By: Steve Grumm

A PMF mishap we noted earlier, which resulted in 300 applicants being given (temporary) false hope, has caught lawmakers’ attention.  From Government Executive:

he House Oversight and Government Reform Committee has asked Office of Personnel Management officials to explain a recent Presidential Management Fellows program mishap.

In a March 1 letter to OPM Director John Berry, Reps. Darrell Issa, R-Calif., and Dennis Ross, R-Fla., chairmen of the committee and its Federal Workforce Subcommittee, respectively, sought more information related to a Jan. 23 incident when OPM mistakenly sent acceptance emails to 300 semifinalists who hadn’t qualified for the prestigious fellows program. About a quarter of the 1,186 semifinalists received the erroneous letters. Later that day the same applicants received another email informing them there was an error in the system.

In the letter, Issa and Ross expressed concern that the notification mistake was “indicative of larger IT failures at OPM,” including the agency’s recent troubles with retirement processing and USAJobs.gov.

Issa and Ross’ request included a description of “all issues that may have adversely affected a candidate’s ability to apply for the program,” as well as a timeline of changes that have been made to the fellows program, the retention rate for fellows and a list of formal complaints filed with OPM regarding the program. The agency has until April 13 to provide the information.

From the National Law Journal:

Lawyers finish school prepared to think like lawyers, but are they prepared to develop business and survive in a competitive economy?

Well, no, not usually. To remedy this situation, Fordham University School of Law brought in Silvia Hodges, who earned the first doctorate degree on record in legal services marketing. Last spring, she launched a course on the topic. While a far cry from the usual torts or constitutional law curricula, her class is essential. It aids law students in developing their personal brands.

Hodges encourages students to improve their value by blogging (among other things like taking courses in the area you want to practice in, joining associations and interest groups, etc.).

“Blogging is a great tool to help law students accomplish this [building your brand],” Hodges said. “Great posts show that you are familiar with the topic. You become part of the discussion, become known among those interested in the topic. Having valuable contacts online is part of becoming a thought leader. You get your name out, it gives you visibility and helps you with search engine optimization. Your name and content will pop up when people look for your topic. Hopefully, this will help you get hired.”

I agree that blogging on legal topics you’re interested in can help you land a job. However, because blog writing is not the same as legal brief writing, I would suggest researching blogs and blog writing styles before starting your own.

Do you have a blog? Are you thinking about starting one?

Southern Minnesota Regional Legal Services is hiring two advocates to handle migrant farmworker cases for the summer of 2012. The office in St. Paul covers the migrant farmworker stream of central and southern Minnesota. 

The summer advocates operate SMRLS’s satellite offices in the small towns in the migrant stream under the supervision of unit attorneys. The work of the summer advocates primarily involves conducting outreach, interviewing clients, and developing their cases. Such representation commonly includes investigation, negotiation, legal research and administrative representation. The caseload is made up of employment issues, public benefits, immigration and numerous miscellaneous areas of law.

The experience also provides an excellent opportunity for the exercise of considerable responsibility with close supervision by experienced attorneys.

Ready to apply? Learn how at PSLawNet!

Did you miss EJW’s educational debt webinars last month? It’s all good — there’s 4 this month! Don’t miss them!

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.

Click here to view a schedule of our free, live webinars that teach you how these programs work, and to register for an upcoming session.

Our current sessions include:

Special session presented by the New York State Bar Association and Equal Justice Works: What Every Public Interest Attorney Should Know About Public Service Loan Forgiveness

Wednesday, March 7, 3-4 p.m. EST

The Steven C. Krane Special Committee on Student Loan Assistance for the Public Interest (SLAPI) is hosting a free webinar on loan repayment for public interest/government attorneys and for public interest/government employers on March 7, 2012 at 3:00 p.m.  The webinar is collaboration with Equal Justice Works.

SLAPI was created in the summer of 2001 to review the impact of law school indebtedness on the ability of government and public service employers to attract qualified attorneys to undertake careers in public service, and to develop a plan to assist new attorneys in pursuing public service careers by reducing indebtedness.  SLAPI has two goals:  to continue to provide financial assistance to mid-level government and public interest attorneys – those out of law school 3 to 6 years – burdened with large educational debt (who are less likely to qualify for federal loan repayment assistance), and to help educate attorneys and employers on the developments in the loan repayment assistance landscape.

SLAPI awarded new loan repayment assistance grants – the first since 2008 – at the January 2012 Annual meeting and will award further grants in January 2013 (go here for more information).  SLAPI’s website also provides information about federal and state loan assistance repayment options.

Plan Before You Borrow: What You Should Know About Educational Loans BEFORE You Go to Graduate School

Friday, March 9, 3-4 p.m. EST

Interested in government or public interest work after graduating? This webinar will help you plan ahead and make sure you can take full advantage of the College Cost Reduction and Access Act, the most significant law affecting public service in a generation.

The webinar will teach you about:

– Taking out the right kind of loans

– Consolidating or reconsolidating your previous student loans

– How the College Cost Reduction and Access Act can free you to pursue a public interest career

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

Friday, March 16, 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

Friday, March 23, 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

By: Steve Grumm

Here’s my modest proposal on how 3Ls can maximize their time while focusing on both bar prep and the career search after graduation:

For those 3Ls who will be studying for the bar and hunting for jobs after graduation, the keys to success may be distilled into one word: planning. Before graduation, 3Ls should work up an action plan to manage their summertime responsibilities.  There are (at least) four considerations for an action plan:

• Bar exam prep;
• The job hunt;
• Managing finances; and
• Maintaining sanity….

by Kristen Pavón

Michael P. Maslanka, the managing partner of the Dallas office of Constangy, Brooks & Smith, authored a post on LawJobs.com about how to approach a mentor. He gives 5 great tips for law students and new attorneys.

It’s easy to lose sight of the big picture and think about mentoring from the mentor’s perspective when you’re so caught up in your own job searching worries, troubles and goals — but we can’t forget the the attorneys who are so willing to help us young ones and everything they’ve got going on!

Here are Maslanka’s 5 Tips on How to Approach a Mentor:

• No. 1: Be humble.

• No. 2: Time is our most valuable possession.

• No. 3: If you say something is important, treat it as if it is important.

• No. 4: Create contact capital.

• No. 5: Stay in touch.

In addition to these great tips, Maslanka offers some wise insight for each one. Check it out here; it’s worth it.

Thoughts? Anything you’d add to the list?

The American Constitution Society for Law and Policy (ACS) is one of the nation’s leading progressive legal organizations. The American Constitution Society (ACS) believes that law should be a force to improve the lives of all people. ACS works for positive change by shaping debate on vitally important legal and constitutional issues through development and promotion of high-impact ideas to opinion leaders and the media; by building networks of lawyers, law students, judges and policymakers dedicated to those ideas; and by countering the activist conservative legal movement that has sought to erode our enduring constitutional values. By bringing together powerful, relevant ideas and passionate, talented people, ACS makes a difference in the constitutional, legal and public policy debates that shape our democracy.

ACS is looking for an experienced, creative, detail oriented, versatile and energetic Director of Programs based in Washington, D.C.  The Director of Programs will play a vital role in coordinating and facilitating ACS’s rapidly expanding output of innovative, highly relevant substantive legal and public policy work. This position will report to the Vice President of Policy Development and Programming.

Learn how to apply at PSLawNet!

By: Steve Grumm

Happy Friday, dear readers.  This week:

• Maryland legislation would counteract state high court ruling requiring counsel for defendants at bail hearings;
• AIG’s in-house department launches pro bono program;
• How funding constraints slow the wheels of justice in Washington State;
• the dire funding straits of Tarheel State legal services providers;
• pro bono in Arkansas?  There’s an app for that;
• promoting volunteerism by professionals in Corporate America;
• Massachusetts governor Patrick’s plan to revamp public defense program runs into roadblocks;
• SUNY Buffalo law clinic puts the focus on harmful consequences for pets in households with domestic violence;
• what law-firm pro bono can learn from Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR).

Here are the summaries:

• 3.1.12 – “the Maryland Senate and the House of Delegates on Thursday passed measures to repeal a Maryland law requiring poor defendants to have a public defender present when they appear before district court commissioners, who decide bail and whether a defendant is detained after arrest….  Lawmakers are working to address a Maryland Court of Appeals ruling earlier this year that defendants must have an attorney present during appearances before court commissioners. Compliance with the ruling could cost tens of millions of dollars, if the law isn’t changed.”  The measures also try to cut down on the number of suspects who would be detained by allowing law enforcement officers to issue citations in lieu of arrests for some minor crimes.  Still, the issue of the constitutionality of some defendants not having counsel at bail hearings will likely be litigated again.  (Story from the Washington Post.) 

• 2.29.12 – Multinational insurance company AIG, which has about 500 in-house attorneys, is launching a pro bono program.  AIG general counsel Thomas Russo spoke to Corporate Counsel: “ ‘You want to give people the opportunity to contribute to the community, and you want to be supportive of that in a lot of different ways,’ says AIG general counsel Thomas Russo. ‘We wanted to do it right, and that took time.’  With the wholehearted blessing of Russo—who used to defend, pro bono, New York City street musicians accused of violating city ordinances—AIG joins a growing pro-pro bono trend among corporate law departments. But establishing the program is also a big part of how Russo conceives of the company’s comeback, after receiving the largest government bailout in U.S. history during the 2008 financial crisis.”

• 2.29.12 – from the Seattle Times: “Guest columnists Richard McDermott, presiding judge of the King County Superior Court, and Barbara Madsen, chief justice of the Washington Supreme Court, voice concern that at a time of increasing legal needs for low-income residents, legal aid resources are facing cuts.”  McDermott and Madsen highlight both the financial woes confronting courts (even as more and more pro se litigants seek help navigating the system) and the legal services community.

• 2.28.12 – the Public News Service looks at the dire financial straits of North Carolina legal services providers: “In the last 10 years, there’s been a 60 percent increase in the number of people eligible for free legal aid…. Legal Services of the Southern Piedmont saw a 25 percent state funding cut, as well as a serious reduction in contributions from lawyers who are also struggling in this economy…. Another free legal nonprofit, Legal Aid of North Carolina, had to close four offices and lay off 30 lawyers after last year’s budget cuts. 

• 2.28.12 – pro bono in Arkansas?  There’s an app for that.  From the Arkansas Business Journal: A graduate of the University of Arkansas at Little Rock William H. Bowen School of Law recently developed a mobile app for Arkansas pro bono attorneys.  According to a news release, Stewart Whaley graduated from the law school in 2008. He and his team created the free app, called iProBono, and released it on the iTunes app store…. The program lets licensed Arkansas attorneys view pro bono cases representing low-income Arkansans. Attorneys can sort the cases based on legal topic and county. Cases can be requested through the app.

• 2.27.12 – speaking of the pro bono, Senator Mark Warner (D – VA) writes on the value of volunteerism in Corporate America.  From the Huffington Post: In tough times, when reaching for the checkbook isn’t as easy as it once was for individuals or businesses, we need to find more creative ways to help. And for a growing number of American businesses, the answer is clear: many have agreed to partner with their employees to donate pro bono services, leveraging the extraordinary talents of their workforce to help support community needs.” 

• 2.26.12 – “The state agency that oversees legal representation for the poor is raising some serious doubts about Gov. Deval L. Patrick’s legislation to overhaul the state’s system of indigent defense.  Saying he wants to save costs in a tight budget, the governor submitted legislation last month to hire 240 additional full-time state lawyers at the agency in order to replace some of the work currently done under contract by 3,000 private lawyers for the poor across the state.” In a battle of dueling reports, the executive branch and the Committee for Public Counsel services differ on whether Gov. Patrick’s plan is s money-saver or not.  (Story from The Republican.)

• 2.26.12 – an interesting new legal clinic out of SUNY Buffalo.  From a news release: “Domestic violence victims often remain in abusive relationships to prevent their partner from harming or killing their pets. The University at Buffalo Law School Women, Children, and Social Justice Clinic’s new project, Animal Shelter Options for Domestic Violence Victims, is designed to remove this barrier to safety for individuals and their pets.  With funding from Verizon and collaboration from the New York State Department of Criminal Justice Services (DCJS), law school faculty and students are working to provide individuals seeking emergency shelter with resources to help protect their pets as well as raise awareness about barriers escaping domestic violence faced by victims who have animals.”  

• February, 2012 – Pro Bono Institute prez Esther Lardent on what the legal pro bono world can learn from Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) structures. Lardent reviews several key CSR components which are transferable to legal pro bono, including professional development practices, accounting and reporting of activity, and the importance of aligning pro bono work with a company’s strengths and goals. 

Established in 1996, PILP is a state-wide support center for legal services and State Bar IOLTA funded law offices. It seeks to improve the lives of low-income persons through major litigation and policy advocacy in the areas of public benefits and housing.

The Public Interest Law Project (“PILP”) is seeking an attorney, with three to seven years of litigation experience and an interest in prosecuting impact litigation in the public interest, to be PILP’s first Public Interest Law Project Fellow. The Fellow will gain experience in litigation involving a wide variety of issues affecting the rights of poor and low-income people to essential public benefits and fair and affordable housing. The Fellowship position will be for two years and will help to identify specific areas on which the Fellow may decide to focus in the future, and provide training and a springboard for a career as a public interest litigator.

Find out more at PSLawNet!

by Kristen Pavón

I’m glad that 3Ls’ reputations have been restored.

A study out of St. Louis University School of Law has found that 2Ls spend approximately 42 percent of their time off task in class. In comparison, 3Ls stayed on task 82 percent of the time!

From The National Journal:

Kim Novak Morse, associate director for writing support at Saint Louis University School of Law, has devoted her dissertation to the matter; she’s going for her doctorate in higher education at Saint Louis. She said she hoped to provide empirical data to better inform the debate about classroom laptops bans, since much of the previous research has been based on student surveys rather than classroom observation.

“All the debate between professors and students about laptop use in the classroom and whether to ban them was getting pretty hostile,” she said. ” I thought, ‘Before we ban the laptops, let’s get all the facts.’ ”

Morse and six research assistants spent one semester during 2010 monitoring how students attending five law classes used their computers, and how different teaching styles affected their use. They deployed software to keep tabs on what students did with their computers during class. (The students were informed that they were being observed for classroom participation, but did not know the researchers were focusing on their use of laptops).

It was widely assumed that 3Ls would be the worst offenders, Morse said — that an element of senioritis was at play. In fact, the 2Ls took the crown, spending 42 percent of their time off task. The figure for 1Ls was 35 percent and for 3Ls it was a relatively modest 28 percent. . . .

Morse, who has presented her findings at legal education conferences, suggested a number of ways for professors command attention:

• Offer big-picture summaries.

• Warn that certain material would make a good exam question.

• Present information in shorter increments.

• Break up lectures with questions and discussion.

You can read the full story here.

To me, these results make sense. 1Ls are terrified and use their laptops to ease the stress, 2Ls feel like they have a handle on law school and they can chill, and 3Ls are finally taking classes they are truly interested in.

What do you think about the results? Do they reflect what’s going on at your own law school?