From NPR news:

When community leaders wanted justice for the killing of 17-year-old Trayvon Martin, they went knocking on the door of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. And that’s been happening a lot lately.

Over the past three years, the unit has brought record numbers of hate crimes cases, uncovered abuses in local police departments and challenged voting laws in Texas and South Carolina.

“I wish discrimination were a thing of the past,” says Thomas Perez, assistant attorney general for the Civil Rights Division. “I wish we were living in a post-racial America. I wish my phone were not ringing, but regrettably it’s ringing off the hook in the voting context; it’s ringing off the hook in the hate crimes context and in so many other contexts.” . . .

“The Civil Rights Division I think is the conscience of the Justice Department,” Holder says.

But for political conservatives, this unusually active Civil Rights Division represents something else.

“It’s a very liberal Civil Rights Division. I think by far the most liberal I’ve seen,” says Roger Clegg, president of the Center for Equal Opportunity, a conservative think tank that follows issues of race and ethnicity.

According to Clegg, this Justice Department is pushing the boundaries of the law when it comes to voting rights and fair lending, and it’s not doing enough to prevent racial quotas in school admissions.

Read or listen to the rest of the story here.

The Legal Aid Society’s Parole Revocation Defense Unit has an opening for one or more Staff Attorneys. The position is based in our Manhattan location, with significant amounts of time spent at the Rikers Island Judicial Center. The PRDU Staff Attorney’s have significant client contact and represent clients at parole revocation hearings held at the Rikers Island Judicial Center, federal detention facilities, and hospital prison wards throughout New York City. The PRDU staff attorneys also appear on behalf of clients at related habeas corpus proceedings, administrative appeals, and other post-conviction proceedings. The practice is fast-paced and litigation intensive.

Key responsibilities include: handling all case appearances, motion practice, negotiations and hearings in parole cases; directing investigations; locating and interviewing witnesses; and identifying cases that are suitable for alternatives-to-incarceration intervention by the Unit’s social workers.

To apply, see the listing at PSLawNet!

From Fox News Latino:

¡Sí Se Puede! -Yes, We Can– echoed throughout the halls at the U.S. Department of Labor.  The standing-room only crowd, their applause, and chants of a simple mantra born of the farm worker strikes fifty years ago electrified the main auditorium as it was renamed the César E. Chavez Hall of Honor.

The co-founder of the United Farm Workers (UFW) union and civil rights icon admitted that in his lifetime, he would likely not see a national union for these laborers.  And although this is one of the movement’s unfulfilled goals, the commemoration is at once an honor for Chávez’s work and should serve as an inspiration for the struggles ahead, such as more protections for field workers and comprehensive immigration reform which is stalled in Washington, says Paul Chávez, son of César and leader of the National Farm Workers Service Center. . .

Chávez’s teachings which mixed those of civil rights icons Martin Luther King, Jr. and Mahatma Gandhihave inspired thousands to work to advance social justice and equality for all.  Still, members of the Chávez family acknowledge that this attention would have made the humble activist uncomfortable.  UFW co-founder Dolores Huerta reminded the audience that the best way to honor her colleague’s memory is by leading through his example of commitment and peaceful action.  “Leadership can be learned, not taught,” she said.

The Equal Rights Center is seeking applicants who will be in the Washington, DC area during Summer 2012 to participate in its Civil Rights Internship Program. Civil Rights Interns work closely with the staff of the ERC to combat illegal discrimination in the Washington, DC area and across the nation. Interns work on a variety of substantive tasks related to ongoing studies, investigations, and complaints, and also help out with day to day administrative duties in our Washington, DC office. The Summer Internship runs from June 2012 through August 2012.

The Equal Rights Center (www.equalrightscenter.org) is a comprehensive civil rights organization with a mission to identify, challenge, and eliminate discrimination in housing, employment, public accommodations, and government services in and around the nation’s capital and across the country. Through a variety of activities including education and outreach, complaint intakes and counseling, testing and private enforcement, and filing complaints, the ERC attempts to address the many harmful impacts of discrimination.

Learn how to apply at PSLawNet!

by Kristen Pavón

I know job searching can get frustrating and time-consuming — so, I thought I’d pass along this instructional and hilarious story from a Chicago blogger about the email missteps she has made.

Her first piece of advice? Don’t send an email to a prospective employer while sick with a cold and sleep deprived (I have to agree with her on this one… Wait it out or have someone else proofread for you before sending!).

Dear Readers:

Do not let this happen to you.  Never, and I mean ever, apply for a job at dawn with a cold and little sleep because you might mess up and never get the job.

Here is but one example, if you will.

Dear Serge:

It is essential that you hire me to write for your publication.  I grew up in the area, have a love for the community, which is why I moved back from LA, and I like to write.

Aside from one theatre review, most of my work has been in the opinion genre, though I am interested in branching out.  For now, the links to the following clips will tell you more about who I am and what I can do for your online publication.

Thanks and I will call in about a week for your thoughts or to set up a time to meet.

Sincerely…

What was I thinking?  “It is essential that you hire me?” . . .

Most recently, I emailed an editor and told him that I liked his video about “growing a bear,” and that the accompanying Irish music made me want to do a “jog.”  After I hit send, I reread it and realized that it is impossible to grow a bear as they can grow themselves and that the Irish music wouldn’t make me want to do a jog but a jig.

You can read the rest here.

Moral of the story? Read your message through three times, then read it backwards twice before hitting “send.”

Do you have any email horror stories? Care to share? 😉

From Savannah Morning News:

Attorney Wanda Andrews is the type of person you wouldn’t even know was there unless you needed her or injured one of her clients.

“I’m just another lawyer,” said the low-key senior staff attorney at the Georgia Legal Service Programs office on Abercorn Street.

She handles domestic cases — including domestic violence issues — for the office’s low-to-moderate income clients in an 11-county region.

That seems rather mundane, except for many of those clients, she is their only shot at getting access to justice or a voice before a judge.

“I think the ability to be of service is important,” Andrews, 56, said. “A lot of people need legal assistance but would not be able to afford equal access to justice without our help.”

For Andrews, legal aid has dominated her life since law school at Northwestern’s law school in Chicago, where she earned her law degree in 1981. While doing so she worked for two years in the school’s clinic before returning to her Savannah home and the Georgia Legal Services office.

She credits her grandmother, Agnes Key, and mother, Mildred Stewart, for her work ethic and desire to help others.

“They believed in work, being independent,” Andrews said. “I grew up with the work ethic.”

The Statesboro native moved to Savannah when she was 14, later graduating from Beach High School in 1974. She graduated from Fisk University in 1979, then law school in 1981.

She never seriously pursued going into private practice, Andrew said, and never really considered leaving the legal aid work. That work, while personally rewarding, does not offer the big-bucks opportunities of the private-practice arena.

Money is not everything, she explained.

“I think what I do makes a difference in the lives of a lot of people in a variety of ways,” she said.

Read more here.

The Civil Legal Clinic’s mission is to provide a capstone course at The University of Mississippi School of Law in which students learn skills that are essential to the competent practice of civil law, how to apply the law and theories learned in the classroom, and how to professionally interact with clients, lawyers and others by providing the highest quality legal assistance to indigent persons in civil matters.

The Civil Legal Clinic seeks to fill two legal counsel positions. These are professional positions, within a non-profit office and free legal clinic, in which the incumbent manages and litigates civil cases on behalf of low-income litigants, supervises and instructs law students in the practice of law, participates in policy research projects, and provides a variety of programmatic and administrative support in the Clinic.

To learn more about the position, check out the listing at PSLawNet!

From Fox News Latino:

Local officials in a Dallas suburb [Farmers Branch]  say they plan to continue pushing for a ban on undocumented immigrants renting property within the city limits — a measure that has cost the city $5 million and remains unenforceable due to court challenges. . . .

City officials and law backers argue that undocumented immigrants strain local schools and police resources. They also note that local voters supported an early version of the law five years ago by a 2-to-1 margin.

The new law would require all renters to obtain a city license and the city’s building inspector to check the status of any applicant who wasn’t a U.S. citizen. Undocumented immigrants would be denied a renters’ permit, and landlords who knowingly allowed them to stay could have their renters’ license barred. . . .

Glancy emphasized that the city is targeting undocumented immigrants, not documented immigrants or U.S. citizens, noting that the city’s library hosts English classes. . . .

The mayor also said that since the law was first passed, the number of car accidents involving uninsured drivers has declined and fewer students have moved in and out of local schools. . . .

Elizabeth Villafranca sees things differently. Villafranca owns a local Mexican restaurant and moved to Farmers Branch after the push to ban undocumented immigrant residents began. She ran and lost for city council.

Villafranca said she and other U.S.-born Latinos, along with legal immigrants, are more often pulled over by police or threatened by other residents. Though the law never went into effect, Villafranca said, supporters “had the effect they wanted.”

By: Steve Grumm

John Payton, most recently the president of the NAACP Legal Defense Fund, died yesterday at a young 65 years of age.  Here’s more from the National Law Journal:

Celebrated civil rights attorney John Payton, president and director-counsel of the NAACP Legal Defense and Education Fund, died late March 22 following a brief illness, the organization confirmed.
 
Payton’s career spanned more than three decades in private practice, where he was one of the first African-American partners at a major law firm in Washington, and public service. He was a renowned member of the U.S. Supreme Court bar as well as a fierce advocate of pro bono work.
 
Payton, 65, was a “true champion of equality,” President Barack Obama said in a statement. “The legal community has lost a legend, and while we mourn John’s passing, we will never forget his courage and fierce opposition to discrimination in all its forms.”

Mr. Payton’s Washington, DC roots ran deep.  After graduating from Harvard Law School, he became one of Washington’s first minority partners at a major law firm.  Payton’s work included a tenure as chief counsel for the DC government and a term as president of the DC Bar.

The NLJ article includes praise of Payton from those who occupy rarified air in DC’s legal community, and is worth reading.

For more than 30 years Immigration Counseling Service (ICS) has been dedicated to improving the lives of Oregon’s immigrant communities through access to affordable legal services.   Our client base is quite large and our staff is not.  If you like to handle a variety of cases, then please consider our very fast paced, not-for-profit immigration law firm.  We are located in downtown Portland, Oregon.

ICS has an immediate opening for a staff attorney who is bilingual and has considerable experience practicing family related immigration law. We are looking for an individual who is committed to immigration and human rights issues and who works best in a collaborative work environment.