Are you a lawyer with experience working on legislative and policy matters, with a a commitment to human rights? The ACLU’s Washington Legislative Office is looking for a lobbyist to also serve as Legislative Counsel and work under the supervision of the office’s Chief of Staff. From the PSJD job listing:

The primary focus of the position will concern a portfolio of issues related to human rights. The Counsel will also be responsible for responding to emerging priorities as identified by the office.

ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

• Prepare and deliver testimony on pending legislation before Congressional committees;
• Research and draft legislative memoranda on federal bills and propose administrative rules and regulations affecting civil liberties;
• Lobby members of Congress, their staff and administration officials to support ACLU positions on pending legislation and policy initiatives;
• Coordinate and conduct in-depth civil liberties briefings for Congressional and Executive Branch staff;
• Participate as the ACLU representative in meetings of ad hoc lobbying and policy coalitions;
• Work with national and local media to brief them on legislative and executive branch priorities;
• Collaborate with other ACLU national and affiliate staff and representatives of coalition allies. Organize, lead, and work with outside groups to bolster support for ACLU policy goals or to minimize opposition to those goals;
• Coordinate efforts across the organization including legal projects, communications staff, state strategists, and affiliates around the country to keep them abreast of and enlist their support for ACLU lobbying work on the relevant portfolio of issues; and
• Supervise an administrative staff person, ACLU volunteers and interns.

For more information on application instructions, salary and qualifications, view the full listing at PSJD.org (log-in required)!

By: Steve Grumm

I dislike writing about myself, and I dislike pictures of myself even more.  But I had a great time meeting with North Carolina Central University School of Law students last week, and my friend Phil Guzman at NCCU put up a blog post to offer the key points of my presentation. Thanks, Phil, photo notwithstanding.

As Phil notes, it’s important for job-hunting law students to remember that bad job-market news is what makes news.  Media are not nearly as likely to cover the hiring of 10 public defenders as they are to cover the laying-off of 10 defenders.  What does this mean?  It means that job-seekers shouldn’t feel too disheartened if they encounter these bad-news items.  The job market is tough these days – no doubt.  But nonprofit and government law offices are hiring, and we are posting jobs on PSJD every day.

And while it’s tough to wade through bad news, following the news that affects public interest law offices is very important.  Why?  By following funding-related and other developments, job seekers will know where the jobs are.  Jobs follow funding.  So, for instance, state attorneys general throughout the U.S. have been channeling millions of dollars to civil legal aid providers so that they can serve clients with housing problems.  This funding comes from a huge national class-action settlement pertaining to fraudulent foreclosure practices; almost every state AG was engaged in this settlement.  So if I’m looking for a legal aid job, or if I’m looking to propose an Equal Justice Works or Skadden fellowships, I’m looking hard at the housing arena.  (An easy way to keep up with national news is to look at my weekly Public Interest News Bulletin, published every Friday).

Phil also touched on the value of professional networking.  That would require a much longer blog post from me.  Suffice to say, check out our networking (thanks for sharing, Harvard Law) and other job-search resources on PSJD’s Career Central page.

From the National Law Journal, we learn that federal judges and court administrators feel that a ride over the much discussed “fiscal cliff” could imperil the federal justice system:

With the elections over, the federal courts are warning Congress and the public that major spending cuts triggered by the impending “fiscal cliff” would imperil the justice system by forcing layoffs of one court staffer in three, decimating court security and ending juror pay.

Unless Congress and the White House resolve the stalemate over the budget, 8.2 percent across-the-board cuts to federal programs would strip $555 million from the courts. That would be “devastating,” according to a October 2 analysis by the Administrative Office of the United States Courts.

…

The Center for Appellate Litigation (CAL) is currently accepting applications from recent graduates interested in helping some of society’s most disenfranchised citizens: sentenced prisoners. Located in lower Manhattan,  CAL handles appeals and post-conviction proceedings on behalf of criminal defendants in cases assigned to them by the Appellate Division, First Department.

From the PSJD job listing:

There are funded Staff Attorney Fellowship positions available starting in September 2013.

…

These paid positions provide attorneys with extensive exposure, not only to appellate practice, but to all aspects of post-conviction proceedings. Fellows have the opportunity to write briefs and argue in the Appellate Division, as well as to appear in trial court on re-sentencing matters, motions to vacate based on constitutional violations or newly discovered evidence, and community notification proceedings in sex offender cases. CAL’s close supervision process, varied practice, and supportive environment provide an ideal experience for a new attorney.

The openings are for two-year positions. The application deadline for the September 2013 openings is November 15, 2012.

…

Law graduates (current 3L’s) with strong writing backgrounds and a demonstrated interest in criminal law and helping the disadvantaged are welcome to apply.

Experienced criminal appellate attorneys may also apply. Those applicants must have at least one year of relevant post-law-school criminal appellate or judicial clerkship experience, and be admitted to the New York bar (or be awaiting admission).

For more information on qualifications, salary and application instructions, view the full listing at PSJD.org (log-in required)!

By: Steve Grumm

Happy Friday, ladies and gents.  Quite a week here in DC.  One of the most noteworthy election stories involves the changing faces of the American electorate.  Much ink has already been spilled about the youth (i.e. Millenial Generation), Latino, and women’s voting blocs’ influences on the election.  But it’s not just the voters who are changing.  It’s those whose candidacies are being voted upon.  For the first time, the women’s caucus in the Senate will swell to 20 next January.  And the Senate will also welcome its first openly gay member in the person of Tammy Baldwin.  Change is afoot. 

In other election-related news, here’s some unsolicited financial planning advice: I’m bullish on Frito-Lay sales in Colorado and Washington State.

On to the public interest news.  By way of transition I ask for your help in circulating NALP’s just-launched Public Interest Employment Market Snapshot Survey, a brief, anonymous survey of U.S.-based nonprofit and government public-interest law offices about 1) recent law student and attorney hiring and 2) hiring expectations for the immediate future. We will use the gathered data to produce a report about what the public interest employment market looks like.  We will make the report freely available in January, 2013.  The survey is available here.  Thanks for supporting this unique endeavor. 

This week’s news in very, very short:

• Making the economic case for civil legal aid in the glorious Keystone State;
• Stanford Law students help throw a little chin music at CA’s three strikes law;
• The  op-ed battle over who’s responsible for the tough circumstances confronting Missouri’s public defense program;
• Election Day proves to be Independence Day for New Mexico’s public defense program;
• It’s Pro Bono Week in the UK;
• A new MLP in Houston;
• Wisconsin Law opens a veterans clinic;
• Foreclosure fraud settlement funds channeled to the Legal Aid Society in TN.

The summaries:

• 11.8.12 – making the economic case for civil legal aid in PA: “Poverty legal services fill this void and have a long history of defending the most vulnerable among us from both fraud and abuse, but recent cuts to their funding guarantee that they will be able to help fewer and fewer people and– studies show– that affects all of us.  ‘This is the type of funding that not only rights wrongs but makes clear economic sense,’ explained Al Azen, Executive Director of Pennsylvania’s Interest on Lawyers Trust Accounts (PA IOLTA), a non-profit program that provides funding for civil legal aid.  A new study by PA IOLTA, shows that over the last fiscal year the work of poverty legal services created $594 million for the Pennsylvania economy, an unheard-of eleven fold economic return on their funding.”  This story’s from the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.  Unfortunately I can’t find the referenced report from the IOLTA board.  [EDIT: here’s the report, which was released in April.]

• 11.7.12 – “Stanford Law School students and faculty celebrated on election night, after years of hard work paid off when California voters overwhelmingly approved Proposition 36, which reforms the state’s tough ‘three strikes’ sentencing law.   The…school’s Three Strikes Project worked with the New York-based NAACP Legal Defense Fund to draft and promote the legislation, which won widespread support among California law enforcement and civil rights advocates. Proposition 36 represents the first time that voters have approved more lenient sentencing for offenders already serving prison time. With the change, offenders who commit nonviolent crimes as their third offense will no longer receive life sentences.”  (Story from the National Law Journal.)

• 11.7.12 – after a Missouri prosecutor blamed the state public defense program’s leadership, and not high caseloads, for the program’s struggles, a return volley: “Missourians deserve undistorted facts when faced with such serious criminal justice decisions. Instead, prosecutors take technical disagreements about how best to calculate public defender case overload — as raised in a new state auditor’s report — and conclude that the report ‘shatters the myth’ that public defenders are overworked. In reality, the report found “MSPD’s growth in caseload has outpaced its growth in staffing resources….”  (St. Louis Post-Dispatch op-ed from the director of the Sixth Amendment Center.) 

• 11.6.12 – “New Mexico voters have approved a constitutional amendment that establishes the Public Defender Department as an independent state agency….  The amendment calls for forming an independent commission that would appoint the state’s chief public defender, who would then oversee the department. Currently, the governor appoints the chief public defender.”  (AP story via KKOB’s website.)

• 11.6.12 – It’s Pro Bono Week in the UK, so there’s been a rash of stories about what is, and isn’t being accomplished by the bar across the pond.  Here’s a little bit about pro bono performed by UK’s “Biglaw” firms: “The value of pro-bono work in the UK is almost half a billion pounds a year, with research from legal recruitment company Laurence Simons finding that the top 20 firms carried out £180m of free work – the equivalent of 1.85 per cent of their budgets – in 2011….  The research, which was released to coincide with pro-bono week, show that the average value of voluntary work for each lawyer was £5,194. However, with the survey suggesting that 52 per cent of lawyers did no pro-bono work at all last year, the figure is likely to be double that amount.”  (Article from The Lawyer.)
  • an op-ed in The Guardian looks critically at how pro bono numbers demonstrate a polarization in the legal profession, and what that could say for the future of promoting access to justice.   

• 11.4.12 – ” Texas Children’s Hospital and the Houston Bar Association’s Houston Volunteer Lawyers recently announced the formation of a medical-legal partnership (MLP) that will provide Texas Children’s low-income patients and patient-families with critical legal assistance. This is the first partnership of its kind to be offered in the Houston area.  Through the program, a dedicated Houston Volunteer Lawyers staff attorney will provide legal advice and representation to Texas Children’s patients and their families with assistance from outside pro bono lawyers. The project is being funded in part by a donation from Walmart, which created a successful MLP with Arkansas Children’s Hospital last year with plans to expand the benefits of MLPs to other major pediatric hospitals nationwide.”  (Story from the Bellaire Examiner.)

• 11.2.12 – Wisconsin Law goes to bat for local vets.  “Legal assistance for Dane County veterans will be available starting Thursday, Nov. 8 when the University of Wisconsin Law School launches the new Veterans Law Center….  The free legal center is funded by a $5,000 Pro Bono Initiative grant from the State Bar Legal Assistance Committee. The project is administered by the UW Law School’s Pro Bono Program and is a collaborative effort with support from the Dane County Veterans Service Office, the Dane County Bar Association, Porchlight, Inc. and representatives from the William S. Middleton Memorial Veterans Hospital in Madison. Habush Habush & Rottier SC recently contributed an additional $5,000 to fund the center.”  (Here’s the story from the Univ. of Wisconsin.)   

• 11/2/12 – funds from the national mortgage foreclosure fraud class-action settlement flow to legal aid in Tennessee: “The Legal Aid Society has launched a new initiative to help Tennessee homeowners dealing with foreclosure and mortgage rescue scams.  The expanded project is funded through an agreement with the state attorney general’s office.  The money is the result of a nationwide settlement between state attorneys general and major banks that engaged in questionable mortgage practices.”  (Story from CBS MoneyWatch.)

Music!  This week’s song is dedicated to campaign TV commercials.  We hardly knew ye.  On second thought, we knew ye all too well and saw ye all too often.  Ye were never welcomed.  Good riddance.

Ready to fight for renters’ rights in the Windy City? Today’s Job o’ the Day is with the Lawyers’ Committee for Better Housing (LCBH), a not-for-profit law firm that has been serving Chicago’s renters for over 30 years. Through advocacy, legal representation, supportive services, education and outreach, LCBH empowers renters and helps preserve the right to decent affordable housing. From the PSJD job listing:

Since 2008, LCBH has provided legal representation and advocacy for renters in foreclosure through its Tenants in Foreclosure Intervention Project. LCBH seeks applications from qualified attorneys with 3-5 years of legal experience with an emphasis on litigation and who are committed to supporting the LCBH mission. This full-time litigation staff attorney position is supported through a three- year grant from the Illinois Attorney General.

This Staff Attorney will represent low to moderate-income renters suffering from legal issues related to living in foreclosed properties across Cook County. The position will involve regular litigation in Chancery, Eviction, and Building Courts. The ideal candidate will have a strong interest in social justice, a background in housing law, strong litigation skills and ideally appellate experience. Spanish proficiency is a plus.

General Duties include, but are not limited to:

• Carry a high-volume foreclosure eviction caseload

• Co-counsel/supervise volunteer attorney cases, attend court most mornings

• Develop legal strategies and impact litigation to address systemic issues facing renters living in foreclosure buildings

• Participate in client acceptance meetings

• Provide pre-litigation services/bring TRO’s as needed to address constructive evictions such as lock-outs, utility shut-offs, and unsafe conditions

• Pursue previously under-addressed but serious issues such as tenants living in condos in foreclosure

• Bring affirmative cases to recover security deposits and pursue other damages

• Increase collaboration with community-based organizations, provide training to advocates, and obtain referrals

Sounds good? Check out the full listing at PSJD.org (log-in required) for more information on qualifications, application instructions and more!

It pays to be smart about student loan debt, especially for public interest advocates! Take a look at this message from our friends at 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.

The big news this month is that our new student debt eBook is available in the Kindle Store! Take Control of Your Future is a comprehensive guide that offers information and guidance from a student’s initial borrowing through repayment and eligibility for relief programs like Public Service Loan Forgiveness. We go into the details borrowers need to understand and the exact steps they need to take to manage their educational debt and take control of their future.

 We were also busy last month writing our U.S. News blog the Student Loan Ranger. We examined the competition traditional colleges and universities might face from Silicon Valley in the near future, looked at a new report from The Institute for College Access and Success on the continued rise in student debt and discussed how student debt is increasingly affecting generations of Americans.

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, November 15, 3-4 p.m. EST

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, November 29, 3-4 p.m. EST

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

Founded in 1971 at Georgetown University Law Center, the Institute for Public Representation (IPR) is a public interest law firm and law school clinic. IPR practices in three areas of public interest law: media law and policy, civil rights, and environmental protection law. Each practice area has a faculty director and one or two graduate fellows who supervise a group of six law students each semester.

IPR is currently accepting applications for a Media Policy Fellow/Staff Attorney to help determine which projects to undertake and to supervise the law students working on those projects. From the PSJD job listing:

The Fellows work with the students on improving their lawyering skills, especially legal writing. They guide students in conducting legal and factual research, review student drafts, make suggestions for improvement, and help students prepare for oral presentations. The Fellows also have opportunities to engage in their own oral and written advocacy.

The Fellowships offer valuable experience for both recent law school graduates and those with clerkship or other work experience who are interested in public interest practice. The Fellows work on complex and cutting-edge cases, many of which involve First Amendment challenges or other constitutional issues. They assume a great deal of responsibility at an early stage of their careers for these cases. They work directly with client organizations and coalitions to develop strategy. They meet with Commissioners, agency staff, Congressional staff, and other policy makers. They get to experience first-hand the interplay between Congress, federal agencies, and federal courts.

Applicants interested in clinic teaching also gain valuable teaching experience. They receive training in clinical teaching and spend much of their time teaching students in a one-on-one setting. They take an active role in planning and teaching the classroom components of the clinic. As part of the Georgetown Law community, Fellows also have opportunities to attend conferences and workshops and to get to know other faculty and graduate fellows.

Successful applicants will have a demonstrated interest and experience in media law, telecommunications, privacy, freedom of speech or related fields. In addition, IPR is looking for someone with a strong commitment to serving the public interest and experience teaching or supervising legal work. For more information about the Fellowship, view the full listing at PSJD.org (log-in required)!

Hey, law students: Is democracy for sale?

Public Justice, a national public interest law firm dedicated to advancing the public good, wants to know your opinion. Public Justice has been hosting their annual law student writing competition for 40 years. The recently revamped contest, which used to focus only on environmental justice, now covers a wide array of social justice issues. By entering the competition, law students are offered the opportunity to investigate and offer solutions to injustices relevant to the topic. This year’s competition is, quite fittingly, all about democracy:

For the 2013 contest, writers should address the question, “Is Democracy for Sale?”

• Have Citizens United‘s holdings run amok?
• Legal challenges left to Super Pacs?
• Can funding disclosure be required?

Prize: $5000 and free 2013 Public Justice membership

Any student currently enrolled in an accredited American law school may enroll in the contest. Each entry must be submitted through a faculty advisor. All entrants must fill out and submit an intent-to-enter form by January 31, 2013 (see link at bottom of page) and mail, fax or e-mail it to: Hogan/Smoger Access to Justice Essay Contest, Public Justice Foundation, Attention: Cassandra Goings, 1825 K St. NW, Suite 200, Washington, DC 20006. Fax: 202-232-7203. E-mail: cgoings@publicjustice.net.

DEADLINE

Essays must be received by March 31, 2013.

ELIGIBILITY OF ESSAY

If the essay is prepared for academic credit, it is eligible only if submitted for credit during the 2012-13 academic year. If the essay was neither prepared nor submitted for academic credit, it is eligible only if prepared for this contest during the 2012-13 academic year. If the essay was prepared as part of paid legal work outside of law school, it is not eligible for this contest.

To enter the contest, students must submit an intent-to-enter form by January 31, 2013. For more information on contest deadlines, eligibility and rules, visit the 2013 Hogan/Smoger Access to Justice Essay Contest page!

Are you a new attorney interested immigration and family law? If so, it’s time to saddle up! Today’s Job o’ the Day is with the Bernardo Kohler Center in Austin, TX, and they’re looking to expand their work on behalf of abused, abandoned, and neglected immigrant juveniles.

From PSJD’s job listing:

We specialize in legal representation, focusing on immigrant victims’ services and immigrant vulnerable populations. The B.K.C.’s work concentrates on four main program areas: (1) abused, abandoned, and neglected juveniles; (2) victims of human trafficking; (3) crime victims; and (4) asylum seekers.

Job Responsibilities: The staff attorney will be primarily responsible for family law representation with our Casitas program, with some additional job responsibilities including:

• Filing of Petitions for Conservatorship and/or Termination in Suit Affecting the Parent-Child Relationship (“SAPCR”);

• Seeking available immigration-related findings for the Subject Child within the SAPCR to support a petition for Special Immigrant Juvenile status;

• Filing Petitions for Special Immigrant (Juveniles) with the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services;

• Additional family related filings with the Court, such as adoptions, divorces, and protective orders;

• Program development for implementing and managing family law matters within the greater B.K.C. organization; and

• Additional assistance on immigration matters as appropriate.

Successful applicants will have one year of experience representing clients in immigration or family law, Spanish fluency and Texas bar membership, among other qualities. To view more information on application instructions, salary and qualifications, check out the full listing on PSJD.org (log-in required)!