By: Steve Grumm

The National Law Journal reports on a nice bit of news for my peeps in Penn’s Toll Public Interset Center – cash money!

The University of Pennsylvania Law School has a generous alumnus in construction mogul Robert Toll.

Toll and his wife, Jane Toll, donated $10 million to the law school in 2006 to bolster its public-interest initiatives. On Monday, the school announced that the couple has pledged an additional $2.5 million to expand those programs and finance loan forgiveness for graduates who take public-interest law jobs.

By: Steve Grumm

The Tex Parte Blog reports the latest:

Supporters of indigent civil legal services say they expect to see a Texas representative file an amendment on a general appropriations bill adding state funding for indigent civil legal aid and indigent defense. The appropriations bill, Senate Bill 2, passed the Senate on June 3, and the House on Thursday is scheduled to hear a House committee version of the bill. Representatives must pre-file all amendments by Wednesday at 5 p.m.

By: Steve Grumm

I find this to be some pretty solid advice about how attorneys should handle mistakes that affect clients’ interests.  It was posted over on Above the Law, a popular legal tabloid blog, by a fellow named Jay Shepard, who works  – or worked, I’m not sure – in a small law firm practice for several years…

A teaser…tips 1 and 2…

1. Own the mistake.

When you realize you’ve made a mistake — or worse, when your client tells you that you’ve messed up — the first thing you need to do is get in front of it. You start by accepting the mistake, and accepting responsibility for it. (I’m not talking about a situation when your client thinks you’ve made a mistake but is wrong.) It’s not fun to do (none of this mistake stuff is), but you need to tell your client that you understand that you made the mistake, and that it’s your responsibility. Even if it’s not your fault.

When something happens that adversely affects your client, he or she isn’t going to feel better that it wasn’t really your fault. That sort of buck-passing usually makes the client more frustrated. If the print shop was late getting the copies of the closing documents to the other side, that may not have been your fault, but it was your responsibility. The client already knows this. It’s important that you show that you know it. “You’re right,” you say. “That should not have happened. That was my responsibility.”

2. Say “I’m sorry.”

Words matter. I’ve seen lawsuits filed and settlements unraveled because of a failure to apologize, even though the mere words don’t really change the situation. You need to say the words “I’m sorry.”

And not “I apologize.” No one talks like that in real life. “I apologize” is stilted and formal, and harder for someone to take seriously. “I’m sorry” is far more effective. Personally, I prefer “I’m so sorry.”

By Lauren Forbes and Jamie Bence

University of Ottawa law school graduate Gavin Smith will bike across the continent beginning Saturday on a trek to Oceanside, Oregon to raise money for a group that fights for environmental causes in court.   Smith’s trek will raise money for Ecojustice, an organization that provides free legal services for environmental groups.

“It seemed like a great opportunity not only to spend my summer doing something I am really excited about, but also do it as a fundraiser for an organization that I am pretty excited about,” said Gavin Smith.

…

“Having studied law, that’s where my interests lie and I’m pretty passionate about environmental issues,” he said.

After biking across Ontario and eight American states, he will meet his family at his grandmother’s home on the Pacific coast.  Then he’ll begin a position with Ecojustice in Vancouver.  His family has guaranteed him a ride up there, so hopefully they won’t let him down…

By Lauren Forbes

The Legal Services Corporation seeks to fill a Program Counsel position in its Office of Program Performance. The position will be filled at either the Program Counsel II (PCII) level or at the Program Counsel III (PCIII) level, depending on the experience and qualifications of the successful candidate. (Only one position will be filled.)

Basic Function: Under the general direction of the Director and the Deputy Director, works with grantee programs to provide oversight and improve the delivery of legal services to the eligible population and performs any combination of the listed duties and responsibilities in the Office of Program Performance. Travel is required.

• Conducts oversight of grantees’ ability to provide high quality, effective and efficient legal services.
• Evaluates grantee performance by reviewing proposals for funding and related documents and makes recommendations for funding.
• Participates in on-site reviews of grantees, drafts reports of findings and makes recommendations for program improvement in service delivery, quality of legal work, legal work management, board governance, program leadership, management and administration.
• Engages in other grants management activities, in addition to those listed above, related to the design and implementation of the application process and the oversight of extant grants.
• Works with the Office of Compliance and Enforcement (OCE) on grantee oversight and on other matters of mutual interest and concern.
• Works on preparing training materials and on providing training and technical assistance to grantees on a variety of legal services delivery areas.
• Promotes improvement of the grantees’ capacity to provide high quality, effective and efficient legal services.
• Assesses approaches to the delivery of legal services and develops models that improve delivery.
• Conducts research and helps develop policy relating to the delivery of legal services to eligible clients.
• Drafts regulatory, program letter and policy language to implement and interpret requirements of the LSC Act and to implement LSC policy. Conducts research and analysis of new and emerging issues affecting the operation of LSC.
• Works with the Office of Legal Affairs (OLA) regarding interpretation, review and revision of current regulations and development of new regulations, as appropriate.
• Performs other related duties as assigned.

To view the full job listing, go to PSLawNet (login required).

By Lauren Forbes

Centro Comunitario CEUS is looking for a passionate, capable and energetic attorney with a demonstrated commitment to immigrants’ rights and social justice to work two days a week with the Hispanic community.

The Staff Attorney will provide legal immigration counseling and services to low-income immigrants and refugees. The attorney is responsible for accepting cases and representing individuals in immigration applications and proceedings, including: NACARA, TPS, family petitions, naturalization, political asylum, work authorization request, Freedom of Information Act request, advanced parole and VAWA domestic violence cases.

The Staff Attorney will prepare cases and represent clients before the United States Citizenship and Immigration Service and the Immigration Court, including filing necessary documents. The Staff Attorney will be responsible for representing clients in immigration court for asylum or other forms of relief in removal/deportation cases, appeals to the Board of Immigration Appeals, or other administrative appeals where appropriate.

Qualifications:

1. JD and bar admission (New Jersey or New York preferred).
2. Minimum one to three years experience with immigration law and procedures, especially family immigration, litigation and political asylum.
3. Fluency in English and Spanish.
4. Strong written and oral communication skills
5. Ability to conduct group presentations in Spanish.
6. Ability to communicate effectively and build mutually respectful relationships with co-workers, clients, and the public.
7. Self-motivated, detail oriented, well-organized, able to prioritize assignments and work load.

To view the full job listing, go to PSLawNet (login required).

By: Steve Grumm

Happy Friday, dear readers.  After some dreadful midweek humidity – and equally dreadful play by the visiting Philadelphia Phillies, who wasted my time by getting shellacked when I saw them play the Nationals on Tuesday but-I-digress-where-was-I? – oh, it’s a beautiful, late spring morning here in the nation’s capital.  As for public interest news…

This week: does a loosening of pro bono-related practice rules in two jurisdictions portend a trend?; two Texas high court justices implore the Lone Star legislature to appropriate much-needed funding for legal services; Florida gov. vetoes legal services funding; financial woes befall the New Jersey legal services community, and legislative help is needed; a look at hiring trends in the DOJ’s Office of Civil Rights; in Sonoma County, CA, prosecutors and defenders may see substantial budget cuts; a bittersweet birthday (60th) for Legal Aid of NorthWest Texas; Cooley Law School lends a hand to local servicemembers; 3 UNLV law students win a federal appellate victory in an immigration case; and, change in the Massachusetts indigent defense system?

• 6.3.11 – a piece on the Corporate Counsel website notes that attorney practice rules in both Virginia and Arkansas have recently been modified so as to make it easier for in-house counsel, who are often physically located in jurisdictions in which they are not barred, to perform prob bono.  The Corporate Pro Bono (CPBO) initiative, a joint undertaking between the Association of Corporate Counsel (ACC) and the Pro Bono Institute, had pushed for Virginia rule change and is pushing for similar progress elsewhere.  “Currently, only Virginia, Colorado, Delaware, and Pennsylvania have expressly allowed in-house counsel to perform pro bono work under their limited licenses. Nineteen other states and the District of Columbia have rules allowing practice through approved legal services organizations.”

• 6.2.11 – from the Texas Tribune: “Texas Supreme Court Chief Justice Wallace Jefferson and Justice Nathan Hecht sent lawmakers a letter Wednesday, urging them to find $20 million during the special session to help needy people access civil courts….Without the funds, the justices wrote, 40 legal aid programs that help about 104,000 Texas families each year could be in jeopardy. As many as 75,000 Texans would be denied basic legal services. The legal aid services help domestic violence victims, military veterans wrongly denied benefits and families who are evicted from their homes despite having paid their bills. Nearly 5.7 million Texans qualify for legal aid.”

• 6.1.11 – not-so-great Scott.  The Florida governor vetoed a civil legal services appropriation that amounted to less than 0.015% of the overall budget package.  The Jacksonville Daily Record reports: “Among the $615 million in funding slashed from the state budget through vetoes from Gov. Rick Scott was $1 million for legal aid organizations statewide.  The Florida Access to Civil Legal Assistance Act helps to fund legal aid organizations throughout the state and the budget line item of $1 million was approved by both the State House and Senate.  Scott vetoed the item from the nearly $70 billion budget.”  Is this a fiscally prudent move?  Well, last year a Florida Bar Foundation study found that “for every dollar spent on legal aid by federal, state and local governments, a return of $4.78 is generated.  The funding also assists in the creation of more than 3,300 jobs throughout the state, it said.”

• 5.31.11 – an editorial in The Record laments the terrible state of civil legal services funding in the Garden State: “Funding cuts at Legal Services of New Jersey — which offers legal aid to those who cannot afford to pay — have resulted in fewer lawyers. So now 50 percent fewer cases are accepted for full legal representation. Lawyers turn down two of every three eligible people who need help. It is a civil justice catastrophe.”  While there is some movement in the legislature to generate funding for legal services via a court filing fee increase, it won’t be enough.  “We urge the Legislature and those in state government to find a steady funding source. Living in homeless shelters, triggering child protective services and ending up in the hospital with no health insurance costs more in time and resources than a legal aid lawyer.”

• 5.31.11 – the DOJ’s Office of Civil Rights (OCR) is hiring more left-leaning lawyers during the Obama Administration than were hired during the Bush Administration.  Surprise!  Of course, this also tends to mean that more lawyers with civil rights practice experience are coming aboard.  And notwithstanding any cultural shifts, the hiring process for career positions seems to have been notably de-politicized. The New York Times, in advance of some House hearings about OCR, has a piece looking at newly available information about recent OCR attorney hires.  The Times also references a National Law Journal piece (password-protected to keep out the hoi-polloi – boo!) noting that almost half of the resumes of recently hired attorneys showed that they had prior civil rights experience.

• 5.31.11 – the recession even reaches wine country.  The Press Democrat reports that Sonoma County prosecutors and public defenders may be looking at 16% cuts to their respective appropriations as the county tightens its fiscal belt: The [county budget] proposal would reduce spending from the general fund…to $379 million, down 4 percent from the 2010-2011 figure of $395 million. It does so by taking a bigger bite out of law enforcement and justice services, the single largest destination for general fund dollars. Spending at those four departments, including the Sheriff’s, District Attorney’s and Public Defender’s offices and the probation department is set to drop by 16 percent.”  You might say their funding’s been corked.  And with that I’ve exhausted my vino vocabulary.

• 5.30.11 – Happy birthday, kind of.   The Ft. Worth Star-Telegram reports on Legal Aid of NorthWest Texas’s bittersweet 60th birthday.  Good news: the organization celebrates six decades of service to low-income Texans and has moved into a new headquarters building.  Bad news: LANWT has recently lost $350,000 in LSC funding (as a result of the cutback in the FY2011 budget) and another $350,000 in United Way funds.

• 5.29.11 – TV station WZZM’s website includes a story on Cooley Law School’s “Service to Soldiers: Legal Assistance Referral Program.”  “For the past four years, the program has been offering pro bono legal services for deploying and returning troops…. To date, Cooley has been able to help soldiers with 2,200 wills and power of attorney documents.”

• 5.28.11 – the Las Vegas Sun reports on a remarkable federal appellate victory achieved by UNLV law students representing a Honduran native in immigration proceedings.  “The students emerged from the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals with an unexpected landmark immigration victory that means tens of thousands of people, maybe more, who are fighting deportation stand a greater chance of proving their U.S. citizenship…. The appeals court heard the case last year and set a precedent by ruling all individuals facing deportation should have access to their “alien files,” or A-files that the Homeland Security Department keeps on them. The ruling means they will be allowed to see documents such as adoption papers, applications for naturalization and correspondence with immigration authorities.  The ruling will stand if the government doesn’t appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court by May 31. Before, the government had only given A-files to those who tried to prove they are lawful permanent residents, also known as green-card holders or permanent resident aliens.”

• 5.27.11 – big things brewing in the Massachusetts indigent defense system.  An AP story reports that the Massachusetts “Senate passed measures designed to overhaul the state’s public defender program…yesterday as it debated its $30.5 billion state spending plan for the next fiscal year.  The public defender amendment approved by the Senate calls for public defenders to handle 30 percent of criminal cases involving indigent defendants.  [At present, about 90% of the Bay State’s indigent defense cases are assigned to private counsel.]  Supporters say shifting more cases to public defenders would save the state money, though opponents say those savings could be offset by the need to hire additional lawyers.”

By: Steve Grumm

The Center for American Progress, including our friend and PSLawNet Blog contributor Joy Moses, is hosting a program called “Closing the Justice Gap – Bridging the Divide Between People Who Need Legal Services and Those Who Have Access to Them” at 1pm on June 22.  Some background info from CAP (and click the foregoing link for registration info):

There’s a huge gap today between the legal needs of low-income people and the capacity of the civil legal assistance system to meet those needs. Less than 20 percent of poor Americans’ legal needs are being met, requiring unrepresented litigants to navigate complex and often unfriendly court systems. There’s also severe inequality among states in legal aid funding.

Our country’s “pro se crisis” comes at a time when the need for civil legal assistance—to help people facing foreclosures, evictions, wrongful terminations, child custody, and other challenges—has never been higher.

Please join us at this special program co-sponsored by the American Constitution Society for Law and Policy and Center for American Progress for a conversation with law scholars and legal aid experts about how we can overcome the access-to-justice gap at a time of rising need—and how policymakers should decide where to most effectively direct scarce resources.

By Lauren Forbes

Begin a challenging career with the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL), and you will help shape the workforce of tomorrow.  DOL offers rewarding opportunities to contribute to a noble mission; to serve and protect American workers, prepare them for new and better jobs, and to ensure the safety and fairness of American workplaces.

The Supervisory Equal Opportunity Specialist position is located in the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL), Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP), Portland Area Office, in Portland, OR. He or she:

• Plans and directs reviews of Federal contractor programs for compliance with applicable equal employment opportunity law, executive orders, policies, procedures and regulations.
• Directs and supervises a team (module) of at least seven (7) Equal Opportunity Specialists (GS-360-05 and above), plus support clerical(s) as required.
• Oversees and may personally negotiate adjustment of contractor employment policies and practices that are not responsive to the EEO provisions of Federal contracts including drafting conciliation agreements. Oversees and may personally negotiate and develop conciliation agreements with contractors found not to be in compliance.
• Recommends enforcement action to District Director and ensures that enforcement packages are properly prepared for issuance and/or transmission by the District Director.
• Establishes and maintains contacts with minority and women’s interest groups, disabled groups, veterans group, community organizations, trade and business associations within assigned geographical area to obtain information on employment trends and equal opportunity problems and to keep them apprised of relevant developments in OFCCP’s program.
• Directs and participates in surveys of employment trends with respect to equal employment opportunity in the geographical area served.
• Prepares periodic and special reports on operational performance for higher authority (District Director, Regional Director, National Office) as appropriate.

To view the full job listing, go to PSLawNet (login required).

By Lauren Forbes and Steve Grumm

Howdy, folks! Every Thursday, the PSLawNet Blog will post a compilation of some of our fave posts from the public interest blogosphere.  Here’s the first edition:

• Depaul Law Career Services posted some alternative career jobs it came across from the past week.
• The Pro Bono Institute’s “PBEye” blog (clever!) carries word of a June 7 webinar called, “The Evolving Law Firm Business Model and Its Impact on Pro Bono.”
• Michael Pratt, Chair of the ABA’s Standing Committee on Pro Bono and Public Service chimed in with some reflections on the recent Equal Justice Conference.  Here’s Pratt’s post on the ABA Center for Pro Bono’s blog.
• Happy 50th Birthday to Amnesty International!
• Phew (for now at least), as the housing crisis in DC is averted.  Check out Washington’s Legal Clinic blog for the story.
• On the Equal Justice Works Blog, our statistically inclined buddy Bill Penn provides a valuable primer for aspiring poverty law advocates: how to define ‘poverty.’