by Christina Jackson, NALP Director of Public Service Initiatives & Fellowships

Happy Friday! Spring Break is right around the corner.  Do you have a spring break service project planned?  Let us know. We’d love to feature your project on the Blog.

Here are the week’s headlines:

• Michigan Indigent Defense Commission issues first comprehensive statewide survey on the defense of poor people;
• Student Debt Basics: Equal Justice Works explains;
• CAIR Coalition launches The Crim-Imm Pro Bono Project;
• Utah lawmakers move to fix indigent defense system;
• The New York State Association of Counties says state budget should include indigent defense costs;
• Spotlight on Public Service Servants;
• Super Music Bonus!

The summaries:

March 5, 2016 – “The U.S. Constitution says that all defendants in court are entitled to adequate legal representation. But in Michigan, that right is routinely violated because many poor defendants can’t afford to hire an attorney or get adequate representation, according to a new survey released by a state commission. The report by the Michigan Indigent Defense Commission is the first comprehensive statewide survey on the defense of poor people, said the commission. It found wide variations in how indigent people are represented across the state, with only 6%  of district courts requiring an attorney at both the bail hearing and at arraignment. And only 15% have guidelines for continuing legal education standards for attorneys appointed to represent the needy. ‘Michigan is one of the worst states for indigent defense,’ said Frank Eaman, a Detroit attorney who’s one of 16 members on the commission.” “The Supreme Court is expected to decided in early July whether to approve  the commission’s proposed standards, which would then have to be funded by the state Legislature.” (Detroit Free Press)

March 7, 2016 – Ashley Matthews, former PSJD Fellow and current Program Manager for Law School Engagement & Advocacy for Equal Justice Works explains the current state of student debt and loan repayment for the Huffington Post. (HuffPost College)

March 7, 2016 – “CAIR Coalition is excited to announce the launch of its newest initiative: The Crim-Imm Pro Bono Project. The goal of the Project is to defend detained non-citizens from the disproportionate immigration consequences of criminal convictions and expand strategic litigation. Three firms have mobilized to serve as leaders of this cutting-edge project in its pilot phase, Arnold & Porter, Mayer Brown, and Wiley Rein. Together, CAIR Coalition and the firms’ teams will intervene in the criminal-immigration (‘crim-imm’) pipeline by increasing access to counsel trained in the intersection of criminal and immigration law.” (CAIR Coalition)

March 9, 2016 – “A bill aimed at addressing Utah’s anemic — and likely unconstitutional — indigent defense system has passed in both the House and the Senate and is now headed to the governor’s office for a signature. But the bill won’t receive as much funding as sponsor Sen. Todd Weiler, R-Woods Cross, initially sought. The first draft sought $3 million to fund the creation of a statewide commission that would oversee indigent-defense services. Now, the bill seeks $2 million total — $1.5 million in fiscal year 2016, followed by $500,000 the following year. ‘We have serious concerns that it does not go far enough,’ said Kent Hart, executive director of the Utah Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, on Wednesday. ‘The amount budgeted is not enough.'” “The legislation is a result of four years of study by a state task force, which included Weiler and Hart. As part of the study, the task force hired the Sixth Amendment Center to review the way the accused are being represented in Utah.” (The Salt Lake Tribune)

March 10, 2016 – “The New York State Association of Counties (NYSAC) and its member counties are calling on the New York Legislature to include budget language that would allow for a phased in state takeover of the costs of indigent legal defense services. Indigent legal defense services is one of the nine state mandated programs that consume 99 percent of county property taxes levied statewide. NYSAC is asking state lawmakers to include language from a two-house bill (S.6341, DeFrancisco/A.6202B, Fahy) in the proposed budgets being developed by the Senate and Assembly this week. The measure would require the state reimburse mandated county costs for indigent defense services and improve indigent defense services for the poor.” “In New York, state leaders shifted this responsibility and cost to county governments, which resulted in an array of different indigent legal defense programs across the state. Last year, the state settled the lawsuit Hurrell Harring et al. v. the State of New York, which required the five counties named in the suit to expand indigent defense services, cap caseloads for public defenders and provide counsel for defendants on first arraignment. ‘It’s only a matter of time, or another lawsuit, that will require the other 52 counties to expand their indigent defense services. Our proposal provides the state with an opportunity to phase in a takeover of these costs, before it is forced on us by the courts,’ said NYSAC Executive Director Stephen J. Acquario.” (Rockland County Times)

Featured Spring Break Service Projects:

Thank you to Laren Spirer, Director of Pro Bono Programs at Columbia University School of Law for submitting their Spring  Break Pro Bono Caravans.

Columbia law students will be travelling to 18 different sites all across the country this spring break to provide pro bono assistance.  Students will work on a variety of issues from criminal to Native American and LGBTQ rights. Approximately 120 students will participate and provide a vital service to many communities.  Thank you to these wonderful law students!

Spotlight on Outstanding Public Servants:

Marion Baker couldn’t wait to become an attorney — and didn’t. In the 1930’s, the Washington, D.C-based Columbus University was one of the few law schools in the country that would occasionally admit exceptional students straight out of high school. Baker won a writing contest to gain admission, then took night classes until she emerged with her legal degree. During her 20-plus years with the Legal Aid Society, Baker was a boulder in a tumbling stream. Low pay, high case loads and general stress tend to keep turnover at Legal Aid offices consistently high, but Baker remained in place for decades, much of that time as a volunteer. The legal services community has lost a champion. Read more about here extraordinary career here — The News & Advance.

Photo: Brenda Gottsabend – CC License

The Texas Riogrande Legal Aid (TRLA) is seeking a clinic attorney to develop and implement systems for assisted pro se and pro bono clinics throughout the TRLA service area. Texas RioGrande Legal Aid (TRLA) is a nonprofit organization that provides free legal services to the residents of Southwest Texas who are unable to afford the fees of attorneys in private practice.

If this sounds like something for you, check out the full post on PSJD. (Application Deadline: Rolling)

by Christina Jackson, NALP Director of Public Service Initiatives & Fellowships

Happy Friday! Spring Break is right around the corner.  Do you have a spring break service project planned?  Let us know.

Here are the week’s headlines:

• Legal Aid Society of Milwaukee turns 100;
• Southern Illinois University School of Medicine and Land of Lincoln Legal Assistance announce new medical-legal partnership;
• Michigan Indigent Defense Commission issues recommendations to help indigent defendants;
• Idaho Legal Aid Services receives $25,000 grant to assist identity theft victims;
• Law student debt and stress levels on the rise;
• Arkansas Access to Justice and the Arkansas Policy Program map legal aid need;
• Spotlight on Public Service Servants;
• Super Music Bonus!

The summaries:

February 25, 2016 – “One of the nation’s longest continuously operating civil law firms for the poor turned 100 Thursday. For all the societal changes in the century since the The Legal Aid Society of Milwaukee opened, its mission remains nearly the same. The poor still get evicted, institutionalized and preyed upon by forces they may not understand or have the means to combat. ‘I’d love to see the day we could close our doors,’ because the organization was no longer needed, said Kimberly Walker, executive director since 2014. Legal Aid, which represents low-income residents for free in civil matters, marked its anniversary at its new offices at 728 N. Lovell St., in the Community Advocates building.” (Milwaukee Journal Sentinel)

February 25, 2016 – “Doctors at SIU School of Medicine have a new tool for improving the health of low-income patients around Springfield: the ability to ‘prescribe’ a lawyer. SIU School of Medicine and Land of Lincoln Legal Assistance announced last week a “medical-legal partnership” meant to offer patients help dealing with legal issues affecting their health. The program is funded by part of a $2.3 million federal grant and aimed at situations like housing hazards or unfair rules regarding public aid. It allows doctors at the SIU Center for Family Medicine in Springfield to refer patients to Land of Lincoln Legal Assistance for free legal aid when appropriate. Examples include things like peeling lead paint in a rented apartment, denial of insurance coverage or denial of public aid benefits. Land of Lincoln Legal Assistance is a nonprofit offering free legal aid across 65 Illinois counties.” (Illinois Times)

February 26, 2016 – “Poor people charged with crimes are at a disadvantage in courtrooms across the state of Michigan. But the Michigan Indigent Defense Commission says they have a game-plan to start fixing the problem.” “Earlier this month, the Michigan Indigent Defense Commission released four initial minimum standards to tackle the problem. They are: better training for public defenders; more confidential spaces for attorney-client meetings; more effective use of investigators; and, faster assignments to counsel.” “[T]he Michigan Supreme Court will take a look at the recommendations, and they’ll decide in June whether to adopt them state-wide.” (WLNS)

February 29, 2016 – “Idaho Legal Aid Services, the state’s largest non-profit law firm, has received a $25,000 grant to help provide legal assistance to low-income residents and seniors who are the targets of identity theft.” “This grant money will allow Idaho Legal Aid attorneys to provide services they might not normally have the resources to provide, [Jamal] Lyksett said in a statement. Those services will include helping victims complete fraud affidavits, working with credit reporting agencies to correct erroneous information, negotiating with creditors, resolving debt collection issues, and more.” (MagicValley.com)

February 29, 2016 –  “A full 44 percent of law students expect to graduate owing more than $100,000 in student loans, according to a new survey of nearly 22,000 students. Fully 67 percent of those hefty borrowers anticipate they will leave law school with more than $120,000 in debt—up from 63 percent in 2011. The latest iteration of the Law School Survey of Student Engagement, a student satisfaction survey conducted annually by Indiana University’s Center for Postsecondary Research, focuses on student loan debt over the past 10 years and how that debt impacts law students while on campus. The survey, which included responses from 80 campuses, found that debt levels are increasing, are contributing to law student stress, and are hitting minority and lower-income students the hardest.” “The survey also examined the role race and Law School Admission Test (LSAT) scores play in student debt, with results [Aaron Taylor, a law professor at Saint Louis University School of Law and the director of the survey] described as ‘worrying.’ The survey suggests that minority students and those with lower LSAT scores are paying more than their white and Asian classmates and those with higher LSAT scores. Previous research shows that high LSAT scorers tend to come from more prosperous backgrounds.” (National Law Journal)(subscription required)

February 29, 2016 – “Hendrix College senior Nigel Halliday ’16 recently published ‘Bridging the Map: The Geography of Legal Need and Aid in Arkansas‘ through the Arkansas Policy Program (APP). The Arkansas Policy Program was developed by Hendrix politics professor Dr. Jay Barth with the support of the Bill and Connie Bowen Odyssey Professorship, which builds upon Barth’s ongoing public policy and public opinion research and advocacy work related to Arkansas. Through APP, students and faculty provide nonpartisan, original analyses on key public policy issues in Arkansas through a new undergraduate think tank. The new report examines the geographic distribution of legal aid and need to identify critically underserved areas in Arkansas. Its central conclusion is that hundreds of thousands of Arkansans – particularly low-income rural Arkansans – are currently being underserved by the civil justice system, in what is, in no small part, a product of geography. By examining exactly where the need for legal help is, along with the current distribution of aid, this report can hopefully help legal aid providers bridge the geographic gaps that prevent thousands of Arkansans from getting access to justice.” “Halliday’s report was completed in collaboration with Hendrix alumna attorney Amy Dunn Johnson ’96, Executive Director of the Arkansas Access to Justice Commission.” (Hendrix College News Center)

Spotlight on Outstanding Public Servants:

Minnesota Lawyers of the Year: Glenn Drew and the Larry Stigen Legal Team

Glen Drew has been devoting his energy to the Volunteer Lawyers Network for as long as he’s been a lawyer — in fact, for even longer than that. “I was working for Volunteer Lawyers Network for five years before I became an attorney as a case placement coordinator, trying to place civil lawsuits with volunteer attorneys,” recalled Drew. “I would interact with clients, gather documentation and try to get lawyers to take their cases.” Mr. Drew runs VLN’s clinics and staffs them with pro bono volunteers, all of whom he trains and to whom he provides ongoing advice and support. He also trains volunteer attorneys on how to effectively advise and represent low-income clients in State of Minnesota District Court proceedings, primarily in consumer debt disputes, negligence subrogation claims, Conciliation Court appeal cases, garnishment exemption claims and administrative law licensing issues. In addition, Drew coordinates the participation of law firms, corporate legal departments, and individual attorneys at free walk-in legal clinics located at the 4th Judicial District Court’s Self Help Center and Conciliation Court; recruits, trains and supervises non-attorney clinic assistants to support volunteer attorneys at legal clinics; creates and presents CLE programs about areas of law that pro bono lawyers often encounter; places civil litigation and administrative law pro bono cases with pro bono attorneys; supervises temporary staff; and oversees the accuracy of data about VLN services and cases for the benefit of the organization’s funders. He does all of this while also taking on his own case load on behalf of low-income clients. (Minnesota Lawyer)

Larry Stigen, a Vietnam veteran, had long struggled with anxieties and nightmares until finally being diagnosed with PTSD, but because of his discharge status, could not receive benefits. In 2007, Stigen relayed his story to lawyer Patrick R. Burns, a former Army JAG officer, who then put out a call for pro bono assistance. John Satorius, a senior corporate lawyer at Fredrikson & Byron and also a Vietnam vet, felt compelled to help. But he realized that Stigen needed a lawyer with more expertise in PTSD and military law. Two more attorneys soon joined the fray — John Degnan, a Briggs and Morgan lawyer with years of experience in medical malpractice (and also a Vietnam vet), and Patrick Mahlberg, an associate at Frederickson. Armed with psychiatric reports and accounts of his battlefield experience, the team focused on getting the VA to recognize the PTSD diagnosis. After years of frustrating delays and rejection, yet another lawyer entered the mix — Virgil Bradley of Cornerstone Family Law. An Iraq War veteran and one of the founders of Minnesota Veterans Legal Assistance, Bradley mounted a new appeal — this one aimed at upgrading Stigen’s discharge. The VA rejected the appeal in 2013. Judy Ojard, an expert in VA appeals with the Minnesota Department of Veterans Affairs, joined the fight and, last February, the VA finally acknowledged what was always apparent to Stigen’s advocates: he deserved mental health treatment and disability benefits for PTSD. (Minnesota Lawyer)

Congratulations to all the recipients and thank you for helping those most in need.

Photo: Brenda Gottsabend – CC License

This week’s JOTW is….my own! Every year, NALP hires a recent law graduate to help strengthen PSJD’s services. Every Fellow is different, but we all try to bring a job-seeker’s perspective to the task of maintaining and improving PSJD. There are many aspects to this job, and anyone with ideas for improving the way we develop our content, communicate with our users, or educate students about career development should consider applying. The PSJD Fellowship provides a wonderful opportunity for a public-interest minded law graduate who also has an interest in nonprofit administration and technology.

For more information, check out the full post on PSJD. (Application Deadline: March 11, 2016).

Check out this message from our friends at EJW:

APPLICATION DEADLINE FOR PUBLIC INTEREST AWARDS EXTENDED TO MARCH 31!

This year, Equal Justice Works’ National Advisory Committee is presenting awards to law students at Equal Justice Works member schools in eight regions who have a demonstrated commitment to public interest law and pro bono work.

The Equal Justice Works Public Interest Awards seek to identify and honor law students who have provided extraordinary service through law school clinics, volunteer work, internships, and/or extracurricular projects. Recipients will be honored during an Award Ceremony with a commemorative plaque and $250.

Applications are currently open through March 31, 2016. Please find the application here as well as a list of our member schools divided into eight regions. If you have any questions, please email us at students@equaljusticeworks.org.

SUBMIT AN APPLICATION TODAY!

Hello springtime! Still looking for a summer internship or post-graduate position? Find your region below to learn more about job opportunities and public interest events happening in your area this month. (Click image to enlarge map)

Here are February’s Regional Highlights:

West/Rocky Mountain: Legal Fellow (Honolulu, HI); .6 FTE Supervising Attorney – Farmworker Program (Hillsboro, OR); Tribal Prosecutor (Lapwai, ID); Farmerworker Outreach Summer Intern (Helena, Missoula, and Billings, MT); Staff Attorney, Domestic Violence (Helena, MT); Senior Assistant Attorney General (Casper, WY); Assistant Attorney General (Cheyenne, WY); Animal Law Fellow 2016-17 (Denver, CO); Legal Intern (Aurora, CO); Chief Program Officer (Reno, NV); Legal Internship (Las Vegas, NV); Legal Intake Advocate (Las Vegas, NV); Medical-Legal Partnership Staff Attorney (Shiprock, NM); Privacy Research Fellow (Berkeley, CA); Law Student Volunteer, Summer (San Francisco, CA); Paul H. Tobias Attorney Fellowship (Oakland, CA); Sierra Club Summer 2016 Environmental Law Internship (Oakland, DC); Root and Rebound Summer 2016 Law Clerk (Oakland, CA); Summer Law Interns – Immigration (San Francisco, CA); Summer Human Rights Legal Intern (San Francisco, CA); Summer Law Student Internship (Berkeley, CA); Disability Rights Clinical Internships – Spring and Summer 2016 (Berkeley, CA); ALDF Litigation Program Clerkship (Remote Work – Cotati, CA); Post-grad Fellowship (Oakland, CA); Staff Attorney/Policy Analyst (San Francisco, CA); 2016 Summer Internship (Sacramento, CA); Staff Attorney (Health Program) (El Centro, CA); Direct Representation Attorney (Merced, CA);  Attorney – Asian and Pacific Islander Community Outreach Project (Temp) (Los Angeles, CA); Temporary Staff Attorney Homelessness Prevention Project (Los, Angeles, CA); 2016-17 Reproductive Justice HIV Fellowship Program (Oakland, CA); Human Rights Law Summer Intern (San Francisco, CA); 2016 Summer Honors Program (Los Angeles and Sacramento, CA); Senior Staff Attorney (Oakland, CA); Staff Attorney, Law & Policy Project (Los Angeles, CA); Housing Attorney, Slum Housing Litigation (Los Angeles, CA); 1Ls, 2Ls, or 3Ls Summer Legal Internship (San Francisco, CA); Law Clerk (Labor) (San Francisco, CA); General Attorney (Labor) (San Francisco, CA); Benefits Staff Attorney (Los Angeles, CA); Assistant Chief Trial Counsel (Los Angeles, CA); Consumer Fraud and Environmental Law District Attorney III (Santa Rosa, CA)

Mid-west: Associate Director of Institutional Equity (Manhattan, KS); Housing Attorney (St. Louis, MO); Staff Attorney (St. Cloud, MN); Staff Attorney (Cass Lake, MN); Supervising Attorney for Government Benefits (Minneapolis, MN); Summer Law Clerk (St. Paul, MN); Robins Kaplan Fellowship Attorney (Minneapolis, MN); Law Student Internship for Summer 2016 (Milwaukee, WI); 2016 Summer Internship (Various Locations, WI); Transgender Rights Fellowship (Chicago, IL); Legislative Staff Attorney (Chicago, IL); Community Lawyer (Elmhurst, IL); Legal Intern – Unpaid (Chicago, IL); 2016 Summer PILI Law Student Internship (Chicago, IL); Summer Law Clerk (Ann Arbor, MI); Summer Associate (Kalamazoo, MI); Assistant U.S. Attorney (Detroit, MI); Summer Intern (Ann Arbor, MI); AIP Summer Intern (Detroit, MI); Summer Associate (Toledo, OH); Staff Attorney – Medical Legal Partnership for Children (Toledo, OH); Staff Attorney – Education (Toledo, OH); Law Clerks – Summer 2016 (Cincinnati, OH); LSC Legislative Fellowship Program (Internship) (Columbus, OH)

Southeast: Summer 2016 Judicial Internship (Tampa, FL); Volunteer Judicial Intern – Summer 2016 (Orlando, FL); Summer Legal Internship (Miami, FL); Supervisory General Attorney (Civil Rights) (Atlanta, GA); 2016-17 Reproductive Justice HIV Fellowship Program (Atlanta, GA); General Attorney (Labor) (Atlanta, GA); Law Clerk (Labor) (Atlanta, GA); 2016 Summer Legal Interns (Atlanta, GA); 2016 Summer Law Clerk (Atlanta, GA); Staff Attorney – Home Defense Program (Atlanta, GA); Attorney (Huntsville, AL); Clinic Attorney (Austin, TX); General Attorney (Labor) (Dallas, TX); Law Clerk (Labor) (Dallas, TX); DACA Attorney (Corpus Christi, TX); Staff Attorney (Disaster Assistant Team) (Corpus Christi, TX); Staff Attorney – Veteran Advocacy Project (El Paso and San Antonio, TX); Summer Legal Intern (San Antonio, TX); Summer Law Clerks (Various locations, TX); Assistant Federal Defender (Little Rock, AR); Staff Attorney – SMLS (Nashville, TN); Ackerman Fellowship Program 2016 (Charleston, SC); Policy Analyst (Raleigh, NC); Immigration Attorney (Hendersonville, NC); Staff Attorney (Winston-Salem, NC); Duke Law & Biosciences Post-Doc Fellowship Program (Durham, NC); Faculty Position Criminal Law and Procedure (Chapel Hill, NC); Staff Attorney (Somerset, KY); Part-time Staff Attorney (Louisville, KY); Senior Attorney (Charleston, WV); Consumer Rights & Bankruptcy Attorney (Charleston, WV);

Mid-Atlantic: 2016 Summer Internship (Wilmington, DE); Attorney-Advisor (Natural Resources) (Silver Spring, MD); General Counsel (Hyattsville, MD); Legal Internship (Annapolis, MD); Legal Intern (Chevy Chase, MD); Summer Law Clerk (Baltimore, MD); Legal IT Intern (Baltimore, MD); Staff Attorney (Baltimore, MD); Summer 2016 Legal Internship (Bethesda, MD); Clinical Fellow for the Mediation Clinic for Families (Baltimore, MD); Managing Attorney (Philadelphia, PA); Attorney – Criminal Division (Erie, PA); Staff Attorneys (Philadelphia and Pittsburgh, PA); Equal Employment Specialist (Arlington, VA); Supervisory Attorney-Adviser (Arlington, VA); Associate Attorney – Environmental Advocacy (Charlottesville, VA); Summer Internship (Richmond, VA); General Attorney FSLU (Quantico, VA); Staff Attorney (Lynchburg, VA); General Attorney (Labor) (Washington, DC); Law Clerk (Labor) (Washington, DC); Fall 2016 Internship Program (Washington, DC); Sierra Club Summer 2016 Environmental Law Internship (Washington, DC); Summer Intern 2016 (Washington, DC); 2016-18 Public Interest Fellowship (Washington, DC); NOAA Sea Grant John A Knauss Marine Policy Fellowship (Washington, DC); Attorney FCLU (Washington, DC); Staff Attorney (Washington, DC); Summer 2016 Curtin Justice Fund Legal Internship (Washington, DC); Legal Intern (Washington, DC); Attorney – Office of Enforcement Operations, Policy and Statutory Enforcement Unit (Washington, DC); Attorney Advisor (Washington, DC); Legal Summer Intern – Open Technology Institute (Washington, DC); Summer 2016 Legal Internship (Washington, DC); Summer Internship (Washington, DC); Summer Intern (Washington, DC); Associate (Washington, DC); Attorney – Office of Professional Responsibility (Washington, DC); Supervisory Attorney Advisor (Washington, DC); McGuirewoods/NLF Internship Program (Washington, DC); Law Clerk (Summer) (Washington, DC); Tech Law & Policy Intern (Washington, DC); Summer Legal Internship – Children’s Rights and Juvenile Justice (Washington, DC); Legislative Attorney (Food, Drug & Con Law) (Washington, DC); Attorney (Washington, DC); Staff Attorney (Washington, DC); Senior Attorney Advisor (Washington, DC); Law Clerk (Washington, DC); Guardian Ad Litem Brief Service Staff Attorney (Washington, DC); Supervisory General Attorney (Deputy Director) (Washington, DC); Attorney (Washington, DC); General Attorney (Tax) (Washington, DC); General Attorney NSLB (Washington, DC); ERISA/Tax Attorney (Washington, DC); Attorney (Washington, DC); Staff Attorney (Washington, DC); Supervisory Attorney Advisor (Washington, DC); Senior Staff Attorney (Washington, DC); Attorney Advisor – Procurement Section – Commercial Division (Washington, DC); Summer 2016 Law Student Externship Program (Washington, DC); Attorney-Advisor (General) (Washington, DC); Attorney (Washington, DC); Borchard Fellowship in Law and Aging – Fellowship Sponsor (Washington, DC)

Northeast: Staff Attorney (Portland, ME);  General Attorney (Labor) (Boston, MA); Law Clerk (Labor) (Boston, MA); Staff Attorney (Lowell, MA); Lichten & Liss-Riordan Wage Justice Fellowship (Boston, MA); Senior Staff Attorney (Boston, MA); 2016 Summer Intern (Cambridge, MA); Appignani Humanist Legal Intern (Fitchberg, MA); 2016 Summer Legal Intern (Framingham, MA); Law Student Intern (Hartford, CT); Robert M. Cover Fellowship in Public Interest Law (New Haven, CT); Summer Intern with Stipend (Hartford, CT); Summer Intern (Hartford, CT); Media, Freedom and Information Access Clinic Summer Fellow (New Haven, CT); Staff Attorney (Newark, NJ); Summer Internship (Edison, NJ); Summer 2016 Internship Opportunities (Elizabeth, NJ); Summer 2016 Legal Intern (Brooklyn, NY); Legal Intern (Various Locations, NY); Workers Rights and Housing Legal Internships (New York, NY); Attorney (Buffalo, NY); Social Justice Law and Policy Internship (2) (Brooklyn, NY); Staff Attorney (Brooklyn, NY); 2016 Entry Level Attorney (New York, NY); 2016 Summer Honors Internship Program (New York, NY); Staff Attorney (Hempstead, NY); Staff Attorney (New York, NY); Summer Law Clerk Program (New York, NY); Legal Intern (New York, NY); Summer 2016 Legal Internship (New York, NY); Bilingual Staff Attorney (New Paltz, NY); Deputy Chief, Appeals Division (New York, NY); Litigation Associate (New York, NY); Summer 2016 Internship (New York, NY); Police Oversight Internship/Fellowship (New York, NY); Immigration Attorney (Bronx, NY); Legal Research Intern (New York, NY); Assistant Federal Defender (Central Islip, NY); 2016 Summer Internship Program (New York, NY); Staff Attorney (New York, NY); Empire Justice Center Diversity Clerkship Program (New York, NY); Section Chief – Mental Hygiene (New York, NY): Summer Law Internship Program (Various locations, NY); Tenants’ Rights Unit – Staff Attorney (New York, NY); Senior Staff Attorney (New York, NY); Supervising Attorney (New York, NY); Education Attorney (Bronx, NY); Investigator (New York, NY)

Canada: PSJD Resource: Public Interest Articling Fellowship

The U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM) released the first iteration of a rolling set of improvements to features to the job application components of the USAJOBS website. Check out their video explanation below:

https://youtu.be/qG3ev8_vr4M

by Christina Jackson, NALP Director of Public Service Initiatives & Fellowships

Happy Friday and Happy Leap Year! What are you going to do with your extra day?

Here are the week’s headlines:

• Some money found for indigent defense in Louisiana;
• eFile Texas enhancements to increase access to justice;
• OPM unveils USAJobs overhaul;
• More states take action to regulate student loan servicers;
• Bill to provide Idaho state funds to public defenders moves forward;
• Spotlight on Public Service Servants;
• Super Music Bonus!

The summaries:

February 19, 2016 – “The Plaquemines Parish Public Defenders Office will get a $30,000 infusion from the state, enough to put the two attorneys furloughed earlier this week back to work through the end of March. Public Defender Matthew Robnett said he got word late Thursday that the Louisiana Public Defender Board managed to scrape together the money by canceling some contracts. But he said it’s only a stopgap measure — albeit a welcome one — amid a funding crisis affecting indigent defender offices across the state. ‘It’s a Band-Aid, at best, and a very short-term Band-Aid,’ Robnett said, two days after he and fellow attorney Clarke Beljean, the only lawyers in his office, were furloughed through June 30, the end of the fiscal year. ‘I think we’ll find ourselves in the same situation a month from now if we don’t find help from somewhere else,’ he said. Plaquemines is one of many public defender offices across the state hard hit by declining revenue, much of which comes from traffic tickets and court fees. With a decline in speeding and other tickets, many offices, including the one in New Orleans, have been forced to lay off or furlough lawyers or otherwise restrict services.” (The New Orleans Advocate)

February 23, 2016 – “Tyler Technologies, Inc. (NYSE: TYL) today announced that eFileTexas™ — Texas’ electronic court filing system, which went live in all 254 Texas counties more than nine months ahead of schedule — has been enhanced with a free tool that helps self-represented litigants more easily access and work within the justice system. eFileTexas, developed and managed by Tyler, is the largest mandatory electronic court filing system in the U.S. The new tool—called eFileTexas SelfHelp^™ leverages the eFileTexas system and allows courts and legal aid organizations to develop Web-based interviews and provide relevant, informative content to help self-represented litigants with court filings. This results in a reduction of erroneous filings as well as staff time answering pro se questions.” (Business Wire)

February 24, 2016 –  “The website candidates use to apply for nearly every job in federal government is undergoing a major overhaul, with the Office of Personnel Management announcing on Wednesday a series of changes to make the much-maligned platform more accessible.” “The features — which include allowing applicants to track the progress of an application on the site and save progress on a pending application, among others — will be rolled out throughout the rest of the year, OPM acting Director Beth Cobert said. The first changes went live Feb. 20, helping job seekers complete the process by seamlessly transitioning them to the relevant agency’s website. ‘Throughout the rest of the year, new features will be added to increase the usability of the USAJOBS website by enhancing the job application process for those interested in careers in the federal government,’ Cobert said. ‘By streamlining the USAJOBS process, we will also improve our ability to attract the best and brightest to apply for jobs in the federal workforce.'” “The agency created an instructional video to help users understand the changes coming to the site.” (Government Executive)

February 24, 2016 – “There’s no national standard regulating the companies that borrowers encounter most frequently when paying off their student loans. So a growing number of states are taking matters into their own hands. A New Jersey bill requiring student loan servicers to have a license to operate in the state is one step closer to becoming law after making it out of committee earlier this week. The bill, introduced by New Jersey Democratic Assembly members Gary Schaer and Annette Quijano, bans servicers — the companies that manage the student loan repayment process for borrowers — from misleading borrowers, providing them with inaccurate information and recklessly applying loan payments, among other consumer protections. In addition, the bill creates a student loan ombudsman to field, track and hopefully resolve borrower complaints. Servicers are ‘currently unregulated in New Jersey and we feel there is a tremendous need for standardization,’ Schaer said.” (Market Watch)

February 25, 2016 – “A bill to provide some state funding to public defenders unanimously moved forward Thursday in a vote from the Idaho Legislature’s House Judiciary, Administration and Rules Committee. The bill, sponsored by Rep. Christy Perry, R-Nampa, was drafted through the state’s Public Defense Reform Interim Committee after several years of study regarding Idaho’s inadequate defense. If it passes, the bill would allow counties to apply for grants to assist in funding for the county’s public defenders. Currently, the state of Idaho provides no funding to public defenders, despite people having a constitutional right to an attorney no matter their ability to pay. As is, the cost of funding a public defender is left up to each individual county.” “The bill will move forward to the full House for debate.” (Idaho Press Tribune)

Spotlight on Outstanding Public Servants:

Photo: Brenda Gottsabend – CC License

Entry Level Attorney Position alert! The Public Defender Service for the District of Columbia (PDS) is seeking a Civil Litigation Attorney to join their Civil Legal Services Division (CLS). The CLS represents PDS clients in a wide range of civil matters that are collateral or ancillary to the clients’ criminal or delinquency representation (e.g. housing, special education and related school disciplinary matters, civil protection orders, contempt proceedings, child support, abuse and neglect proceedings, civil forfeiture matters, public benefits, and employment). These attorneys generally handle civil litigation in both judicial and administrative forums.

If this sounds like something for you, check out the full post on PSJD. (Application Deadline: Rolling)

by Christina Jackson, NALP Director of Public Service Initiatives & Fellowships

Happy Friday!

Here are the week’s headlines:

• Legal Aid Society of Middle Tennessee and the Cumberlands receives three new grants;
• University of New Mexico School of Law receives $2.6 million in funding for fellowships and loan repayment assistance;
• Legal Aid Services of Oregon and Miller Nash Graham & Dunn team up to provide pro bono assistance to rural Oregonians;
• First global ranking on access to justice for children released;
• Missouri public defenders see little relief in proposed budget;
• Northwestern Pritzker School of Law announces new initiatives, including a summer funding guarantee for public interest students;
• Proposed bill to raise court fees by $1 to provide additional funding to Nebraska legal aid;
• Utah Senate committee advances bill to revamp indigent defense system;
• Spotlight on Public Service Servants;
• Super Music Bonus!

The summaries:

February 11, 2016 – “Legal Aid Society of Middle Tennessee and the Cumberlands, Tennessee’s largest non-profit law firm, has received three grant awards from area organizations committed to seeking justice for the underprivileged. The organization helps those throughout Middle Tennessee and in Rutherford County. The West End Home Foundation, The Community Foundation of Middle Tennessee and the Tennessee Bar Foundation’s Interest on Lawyers Trust Accounts program made contributions that will enable Legal Aid Society to advance, defend and enforce the legal rights of vulnerable families who lack the basic necessities of life.” (WGNS News Radio)

February 12, 2016 – “Funding from grants often take a long time to land, and can have a big snowball effect. For example, a finalized $2.6 million W.K. Kellogg Foundation grant to the University of New Mexico School of Law should ultimately create a lot of jobs — including several fellowships and scholarships for extra-curricular job experience.” “More specifically, the funding will create an additional program at the law school for cohorts of six to eight law students to focus on social justice training. The last program will include $15,000 scholarships with an additional $5,000 for summer internship funding. Additionally, the funding will create two-year fellowships with local nonprofits and will allow for salary and loan repayment assistance to ‘remove financial barriers for our graduates and nonprofit host organizations.'” (Albuquerque Business First)

February 12, 2016 –  “With the price of an attorney easily costing $200 or more an hour, large numbers of Oregonians can’t afford to pay for the help they need to wade through the legal problems that are hindering their lives. And that means they often flounder through the legal system as they represent themselves. Add to that Oregon’s rural-urban divide — most lawyers willing to work pro bono are in Portland — and poor rural Oregonians are often left in the greatest need. One study found that about 65 percent of the state’s lawyers work in the greater Portland area, while just 21 percent of low-income Oregonians do, said Janice Morgan, the executive director of Legal Aid Services of Oregon. Morgan said that’s why she’s thrilled about a new venture this week: A group of attorneys from one of the state’s biggest law firms — Miller Nash Graham & Dunn — are teaming up with Legal Aid Services of Oregon to provide a series of hour-long consultations to low-income people living in the rural counties of Jefferson, Crook and Deschutes. Those who need a longer consultation will receive a referral for more help. The video-conference sessions are designed to offer guidance to people facing a list of commonplace but nonetheless life-altering problems: Help seeking or enforcing restraining orders; collecting child or spousal support; fighting foreclosures or housing discrimination and bad rental living conditions; disputing landlord’s decisions to keep security deposits; collecting unpaid wages; expunging old criminal convictions to make it easier to get a job; and working with debt collectors to pay down debt. The free legal help from Miller Nash is one of four clinics the firm is planning on doing each year. Morgan, the Legal Aid executive director, said her organization hopes to team up with other firms and lawyers in the Portland area and throughout the state to duplicate similar efforts.” (The Oregonian)

February 15, 2016 – “New research from Child Rights International Network (CRIN) has analysed and ranked how effectively children can use the law to challenge violations of their rights, in the first-ever global study on children’s access to justice.” “The research takes into account whether children can bring lawsuits when their rights are violated, the legal resources available to them, the practical considerations for taking legal action, and whether judges apply international law on children’s rights in their rulings. The report also offers a model of what access to justice should look like for children.” “CRIN wants this report to help provide new ideas and tools for those working to prevent violations of children’s rights and to demonstrate new avenues of legal redress.” (Child Rights International Network)

February 16, 2016 – “Statistics show Missouri’s public defenders are overworked and underpaid.” “The state system’s 376 public defenders handle about 100,000 cases per year. Based on a 2014 study, the system needs almost 270 additional attorneys to meet the current needs based on last budget year’s caseload data. To overcome the attorney shortfall, system officials requested a $23.1 million general revenue increase in the 2017 budget year that begins July 1 for caseload relief. Gov. Jay Nixon, a Democrat, recommended a $1 million increase.” “Michael Barrett, system director, told the Senate Appropriations Committee on Tuesday the funding answer can lie somewhere in the middle. ‘I feel my obligation is to present what we need,’ Barrett said. But ‘we can see significant relief for a number that’s much smaller.’ The House General Administration Appropriations Committee on Monday approved the governor’s recommendation for the public defenders budget. It now moves to the full House Budget Committee for consideration, where it could change. Lawmakers have until May 6 to complete the budget.” (St. Louis Post-Dispatch)

February 16, 2016 – “Northwestern Pritzker School of Law announced Tuesday nine initiatives intended to make law school more affordable and support alumni.” One of the most significant is the new “$8,000 Summer Public Interest Funding Guarantee. Effective immediately, the law school is committing to guarantee summer funding of at least $8,000 for students who complete at least 20 volunteer hours for the Student Funded Public Interest Fellowships (SFPIF) or another nonprofit organization and whose summer employment resides within a public interest or nonprofit organization and lasts at least 10 weeks. The law school also will provide a two-to-one match for every dollar in excess of $60,000 that SFPIF raises during the academic year. These additional funds will then be distributed equally among qualifying students who complete at least 10 hours of volunteer work for SFPIF up to a cap of $10,000 per student. ‘To our knowledge, we will now have the most generous summer public interest funding guarantee of any law school in the country,’ [Dean Daniel] Rodriguez said. ‘This augmentation reinforces our increased commitment to invigorate our law school’s public interest culture, both in terms of expanding our programmatic offerings, and in supporting students who wish to pursue careers in public service.'” (Northwestern University News)

February 17, 2016 – “A bill to raise state court fees by $1 would provide much-needed funding for Legal Aid of Nebraska, supporters said Wednesday. State Sen. Adam Morfeld of Lincoln, who sponsored the legislative measure (LB1098), says it would raise an extra $355,000 a year for the nonprofit law firm that provides free legal help to low-income people in non-criminal cases. Seven in 10 low-income Nebraskans deal with a significant legal issue each year, Morfeld said.” (Lincoln Journal Star)

February 18, 2016 – “A Senate committee unanimously advanced a bill on Thursday that would help address myriad problems with Utah’s public-defender system. SB155, sponsored by Sen. Todd Weiler, R-Woods Cross, would create a commission to oversee indigent-defense services statewide. The bill was made in response to criticism that Utah is not meeting its constitutional requirement to provide legal help to those who can’t afford it. Utah is one of two states in the nation that delegate that responsibility to individual counties, which have had no state oversight to guide their efforts in meeting the Sixth Amendment obligation. The proposed commission would be responsible for collecting data, reviewing public-defender contracts, creating caseload guidelines and doling out money from a trust fund to counties that need it to provide defense services.” The state is currently facing a suit filed by the ACLU regarding its indigent defense system. (The Salt Lake Tribune)

Spotlight on Outstanding Public Servants: