The Fair Food Standards Council (FFSC) is an exciting new organization hiring a Fair Food Program Attorney!  The FFSC is charged with overseeing all aspects of the historic Fair Food Program that the Coalition of Immokalee Workers (CIW) has established with the Florida tomato industry. The Fair Food Program is the result of almost twenty years of creative local and national organizing by the CIW that has resulted in a working partnership among tomato workers, tomato growers and large corporate purchasers of tomatoes.

The Program offers an unprecedented, worker-centered approach to socially responsible supply chains and the agricultural work environment; one in which participating corporate tomato buyers have committed to paying a Fair Food Premium for Florida tomatoes, with the premium passed through the payroll systems of participating growers as increased wages to tomato workers. The Program commits the industry to abide by a detailed Fair Food Code of Conduct that contains a worker-triggered complaint resolution mechanism, worker participation in health and safety protocols, and worker to worker education at the work site (and on the clock) on the rights and responsibilities associated with the Fair Food Program. The program further commits corporate purchasers to help enforce the Code through their purchasing decisions.

The Fair Food Standards Council seeks an attorney for its Sarasota office to help develop and monitor compliance with the Fair Food Program.

Responsibilities of this position include:

• Investigating complaints, both independently and with a team of investigators
• Developing and overseeing implementation of corrective action plans as necessary,
• Keeping current on applicable laws and regulations, and
• Helping to oversee the binding agreements with buyers and growers that are the foundation of the Fair Food Program.
• Developing working relationships at all levels of the industry to facilitate the day-to-day operations of the Fair Food Program.

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

No matter how you feel about the word “lawyerpreneur,”–we did hesitate to even type if out–the clinic at UW Law is operating in innovative ways.  It’s bound to get your attention and approval.

Today, the State Bar of Wisconsin  posted an article about US’s Law and Entrepreneurship Clinic, which operates like a law firm and provides free legal services to entrepreneurs in the start-up phase.

The new law clinic, developed by U.W. law school professors Eric Englund and Anne Smith (co-directors), serves the school’s “law-in-action” philosophy, helps students gain practical experience, and assists entrepreneurs in bringing their ideas to the marketplace.

“The clinic started in 2009 with eight students, no clients, and no space,” Englund said. “But we hit the deck running, and today we have 16 students, a backlog of clients, and extremely active participation from the private bar.”

Englund says partnership with private bar members is instrumental, and stresses that the clinic does not compete with law firms or private attorneys.

“It’s critical to our operation that we not compete with lawyers,” Englund said. “We tend to serve clients that do not otherwise have access to the private bar because of financial reasons but will have access once they can move into the mainstream of business.”

As CBS News reported last week, Sen. Scott Brown (D-Mass.), Education Secretary Arne Duncan and the White House’s Reggie Love led “Hill’s Angels,” a team of a dozen lawmakers and others, in a charity basketball game against Georgetown University law school professors on Wednesday. The 24th annual Home Court Game benefitted the Washington Legal Clinic for the homeless. The clinic provides free legal services to the D.C. homeless on issues ranging from unfair evictions to acquiring food stamps.“Obviously, legal services for people who need it, especially in these tough economic times it’s serious,” Brown told CBS News. “You know you have to commend the school for doing this for what 25 years now, that’s great.”

The “Home Court Game” has raised over $4 million in the past 24 years and this year’s event netted a record $414,000.

“Obviously, legal services for people who need it, especially in these tough economic times it’s serious,” Brown told CBS News. “You know you have to commend the school for doing this for what 25 years now, that’s great.”

The “Home Court Game” has raised over $4 million in the past 24 years and this year’s event netted a record $414,000.

Georgetown University’s newspaper, The Hoya, also covered the exhibition game, pointing out that it is an event primarily orchestrated by students.

About 350 people filled the bleachers at the Trinity-Washington University basketball center, many of them students who came to cheer on the Law Center team. A new addition to the Hoya Lawyas was William Treanor, the Law Center’s dean.

“We won last year, and I have to say this year they’ve gone all-out,” Treanor said at halftime. “They’ve got one former pro player and at least three former college players, but we’re pretty pleased with what we’re doing. We have the most heart.”

Sen. Brown, known in his playing days as “Downtown Scotty Brown” at Tufts University, led the Hill’s Angels in scoring with 15 points. Thune, who also played in college and whom Brown calls “the fastest man in Congress,” added nine points and eight rebounds.

Duncan, a co-captain in his days with the Harvard Crimson, also had a brief professional stint in Australia. The secretary of education also played in this year’s NBA All-Star Weekend celebrity basketball game in Los Angeles. He scored nine points Wednesday and led his team in assists.

“This is the least I could do to come out and support this extraordinary cause,” Duncan said after the game. “The students are doing such great work and making a huge difference in the community, so I was happy to be a small, small part of this.”

Rooting for both squads were cheerleaders from Georgetown and Thurgood Marshall Academy Public Charter High School in Southeast D.C. Jack the Bulldog also made an appearance to devour a box topped by a miniature Capitol dome replica.

The competitive contest was filled with memorable moments. In the first half, Brown blocked the shot of Associate Professor Laura Donohue, drawing a chorus of boos from the crowd. On the first possession of the second half, Reggie Love, a former national champion with Duke University’s Blue Devils, threw down a powerful two-handed dunk.

…

The congressional team was led by Thune and Sen. Robert Casey, Jr. (D-Pa.) and coached by Rep. Laura Richardson (D-Calif.). The team featured three senators, two Senate aides and five members of the House of Representatives along with Duncan and Love. In 24 years, Home Court has raised nearly $4 million for the legal clinic, mostly through donations from attendees. The annual game provides over one-third of the charity’s budget.

“I was stunned at over $400,000 — it’s amazing,” Duncan said. “To see all the time and effort that the students put in, this what it’s all about. These are the future leaders. They are making a huge impact in the community. I’m just so proud of what they’re doing.”

Sanctuary for Families’ Immigration Intervention Project is hiring a Staff Attorney.

Sanctuary for Families’ Immigration Intervention Project is a legal services project that represents over 1,000 victims of domestic violence each year in immigration matters. Representation is provided in-house, as well as through the mentoring of volunteer attorneys.

Additionally, through trainings and participating in the immigration and domestic violence advocacy communities of New York, the Staff Attorney educates the public, the social service and law enforcement communities, and politicians about issues pertinent to immigrant victims of domestic violence.

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

 The Law School Admissions Council (LSAC) is hiring an Assistant Director of Diversity Initiatives. Reporting to LSAC’s Executive Director for Diversity Initiatives, the assistant director will collaborate in the development of new and the administration of existing educational programs and activities initiated by LSAC. These activities are designed to increase the racial and ethnic diversity of law schools and the legal profession.

Candidates must be committed to encouraging students from diverse backgrounds to pursue college and graduate school degrees. Those applying must also possess some knowledge and understanding of issues affecting the educational attainment by students from diverse backgrounds, as well as diplomacy, self-motivation, resourcefulness, flexibility, and the ability to exercise discretion in handling sensitive and confidential information. And, for the globe-trotters out there, frequent travel is required!

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

Late last week the Blog of the Legal Times noted that, amid all the political fuss related to the federal budget/shutdown debate, LSC is silently twisting in the wind and could wind up facing millions in cuts:

The next week will likely determine whether the Legal Services Corp. is forced to make sharp midyear cuts in its budget, as lawmakers and Obama administration officials attempt to finish negotiations for federal spending through Sept. 30.

…

As part of a broad Republican plan to trim federal spending, the House in February approved a $70 million midyear cut to the Legal Services Corp., the nation’s largest funding source for civil legal aid to the poor. The proposal failed in the Senate, but a cut could still be part of any compromise. The agency’s leadership says the cuts would devastate local grantees nationwide, even as those programs see increases in demand related to foreclosures and the stagnant economy. The agency’s budget is $420 million.

…

Neither Reid nor other Senate Democratic leaders mentioned the agency as among their top priorities…

Substantial cuts in discretionary spending are a certainty in the current negotiations.  Democrats in particular are going to have to pick and choose which programs they defend from cuts.  And while folks are going to bat for popular programs like NPR, we’ve not recently heard elected officials issuing any staunch, public defenses of legal services funding.  A memo last week from Don Saunders, Vice President for Civil Legal Services at the National Legal Aid & Defender Association, to legal services executive directors highlights the uncertainty about which federal programs are likely to see cuts:

At this point, there is no public information available on what cuts the Democratic leadership is considering offering to reach a level of $33 billion or what the priorities for cuts are within the Republican House leadership.  We, and our allies, remain very active on the Hill and continue to hear strong statements of support from a variety of Senators and House members for LSC funding.  Unfortunately…we will have to continue to wait for specific information as this how this process will finally be resolved.

As an interesting aside, Senators Brown of Massachusetts and Thune of South Dakota, both Republicans, recently joined executive branch officials and others in helping to raise over $400K for the DC-based Legal Clinic for the Homeless at a charity basketball event.  But the Legal Clinic is not an LSC grantee, and we doubt that either of these senators will stand up to preserve LSC funding at current levels (although Sen. Brown has voiced concern about broad-based cuts to social safety net programs).

Chicago’s Domestic Violence Legal Clinic is seeking a Divorce Attorney…

The attorney will be responsible for providing marital dissolution and child custody services for domestic violence survivors.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities:

• Manage large caseload of divorce proceedings, from initial filing to trial
• Perform complete intake function including interviewing walk-in clients regarding divorce
• Provide in court representation for survivors of domestic violence obtaining orders of protection and divorces
• Ability to work empathetically with survivors of domestic violence
• Supervise volunteers including attorneys, students and interns
• Generate required statistics and reports for funders and agency documents
• Participate in agency legal and intake meetings, staff meetings and other required events

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

The 2011 Major League Baseball season began yesterday, and the Glorious Philadelphia Phillies Baseball Franchise opens its season today.  Alas, the PSLawNet Blog’s dream of securing the world’s easiest job – the fifth man in the Phillies rotation – has not come to pass.  So here we sit at the NALP office, plugging away at the Public Interest Law News Bulletin – until a very, very long lunch break at about, oh, 1:05pm EDT.

Speaking of the Bulletin, here’s what we’ve got: prospects bleak for legal services funding from the New York legislature; news about state/local government revenues across the nation is mixed, at best; news about indigent defense reform in New York is not mixed, it’s bad; meet the federal official who’s responsible to recruit and retain the next generation of civil servants; workplace discrimination hits low-income women hardest, according to a new report; cash bonuses for convictions in a Colorado prosecutor’s office?; just say no to boosting attorney registration fees to support legal aid; legal services funding shortages may kill a popular Florida disability advocacy project; some great public interest funding news at UVA Law; a constitutional showdown in Washington State pits legal services advocates against budget-cutting state officials.

• 3.31.11 – well, we should have known it would be a tough row to hoe.  New York Chief Judge Jonathan Lippman has been a vocal, and active, advocate for bolstering civil legal services during a time of tremendous client need.  In addition to creating an Attorney Emeritus Program to make it easy for retired lawyers to do pro bono, he has been pushing hard for state funding to beef up the legal services infrastructure.  Well, New York state legislators are working away at a final budget proposal, and things are looking bleak for funding.  From the New York Law Journal:  “Lippman has aggressively sought an additional $25 million for civil legal services in the fiscal year beginning tomorrow, the first installment in a four-year $100 million increase. But that was thrown into doubt by a budget agreement Sunday that slashed another $70 million on top of an earlier $100 million Judge Lippman had offered in the Judiciary’s proposed budget….  Judge Lippman, who had said Monday that the budget cuts could mean “hundreds” of nonjudicial layoffs, declined to discuss specific cost-saving measures under consideration by court administrators. However, it is unlikely that the full $25 million would be available for civil legal services.”

• 3.29.11 – the PSLawNet Blog has frequently covered job cuts affecting state and local government lawyers in the recession’s wake.  Some new census data show how state and local governments are faring in terms of fiscal health.  Short version: some immediate good news, but a lot of uncertainty in the longer term.  From the Washington Post: “State and local tax revenues grew during the last three months of 2010, continuing a recovery from the steep drops that followed the recession, the Census Bureau reported Tuesday.  Despite the modest revenue growth, state and local governments are contending with huge budget gaps that have led to service cuts and reductions in pay and rights for public employees…. Though the recovery in state revenues is good news for state and local governments, it has not been sufficient to compensate for the huge revenue losses caused by the recession. States also are coping with fast-increasing costs for Medicaid and higher education, while they are bracing for the loss of about $50 billion in federal stimulus money in the coming budget year.”

• 3.29.11 – the North Country Gazette reports on some bad news for indigent defense funding in the Empire State:  “The just-announced State budget deal cuts funding for the Office of Indigent Legal Services in half according to the Justice Fund.  ‘This ill advised compromise cut threatens to gut reform before it begins,’ lamented Edward Nowak, chair of the Justice Fund board. ‘The injustices resulting from New York State’s failure to fulfill its duty to provide adequate representation to people charged with crime or threatened with loss of their children have gone on too long,’ he added.”  According to the story, New York State has historically farmed out indigent defense responsibilities to its counties, leaving a patchwork system filled with qualitative inconsistencies.  The Office of Indigent Legal Services is part of a recent effort to put the state’s weight behind indigent defense reform.  But due to the funding cut, it’s now a smaller part.

• 3.29.11 – the Washington Post’s “Federal Player of the Week” is a woman whose work will affect hundreds and hundreds of law students who aspire to federal government careers: “Juanita Wheeler has a big job ahead of her.  In December, President Obama issued an executive order that called for reforming the way our government recruits and hires student interns and recent graduates. Wheeler’s task now is to set up the new processes that federal agencies will use to bring young talent into the federal fold….  As head of federal student programs at the Office of Personnel Management’s (OPM), Wheeler oversees the intern and student hiring and recruiting under the newly created ‘Pathways Program’ She also helps manage the Presidential Management Fellows Program, a two-year leadership development initiative for entry level individuals with advanced degrees, now operating in approximately 80 agencies.”

• 3.29.11 – a National Law Journal article looks at a new report on the issue of low-income women suffering from workplace discrimination: “Discrimination lawsuits brought by working professionals tend to draw public attention, but it’s low-wage workers who suffer the harshest consequences in those circumstances, according to a report by the Center for WorkLife Law at University of California Hastings College of the Law.  The report, titled ‘Poor, Pregnant, and Fired: Caregiver Discrimination Against Low-Wage Workers,’ analyses [sic] 50 workplace discrimination lawsuits — most resolved during the past five years — brought by low-wage workers. It highlights ways in which employers violate workers’ rights.”

• 3.29.11 – we blogged earlier this week about an interesting story coming out of the Denver suburbs: a controversy is brewing about a county prosecutor’s past policy of awarding financial bonuses which were tied in part to her prosecutors’ successes in getting convictions at trial.  The concern is that pinning a financial award to winning in court may motivate a prosecuting attorney to forgo plea deals in order to secure more convictions.  It could essentially give a prosecuting attorney a financial interest in the cases they handle.  Most recently, a public defender moved to have a prosecutor working for District Attorney Carol Chambers removed from a case on account of concerns about a financial conflict.  Here’s some coverage:
  • a 3.29.11 Denver Post article covers the motion: “A motion questioning an Arapahoe County prosecutor’s ability to try a felony kidnapping case in light of District Attorney Carol Chambers’ controversial bonus criteria survived its first hearing Monday.  Eighteenth Judicial District Court Judge Carlos Samour Jr. gave the defense more time to subpoena documents from Chambers’ office detailing the bonuses paid last year that rewarded felony prosecutors who tried at least five cases and won conviction in 70 percent of them.”  Chambers disputes the notion that her prosecutors have financial stakes in cases and noted that budget constraints will prevent any future bonus awards anyway.  (The bonuses totaled over $164,000 in 2010 and averaged $1100 for felony prosecutors.)
  • 3.25.11 – here’s some earlier coverage, including  a video story, from Denver-based TV station KUSA.  In it, Chambers is adamant in defending of the bonuses, noting that they were offered not just to trial lawyers but also to support staff.  She also argues that courtroom success was but one criterion in the bonus calculations, and that attorneys did not know it was a criterion at all.

• 3.28.11 – on the Minnesota Lawyer’s “J.D. Rising” blog, a former legal services attorney opposes the state high court’s order for a $100 increase in attorney registration fees that will channel funds to the Board of Public Defense and the Legal Services Planning Committee.  While the need for additional funding in both the criminal and civil legal aid communities is obvious, writes Leah Weaver, she believes that cobbling together funding via the fee increase takes some of the burden off of the parties who should carry it.  “I am opposed to the fee increase because I believe it gives the Governor and the Legislature a pass on dealing with the real crisis facing our courts. As Justice Stras wrote in his [concurring opinion re the court’s fee increase order], ‘it is not the responsibility of lawyers alone to disproportionately fund a core, constitutionally-mandated service of government through a fee that was designed solely to regulate our profession.’ But by extending the fee increase, the Court allows Governor Dayton and the Legislature to continue not to make court funding a priority.”

• 3.28.11 – the Florida Times-Union reports that funding shortfalls at Jacksonville Area Legal Aid threaten a path-breaking project that provides advocacy for the hearing impaired.  Sharon Caserta, a Class-of-2005 Equal Justice Works Fellow now working as a staff attorney at JALA, “has become recognized as a trailblazer statewide for protecting the rights of the deaf and hard of hearing.  Trouble is brewing, though. The career Caserta sprouted five years ago…could be fading away as funding becomes scarce. The prospect has…Legal Aid Executive Director Michael Figgins and Florida Association of the Deaf President June McMahon bracing themselves.  Figgins said the program costs $150,000 annually, but this year Legal Aid has come up $75,000 short. The biggest part of the problem, he said, is the Florida Bar Foundation’s trust accounts are still struggling from the recession.”

• 3.28.11 – the Daily Progress reports on UVA Law’s use of some legal services grant funding: “The University of Virginia School of Law will use a $150,000 grant to help provide legal services to the region’s poor.  The grant from the Jessie Ball DuPont Fund will be used to develop the Access to Justice Partnership, which officials hope will ultimately draw on pro bono services from roughly 75 private attorneys and about as many law students annually.  Law school officials will collaborate with the local bar, the Legal Aid Justice Center and the Central Virginia Legal Aid Society.”  This isn’t the only public interest funding news from UVA Law.  Earlier this week we blogged that the school’s Public Interest Law Association raised over $375,000 to fund summer public interest work for rising 2 and 3Ls.

• 3.27.11 – a constitutional showdown about the fate of a state-funded food stamp program could portend many battles between public interest lawyers and state governments as the latter push to shrink budget deficits by cutting social services.  The Seattle Post Intelligencer reports that Columbia Legal Services is leading the charge to stop Washington State from discontinuing the Food Assistance for Legal Immigrants (FAP) program.  Here’s the posture of the federal class-action litigation: “[A federal judge] on Tuesday denied the state’s request that she reconsider her preliminary injunction last month forcing the state Department of Social and Health Services to fully restore…FAP. The program, which had been cut on Jan. 31, serves more than 10,300 households and provides benefits to immigrants who are ineligible for federal food stamps.  The state had hoped to save an estimated $7.2 million for the remainder of the current biennium and about $60.5 million for the next one by terminating the FAP.  But [the court] found that by cutting off food assistance to a certain class of legal immigrants while continuing to operate and partially fund the federal food assistance program – which serves some immigrants – the state may be in violation of the Constitution’s Equal Protection Clause.”  The facts driving this case are a bit nuanced, but as noted in the article a similar federal case originated in Hawaii last year.  And it’s our bet that, as state governments leave no stones unturned in looking to cut expenses, we’ll see more such actions filed by legal services providers elsewhere in the U.S.

¿Habla usted Español?

Legal Aid of Western Missouri’s downtown Kansas City office has an immediate opening for a full-time Spanish-speaking attorney for our Protecting Immigrant Families (PIF) Project.

Job duties include maintaining a caseload of victims of domestic violence, representing clients to obtain Full Orders of Protection and other remedies under the Adult Abuse Act, including custody, child support and return of property.  The attorney will explain legal rights and provide education in self-advocacy.  The attorney will do out-reach work with shelters and victim service organizations, inform providers about legal issues regarding domestic violence, and participate in regional planning council for domestic violence and prevention

For more details, view the full listing on PSLawNet  (login required).

…because those two affinities are peas in a pod.  The World Wildlife Fund (WWF), the global conservation organization, seeks an attorney with excellent research, analysis, and communication skills to serve as Assistant General Counsel. The attorney will provide advice on legal requirements and best practices relating to overall operations, with a particular emphasis on outreach and fundraising activities.

The position’s based in DC.  To learn more, view the listing on PSLawNet (login required).

Application deadline: 4/08/11.