Incorporated as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization in 1967, the Montana Legal Services Association (MLSA) is a law firm that empowers low-income people by providing legal information, advice, and other services free of charge.  MLSA works both on individual cases and under a systemic approach to help low-income people escape domestic violence, keep their housing, preserve their public benefits, protect their finances, and much more.

The Staff Attorney will provide legal services to clients throughout the state of Montana in the area of foreclosure assistance and loss mitigation, including housing, consumer, bankruptcy, and related civil legal issues. Services provided will range from brief counsel and advice, to more extended assistance, including representation. Requires travel within and outside Montana.

This position will handle all aspects of legal representation including client contact, pleading preparation, research, file maintenance, and hearing and trial work. The staff attorney will also participate in MLSA’s statewide initiatives, implement grant and contract requirements through casework and foster pro bono involvement with the private bar.

Interested? Check out the full listing at PSLawNet!

From an AP report on CBS’s website:

More than 2,000 people who were falsely convicted of serious crimes have been exonerated in the United States in the past 23 years, according to a new archive compiled at two universities.

There is no official record-keeping system for exonerations of convicted criminals in the country, so academics set one up. The new national registry, or database, painstakingly assembled by the University of Michigan Law School and the Center on Wrongful Convictions at Northwestern University School of Law, is the most complete list of exonerations ever compiled.

The database compiled and analyzed by the researchers contains information on 873 exonerations for which they have the most detailed evidence. The researchers are aware of nearly 1,200 other exonerations, for which they have less data.

They found that those 873 exonerated defendants spent a combined total of more than 10,000 years in prison, an average of more than 11 years each. Nine out of 10 of them are men and half are African-American.

Nearly half of the 873 exonerations were homicide cases, including 101 death sentences. Over one-third of the cases were sexual assaults.

Neighborhood Legal Services Program (NLSP), a private, non-profit law firm that provides vigorous and high quality civil legal services to low-income residents of the District of Columbia, seeks a Staff Attorney to provide civil legal services to clients in its community-based law office.

NLSP has a long tradition of fighting for justice for the poor, combining direct representation to protect essential rights and opportunities for low-income individuals and families with efforts to achieve broad-based change. The successful applicant will be passionate about achieving justice and overcoming barriers facing low-income people, a creative and zealous lawyer and a team-player, committed to achieving lasting results for clients and low-income communities.

The Staff Attorney will be located in NLSP’s Far Northeast neighborhood office. The Staff Attorney will report to the Managing Attorney of NLSP’s Far Northeast and Southeast offices.

Interested? Learn how to apply at PSLawNet!

Happy Friday, dear readers.

“May you live in interesting times.”*  Is this a well-wish or a curse?  It could be either, and I was reminded of this while attending the Equal Justice Conference earlier this week.  I was heartened to learn of so many creative approaches taken by access-to-justice stakeholders in trying to serve increasing numbers of clients even in the midst of crushing funding shortages.  But the fact remains that these are dark times for the AtJ community.  One legal services executive director, while contemplating funding cuts, the disappearance of government support programs for low-income communities, and swollen caseloads, said simply, “I feel like we’re losing.”  It was a sobering experience for me to hear that from someone who’s spent her entire career fighting for those on society’s margins.

Still, I left the conference with a sense of optimism.  After all, the EJC brings together a highly diverse group of legal professionals – legal services and law firm lawyers, bar association officials, judges, law school faculty and administrators, etc. – who are unified by a commitment to making our justice system work for all, especially our most vulnerable.  Many of the older more senior attendees have weathered storms like the present one before – funding cuts on federal and state levels, IOLTA shortfalls, staff layoffs, client-support programs eroding.  And yet here they are, year after year, sharing the solutions they’ve developed to make due in tough circumstances, and brainstorming to generate new solutions.  They are accustomed to uphill battles.  In these interesting times, I’m so grateful for the creativity and resilience which has long characterized the access-to-justice community.  (And I’m grateful that Angela Vigil makes us all laugh.)

(*I stole this proverb from David Udell of the National Center for Access to Justice at Cardozo Law.  Thanks, David.)               

This week:

• a new diversionary court for vets in Illinois;
• filing-fee increase in Connecticut will boost legal services funding;
• Governor Brown may siphon mortgage settlement cash away from legal services providers;
• a nicely written piece on the importance of pro bono in the profession;
• in PA, class action residuals will better assist the legal services community;
• the financially strapped NOLA public defender’s office may have been shorted thousands in $;
• a Houston Chronicle editorial supports the controversial public defense program in Harris County;
• a call for indigent defense reform in PA.

The summaries:

• 5.17.12 – http://www.wsws.org/articles/2012/may2012/def1-m17.shtml

• 5.16.12 – as has happened in many other county court systems, a new diversionary court for veterans has launched in Joliet, IL (Will County).  “The new court will function like the existing drug court in Will County… In many cases, selected defendants will be required to plead guilty to their crimes up front before they are allowed into the court. They will be required to remain drug free, submit to random drug tests, find work, follow through with treatment and attend weekly counseling sessions. If they comply with all of the court terms, they will graduate and their charges will be dismissed.  In certain cases, the court may not require a guilty plea upfront, or the state may forego filing criminal charges at all if the participant successfully completes the program.”  (Story from the Herald-News.)  

• 5.14.12 – in Connecticut, a boost in court filing fees will generate funds for legal services providers.  “State lawmakers have provided cash-strapped legal aid programs with a financial shot in the arm, as they agreed last week to increase court filing fees for the second time since 2009…. The latest increases are expected to generate more than $4.8 million annually for legal aid agencies, which have been hit hard by layoffs and service cuts in recent years. Agency leaders say they think the new money will stave off further cuts — for the time being…. By all accounts, the higher filing fees were the topic of intense negotiations by lawmakers, legal aid officials and lawyers. Some trial lawyers were not pleased with the latest round of increases.”  (Story from Connecticut Law Tribune.)  

• 5.14.12 – [In California,] Gov. Jerry Brown apparently has his own plans for a $410-million all-cash slice of a national mortgage settlement: Plug some of the holes of California’s massive deficit.  The state attorney general’s office told The Times last Friday it hoped to use about half the cash from the settlement with the nation’s five biggest banks to aid housing counselors and legal services agencies. But the governor plans instead to use the money to make interest payments on bonds for housing projects that include low-income and senior housing as well as shelters for battered women (see page 89 of the revised budget).  Atty. Gen. Kamala D. Harris immediately objected to the redirecting of the money, which was won as part of a massive settlement with five of the nation’s largest banks over mortgage servicing and foreclosure abuses.”  (Full story in the L.A. Times.)
  • here was an earlier L.A. Times report: “About half of the $410 million flowing into California’s coffers from the national mortgage settlement with major banks will be pumped into the state’s housing counselors and legal services agencies that help struggling homeowners.”

• 5.14.12 – here’s a nice post on the Marquette Law School blog about the importance of pro bono to the legal profession. 

• 5.14.12 – “New rules announced May 11 by the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania direct unclaimed money from class-action lawsuits be mandated to provide legal services for low-income Pennsylvanians.  Prior to this, the disposition of residual funds was left to the discretion of the trial judge.  The new civil procedure rules take effect July 1.”  (Story from LegalNewsline.com)  (And here’s a little more coverage from the Allentown Morning Call.)

• 5.14.12 – a brouhaha concerning statutorily required funding transfers among various NOLA city agencies seems to have shorted the already strapped public defender’s office by potentially hundreds of thousands of dollars annually. 

• 5.13.12 – criticism of the much-discussed plan to require 50 hours of pro bono service for admission to the New York bar.  “Mandatory pro bono work for lawyers is a good idea. But Judge Lippman’s plan is deeply flawed, as it affects only aspiring lawyers who have not yet gained admission to the bar. As a result, the beneficiaries of Judge Lippman’s largess will be served by people unlicensed to practice law — who by definition have no real practice experience. (Though internships and law school clinics are useful training grounds for future lawyers, they are no substitute for the rigors of licensed practice.)”  Full op-ed, by Prof. Ben Trachtenberg of the U. of Missouri School of Law, in the New York Times.

• 5.11.12 – a Houston Chronicle editorial voices strong support for the city’s public defense program which, two years after its creation, is being sharply criticized by some judges and the local Republican party.  

• 5.10.12 – a blog post from the ACLU of Pennsylvania makes the case for reforming the Keystone State’s indigent defense system. 

Tired of working on cases you don’t believe in?  Long to do something meaningful with your law degree?  Love our Constitution and its founding principles?  The Institute for Justice (www.IJ.org), the nation’s leading libertarian public interest law firm, is seeking an experienced litigator for its Florida Chapter located in downtown Miami.  With a 20-year track record of accomplishments, including five cases at the U.S. Supreme Court, IJ is the premier law firm working to vindicate the liberties of all Floridians.

The constitutional litigator’s primary responsibility will be litigating cases in the areas of economic liberty, free speech, private property rights and school choice in both state and federal courts in Florida.

Learn how to apply at PSLawNet!

From Politico:

The Alabama legislature approved Wednesday changes to the state’s controversial immigration law – keeping key portions intact while adding a new provision to publish the names of undocumented immigrants who appear in court, regardless of the trial’s outcome, according to reports.

The state’s House and Senate approved changes to the law that would require the Department of Homeland Security to post a list of undocumented immigrants who appeared in court for violations of state law, even if they are not eventually convicted of a crime, reports the Montgomery Advertiser.

The bill kept in place the immigration measure that has generated the most controversy: the requirement that police verify the immigration status of anyone they suspect of being in the country illegally, according to Reuters. . . .

The changes in the immigration law are partly due to an embarrassing incident in which a German Mercedes Benz executive was detained after failing to show proof of his immigration status – he was later released after the governor’s office intervened.

To address this, an amendment passed Wednesday would allow individuals to use a credit card or a voter ID to prove residency status if the person does not have their state driver’s license handy.

Read more here.

Founded in 1956, Legal Services of Northern California (LSNC) provides high quality civil legal assistance to the poor, elderly, and people with disabilities in 23 northern California counties.  The Sargent Shriver Civil Counsel Act project addresses the enormous imbalance of representation in judicial evictions by providing representation to tenant litigants. LSNC will operate one of seven pilot projects funded through the Act.  Attorneys working with the Sacramento project will provide direct representation to defendants  in eviction proceedings in Sacramento County courts.

Under supervision of the Supervising Attorney, will participate in all aspects of litigation including, but not limited to: client interviews, factual investigation, legal research, discovery, preparation of legal documents, negotiations, trials, and appellate work in both State and Federal Courts; provide legal advice to individual clients, and general legal information to eligible community groups as well as to the public in general.

Interested? Find out how to apply at PSLawNet!

From CNNMoney:

 The film emperor may be striking back. For 25 years, filmmaker George Lucas tried to persuade his Marin County, Calif., neighbors to let him build a digital production studio on his ranch there, but the area’s residents thwarted the plan.

So Lucas has come up with an alternative for his Grady Ranch property: To build low-income housing on it.

In a letter posted online Lucasfilmwrote, “It is with great sadness that Skywalker Properties has decided to pull its application to build a studio facility.

Instead, the maker of some of the biggest box office successes of all time, including the “Star Wars” and “Indiana Jones” franchises, intends to sell the property to the Marin Community Foundation (MCF), a non-profit that has already funded more than 2,500 units of affordable housing and will explore options for developing Grady Ranch.

Lucas had applied to the county planning commission for permits to build a 260,000 square-foot compound that would be used as a digital media production studio. The company claimed the facilities would create about 600 high-paying jobs.

“The level of bitterness and anger expressed by the homeowners in Lucas Valley has convinced us that, even if we were to spend more time and acquire the necessary approvals, we would not be able to maintain a constructive relationship with our neighbors,” Lucasfilm said in its statement. . . .

It may seem as if the affordable housing project is a way for Lucas to stick it to his opposition, but Tom Peters, the CEO of the Marin County Foundation disagrees. “I know Lucas and checked with him on that point personally and directly. It was essential that I was convinced that it was not done out of spite. I would not have accepted the project if I thought it was,” he said.

Read the rest here.

Communities for a Better Environment is looking to hire a staff attorney to prosecute environmental lawsuits in state and federal courts on behalf of CBE.

CBE is a California environmental health and justice organization that combines grassroots organizing, legal advocacy, and science-based research to achieve its goals.  CBE’s mission is to build power in urban communities of color and low-income communities to achieve environmental health and justice by reducing pollution and building healthy and sustainable communities.

The legal department focuses largely on energy (both encouraging alternative energy and phasing out fossil fuel dependence) and establishing more effective and sustainable local land use and air pollution regulation.

To learn how to apply, visit PSLawNet!

From the New York Times:

THE chief judge of New York State, Jonathan Lippman, announced at a Law Day ceremony on May 1 that, starting next year, aspiring lawyers must perform 50 pro bono service hours before joining the state bar. The goal is to provide legal services to needy clients, including those facing eviction, foreclosure and domestic abuse.

Mandatory pro bono work for lawyers is a good idea. But Judge Lippman’s plan is deeply flawed, as it affects only aspiring lawyers who have not yet gained admission to the bar. . . .

The Lippman plan hurts these budding lawyers most of all. Recent law school graduates face a growing employment crisis: the Law School Transparency Data Clearinghouse lists 67 schools (out of the 185 that were scored) with full-time legal employment rates below 55 percent. At the same time, law school tuition and student debt have skyrocketed. The average 2011 law graduate from Syracuse owes $132,993, not including any debt incurred for undergraduate education. At Pace, the figure is $139,007; at New York Law School, $146,230.

After commencement, things get worse. Law graduates often borrow more money for bar preparation, to pay for both living expenses and prep courses, which can cost more than $3,000. Even graduates with good jobs lined up face tight summer budgets; many work in retail or food service to make ends meet, as do many law students. The irony is that many recent law graduates may well qualify for the free legal services Judge Lippman will bestow on New York’s poor. It is from these struggling New Yorkers that Judge Lippman demands over a week’s unpaid labor. . . .

Read more here.