PSJD website and blog.
• Other tasks as assigned.

This is a full-time, summer position, requiring a 10-week commitment. The coordinator will report to NALP’s Director of Public Service Initiatives, and will also receive guidance from NALP’s PSJD Fellow. The coordinator will work in NALP’s Washington, DC office.

The stipend will be provided at $675/week. The deadline to apply is March 8, 2013. For more information, view the full job listing at PSJD.org (log-in required)!

If you’re sick of lists, you have our apologies.  Here’s the Washington Post’s annual offering, “The List”, which purports to tells us what’s coming down the pike in pop culture, and what’s being forgotten.  For some of us it’s a lesson in, “Darn! I just learned what that is and now it’s gone!”

Great opportunity for a public-interest minded lawyer who wants to get into law school administration and who believes that practice experience is fundamental for the best legal education:

Georgetown University is currently accepting applications for the position of Assistant Dean, Clinical and Practicum Programs. The Assistant Dean reports to the Associate Dean for Clinical Programs, Practicum Programs, and Public Interest and is responsible for (1) the administrative supervision of the J.D. clinical program, (2) the academic administration of the Law Center?s clinical teaching fellowship program, and (3) the development and administrative supervision of the practicum courses.

Georgetown offers 15 clinical courses to its students. Each clinic has 1-2 clinical teaching fellows who are enrolled in the program for two years.

Qualifications: J.D. degree and 5 years post-J.D. experience; superior writing and organizational skills. Experience in clinical pedagogy, management experience in an academic or legal setting, and experience in professional mentoring or student counseling are a plus. This is an administrative, not a teaching, position.

Duties include: developing and implementing administrative procedures and academic policies governing J.D. students enrolled in the clinics and for the graduate teaching fellowship program; coordinating the clinic enrollment process; monitoring the multiple budgets of the entire clinical program; developing and editing publications describing the clinical and fellowship programs; overseeing and developing content for the clinics? web pages; coordinating the review; coordinating a year-long course on clinical pedagogy for teaching fellows; academic counseling to J.D. students related to clinics.

Georgetown is on the cutting-edge in the development of practicum courses, which combine a substantive seminar class and student field work in a related area. In these courses, all of the students in the class take the same substantive seminar. Each student also is assigned either to a field placement at an external organization or to a project that relates to the seminar topic. During the seminar, students are encouraged to critically reflect on the meaning of their field work experiences and what it means to be a lawyer practicing in this field. Duties include: recruiting faculty members to teach practicum courses; designing training for faculty members teaching practicum courses; evaluating the success of the courses and determining what classes to offer again and what the curricular needs are; providing academic counseling to J.D. students in all areas of the curriculum.

View the full listing here (login required).

[photo credit: Vox Populi blog]

By: Steve Grumm

Want insight from nonprofit and government employers about what they look for in cover letters, resumes, and interviews? We’re thrilled to partner with our friends at Equal Justice Works to present two webinars offering tips and best practices on the public-interest summer job hunt. 

 Attorneys with years of application review experience will highlight do’s and don’ts; explain how and why public interest application materials may substantively differ from law firm materials; and explore the dynamics of personal interactions in interviews and networking situations. While the webinars will focus on the summer public interest job search, the information is applicable to postgraduate positions.

• Webinar Uno: Cover Letters and Resumes on Tuesday, January 15, noon Eastern. Register here.  Presenters:
  • Paul Chavez, Senior Attorney, Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights on the San Francisco Bay Area
  • Steve Grumm, Director of Public Service Initiatives, NALP
  • Ashley Matthews, PSJD Fellow, NALP
  • Jennifer Thomas, Legal Recruiting Director, Public Defender Service for the District of Columbia
• Webinar Dos: Interviewing and Networking on Tuesday, January 22, noon Eastern. Register here.  Presenters:
  • Nita Mazumder, Equal Justice Works
  • Kate Devlin Joyce, Associate Director of Public Interest Programs, Boston College Law School
  • Daniel Goldman – Assistant Capital Defender, Northern Virginia Capital Defender’s Office

We’ll be taking Q&A during the webinars.  So while we’ll record and archive them, we encourage you to join us for the live webcasts.  Contact me at sgrumm@nalp.org if you have questions.

The Opportunity Agenda is a communications, research, and advocacy organization dedicated to building the national will to expand opportunity in America. Focused on moving hearts, minds and policy over time, the organization works with social justice groups, leaders, and movements to advance solutions that expand opportunity for everyone.

The Opportunity Agenda is currently seeking applicants for its Robert L. Carter Fellowship. From the PSJD job listing:

The Opportunity Agenda, a project of Tides Center, seeks candidates for the Robert L. Carter fellowship, for a two-year term beginning no later than September of 2013. The Opportunity Agenda is a communications, research, and advocacy organization dedicated to building the national will to expand opportunity in America.

The Fellow will participate in legal research and legal advocacy; work with coalitions on framing and messaging concerns; and collaborate with local and national public interest organizations and policymakers on policy and communications efforts. The Fellow will focus on promoting equal opportunity and protecting human rights in such sectors as economic opportunity and immigration policy. Activities are likely to include conducting research and writing legal and policy briefs; helping to create communications strategies and tools; and engaging in policy advocacy, often in partnership with coalition allies. This work will be done in close collaboration with The Opportunity Agenda’s legal, research, and communications staff, providing opportunities for social science research and media experience, as well as legal work.

We encourage applications from attorneys with 5-10 years of legal experience in relevant fields such as economic security and immigration who are interested in incorporating framing and messaging strategies into their work. Law students graduating in 2013 and judicial law clerks completing their clerkships in 2013 are also eligible. We are particularly interested in candidates with a background in the social sciences, journalism, and/or communications. Candidates must have a strong interest in working with advocates and communities in the field, and a demonstrated commitment to social justice. The Opportunity Agenda is an equal opportunity employer. We value a workplace that is diverse in terms of gender, race, class, geographic origin, sexual orientation, and other differences that enrich our society.

The application deadline is January 31, 2013. For more information, view the full job listing at PSJD.org (log-in required).

By: Steve Grumm

Happy Friday, ladies and gents.  Depending on whom you speak to, it’s the beginning of winter or the end of the world.  I’m hoping for the former.  I’m one of the weirdos who loves our coldest season.  With that said, I’ve realized that embracing the Mayan doomsday scenario has considerably eased the guilt I feel in consuming the holiday junk food that seems to follow me everywhere I go.  So I’ve been an end-of-the-worlder for purposes of cookies.  Though I suspect there will soon be a reckoning.

Cookies aside, I wish you all a joy-filled, relaxing holiday season.  Travel safely if you are on the move, and enjoy time with family and friends.

We’re light on access-to-justice news this week.  In very, very short:

• salary differences between an Ohio county’s prosecutors & public defenders;
• improvements in Sin City’s indigent defense program;
• a call for pro bono as a requirement for a bar license;
• the continuing saga of Missouri’s indigent defense program;
• $1 million supplemental approp. to LSC for Sandy relief work?.  

This week:

• 12.20.12 – “Sitting on opposite sides of a courtroom, employees of the Clinton County [Ohio] Public Defender’s office and the Clinton County Prosecutor’s office often square-off judicially. Some of the attorneys, all employed by the same county, have much in common — knowledge of local cases, law degrees, years practicing — but in other ways, such as their salaries, they are treated very differently. ‘It’s almost universal across the state in terms of salary and resources available,’ said Tim Young, director at the office of the Ohio Public Defender. ‘Public defenders regularly make 10 to 30 percent less [than prosecutors] when they have the same amount of time in practice of law, and essentially the same work on opposite sides of the room’.”  (Story from the News Journal.)

• 12.20.12 – an op-ed looks at recent improvements in the Clark County (i.e. Las Vegas area) NV public defense program, particularly its juvenile defense unit, which was once seen as emblematic of a failed indigent defense system.  (Piece in the Las Vegas Review-Journal.)

• 12.17.12 –  UC Irvine Law dean Erwin Chemerinsky wants pro bono as a precondition for attorney licensing: “New York’s new requirement for pro bono work as a condition for admission to the bar should be a model for other states to copy. Last May, Jonathan Lippman, chief judge of New York, announced this proposal. On September 12, the New York Court of Appeals adopted a requirement that, effective January 1, 2015, admission to the New York bar will require an applicant having completed 50 hours of pro bono service. This is to be applauded: Pro bono work helps to meet the enormous unmet demand for legal services, provides law students valuable legal training and hopefully instills a lifelong habit of public service.  At a recent meeting, an American Bar Association committee considering possible changes to accreditation standards seemed unreceptive to the idea of requiring all law schools to insist on 50 hours of pro bono work from their students. But that won’t matter if states follow New York’s lead and require pro bono work as a condition for admission to the bar.” (Full piece in the National Law Journal.  For some more background on the recent, unsuccessful push to have the ABA’s law school accreditation body include a pro bono requirement in accreditation standards, feast your eyes on this here hyperlink.)

• 12.14.12 – the latest in the ongoing controversy surrounding Missouri’s indigent defense system: “State lawyers have joined forces with private attorneys in the dispute over being involuntarily assigned criminal cases to lessen the burden on Missouri’s overworked public defenders.  Attorney General Chris Koster is asking judges in Boone and Callaway counties to waive several court orders appointing state workers as pro bono lawyers for criminal defendants facing jail time and unable to afford their own legal counsel. Koster’s office is representing at least six state employees opposed to the move, court records show.  The Associated Press obtained the public court filings from attorneys concerned about the practice.  (See the full AP story here.)

• 12.19.12 – “This week, the Senate is considering a $60.4 million emergency disaster supplemental funding bill to assist victims of Hurricane Sandy in the recovery efforts. The bill includes $1 million for [the Legal Services Corporation], to support LSC grantees in the areas significantly affected by Hurricane Sandy for storm-related services. The funding for LSC matches the request submitted by the White House on December 7.  This is the first time since 1993 that a supplemental appropriations bill has included funding for LSC after a disaster. If passed, the supplemental funding would be used to give programs the necessary mobile resources, technology, and disaster coordinators to provide storm-related services to eligible clients.  LSC-funded programs in the areas most severely affected by Hurricane Sandy reported significant office damage and prolonged power outages. They are struggling to provide legal assistance to thousands of storm victims.  Supplemental disaster funding will help LSC’s grantees provide essential legal aid to low-income individuals and families.”  (News from LSC.)

Music!  Since winter is upon us, let’s go north to listen to my favorite Nova Scotian rock band.  This is Sloan with “Losing California.” 

Texas Defender Service (TDS) is a private, non-profit law firm recognized under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code. Founded in 1995, TDS’s mission is to help improve the quality of representation afforded to indigent Texans charged with a capital crime or under sentence of death.

The Austin office is currently accepting applications for a staff attorney. From the PSJD job listing:

Texas Defender Service (TDS) seeks an experienced attorney with excellent legal skills and a demonstrated commitment to indigent defense to represent inmates in capital post-conviction proceedings in Texas.  The attorney will be responsible for developing and litigating claims in both state and federal habeas corpus proceedings, conducting evidentiary hearings and participating in litigation on behalf of inmates under warrants of execution. Given the nature of capital representation, the attorney should expect to work some evenings, weekends and holidays.  Travel throughout Texas is required.

TDS is a private, non-profit organization whose mission is to improve the Texas criminal justice system by reducing unfair use of the death penalty and by implementing an effective indigent defense system. In addition to providing quality direct representation, the TDS Capital Post-Conviction Project tracks the cases of death-sentenced inmates in Texas, assists and trains capital habeas attorneys and provides crisis assistance to defense teams whose clients are facing execution dates.  Attorneys are fortunate to work with the larger capital habeas community, which is composed of highly committed and talented lawyers.

This is a full-time position and the attorney hired may choose to live in Austin or Houston.

TDS will consider applicants with little experience if they have superior legal skills, a strong work ethic and a willingness and ability to learn quickly. The application deadline is January 15, 2013. For more information on qualifications and application instructions, view the full job listing at PSJD.org (log-in required).

Getting a summer job or internship is crucial for law students planning to enter the public interest legal field after graduation. As the year comes to a close, take some time out of your holiday break to check out these great resources on looking for a summer public interest job!

The Girl’s Guide to Law School site has a section dedicated to pursuing a public interest legal career. With tips from a public interest lawyer on how to get a job and guest posts from Equal Justice Works on financial options and support for public interest law students, the Girl’s Guide has really helpful resources for students interested in public interest work.

If working for free is not an option for you, check out PSJD’s Summer Funding Guides – including general and location-specific lists – for application information about funding opportunities.

PSJD’s Resource Center is also full of tips and advice directed solely to public interest law students and lawyers. The Career Central page in the Resource Center is a great place to start preparing for the summer public interest job hunt, with information on everything from drafting a cover letter to choosing a specific practice area within public interest law.

Don’t forget to use any resources within your law school available for public interest law students, and good luck with the summer job hunt!

The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) is an independent federal agency that protects the rights of private sector employees to join together, with or without a union, to improve their wages and working conditions. NLRB is currently accepting applications for a staff attorney in its Washington, DC office.

From the PSJD job posting:

The National Labor Relations Board’s Contempt Litigation and Compliance Branch (“CLCB”) seeks a full-time attorney, preferably with litigation experience, to join the Branch immediately. The Branch typically hires attorneys at the GS-11, 12, or 13 level.

The National Labor Relations Board is an independent federal agency created in 1935 to enforce the National Labor Relations Act. The NLRB conducts secret-ballot elections to determine whether employees want union representation and investigates and remedies unfair labor practices by employers and unions.

The CLCB’s principal function is to conduct civil and criminal contempt litigation in the U.S. Courts of Appeals to coerce compliance or to punish non-compliance with judgments enforcing orders of the Board. The CLCB initiates civil contempt proceedings in the court of appeals that issued the underlying judgment, and typically prosecutes such proceedings, pursuant to the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, before special masters (generally senior United States district court judges or magistrate judges) appointed by the courts of appeal. These matters entail the full gamut of federal litigation, including pretrial discovery and motions practice followed by a formal trial before and briefs to the special master. Absent settlement, the special master files a report and recommendation with the relevant court of appeals, and briefing and oral argument follow. In situations involving egregious or repeat violations, the CLCB may seek criminal sanctions, in which case the CLCB attorney assigned to the case is appointed as a Special Assistant United States Attorney to prosecute the criminal contempt action.

…

The Branch’s hiring decisions are based on the consideration of many factors, including interest and experience in labor relations, labor law and litigation practice, academic achievement, and law journal, judicial clerkship or other substantial writing experience.

For more information, view the full job listing on PSJD.org (log-in required).