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

Happy Friday!  It is with both great sadness (for us) and joy (for her) that we say goodbye to our PSJD Fellow Ashley Matthews.  She has been such a wonderful part of our staff, and I am sad to say goodbye.  However, she is going on to much greater things, and we wish her all the best!  Thank you Ashley for all your contributions.  Good luck at LSC.

Spotlight on Outstanding Public Servants: If you know someone we should honor, drop me a line.

Here are the week’s headlines:

• The Partnership for Public Service releases report calling for overhaul of federal government civil service system;
• CT budget averts $4.5 million cut to legal aid;
• OK governor vetoes check off for domestic violence fund;
• Senate Democrats propose plan for refinancing student debt;
• OPM wants to help agencies’ HR;
• 40% of LA’s PD offices ran a deficit;
• Defenders organizing to give ‘Gideon’ teeth;
• Canadian lawyer speaks to the self-represented;
• Legal aid for youth for detention hearings expected to be signed into law in CO;
• SallieMae must compensate troops for overcharging on student loans;
• Spotlight on Public Service Servants: Law enforcement;
• Super Music Bonus!

The summaries:

May 9, 2014 –  “In the new report, “Building the Enterprise: A New Civil Service Framework,” the Partnership for Public Service calls for major reforms to the federal government’s decades-old civil service system and lays out a plan to modernize areas that include the outdated pay and hiring policies.”  You can download the report and view the panel discussion.  “The report calls for overhauling the entire civil service system, including pay, performance management, hiring, job classification, accountability and workplace justice, and the Senior Executive Service, the nation’s career leadership corps.”  (Partnership for Public Service)

May 9, 2014 – “Connecticut lawmakers have averted a looming $4.5 million cut to legal aid services that lawyers for the poor say would have forced them to turn away hundreds of low-income people seeking help with court cases involving domestic violence, eviction and health care.  The General Assembly approved a plan to continue using increased court filing fees to fund legal aid, as part of a massive budget bill adopted just before the legislative session ended Wednesday and sent to Gov. Dannel P. Malloy for his signature. The increased fees approved in 2012 to stabilize legal aid were set to expire next year.”  (SFGate)

May 10, 2014 – “Gov. Mary Fallin vetoed a bill Friday that would set up an income tax checkoff to help pay for legal aid for victims of domestic violence. She said the fund would be redundant.  There is already a checkoff on income tax forms for taxpayers who wish to contribute part of their tax refund to a fund for victims of domestic violence, said Alex Weintz, her spokesman.  Having two similar funds in the checkoff program could cause one or both to fail to reach donation requirements needed for a fund to stay in the program, Weintz said.”  (NewsOK)

May 12, 2014 – “Sen. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) said his plan, backed by Senate Democrats, would allow borrowers who have undergraduate student loan rates locked in at high interest rates to refinance at the rate currently offered for new student loans — 3.86 percent.  The plan is expected to be brought to the floor of the Senate in June, Schumer said. The new legislation has bipartisan support, Schumer said, but has yet to be taken up by the House of Representatives.”  (Newsday)

May 12, 2014 – “The Office of Personnel Management is pursuing various strategies that focus on the individual needs of agencies, as well as human resources challenges common across government, to improve federal hiring and employee retention, OPM Director Katherine Archuleta said on Monday.”  “We are drilling down in agencies to find the knots in the hiring process, and to untie them,” Archuleta said during a speech to federal workers at Government Executive’s annual Excellence in Government conference in Washington.  OPM wants to help agencies hire and cultivate talent, especially in the midst of tight budgets.  (Government Executive)

May 12, 2014 – “More than 40 percent of Louisiana’s public defender offices ran deficits last year as they struggled to come up with enough money to handle the cases of people too poor to afford their own attorneys, according to an annual report released Monday.  The Louisiana legislative auditor’s office found that 17 public defenders’ offices out of 40 spent more money than they brought in for the budget year that ended June 30, 2013.  To continue operating, districts dipped into reserve funds, a solution the report described as a temporary fix that “seriously depleted most of the local districts’ fund balances.” Public defenders had to do the same practice in 2012, forcing some to restrict services.  The offices have had similar problems for several years. The auditor’s office notes that the Louisiana Public Defender Board requested more money than it received during the budgeting process last year.”  (Daily Journal)

May 12, 2014 – “During the past six months, more than 6,000 state and federal public defenders from around the country have accepted the invitation to join a new organization formed to “own” the problems and future of indigent defense, as one of its founders put it. The catalyst was the 50th anniversary of the landmark U.S. Supreme Court decision, Gideon v. Wainwright, in which the justices held that the Sixth Amendment required states to provide counsel to poor defendants charged with serious crimes.”  “The organization, the National Association for Public Defense, arrives at the ‘right time,’ said Stephen Hanlon, chairman of the indigent defense advisory group of the ABA’s Standing Committee on Legal Aid and Indigent Defendants.”  “Unlike those organizations, which view indigent defense as a subset of the criminal justice system, Young said, the new organization’s sole focus is indigent defense. ‘We want to address training and workload relief for lawyers on the line in the courtroom every day, and all of the support staff that gets us to the courtroom every day.’  To that end, the organization’s education committee is providing training webinars for public defenders and staff, and is blogging and writing articles about the justice system.”  The organization is also seeking to bridge the gap between federal and state defenders.  So far, more than 6,000 members are on board.  (National Law Journal)

May 13, 2014 – “Record numbers of Canadians are appearing without a lawyer in family court all across the country. University of Windsor law professor Julie Macfarlane estimates that as many as 80 per cent of family court cases in Canada involve Self-Represented Litigants; that’s up by half from 1993.  Judges, however, still hold Self-Represented Litigants to the same standard of work quality and following court processes as they would expect from a lawyer.”  That’s where Family lawyer Andrew Feldstein comes in.  He has launched “FamilyLawHelp.ca, an information-packed website designed specifically for Self-Represented Litigants (also called Unrepresented Litigants or Do-it-Yourselfers) who are thinking of ending their marriages or common-law relationships.”  “The site offers ‘unbundled legal services’ where instead of providing comprehensive services to a client, a lawyer only handles the aspects that a client chooses. For example, clients can get any one of these, or a combination of these written:  applications, answers, notices of motion, affidavits, and offers to settle. And the spouse handles the balance, to the best of his or her abilities.”  Unbundled services is certainly a trend that is gaining momentum in Canada and the US.  (Mississauga News)

May 14, 2014 – “Juveniles in criminal proceedings in Colorado will be guaranteed defense counsel at hearings where judges determine whether they should be released while their case is pending, under a bill expected to be signed into law next week.  The legislation comes in response to concerns raised by youth advocates who maintain that many juveniles with cases in state courts don’t get legal representation, and they sometimes resolve their cases without ever getting legal advice. The advocates argued that this situation often leads to juveniles and their parents settling cases without realizing the long-term consequences, including having trouble getting jobs or housing because of their records.”  “Gov. John Hickenlooper is expected to sign the bill next week. On Wednesday, he signed a companion measure that requires the public defender’s office to hire social workers to assist in juvenile cases.”  (Washington Times)

May 14, 2014 – “Sallie Mae must pay $60 million in refunds to troops for violating a law, called the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act, that ensures members of the U.S. military pay no more than six percent interest on student loans.  U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder said not only did Sallie Mae charge an illegal interest rate to some troops, but in some cases the lender obtained default judgments against members of the military who fell behind on their student loan payments.”  “In addition to the $60 million in restitution paid to military members, NBC reports, Sallie Mae must also make amends to troops whose credit scores were damaged by the student loan company.  Finally, Sallie Mae has been ordered to pay about $37 million in penalties to the FDIC, according to Boston.com.”  (KPBS)

Spotlight on Outstanding Public Servants:  This week is National Police Week.  We have been fortunate in DC to host tens of thousands of officers honoring the fallen and celebrating those who serve.  “In 1962, President John F. Kennedy signed a proclamation which designated May 15th as Peace Officers Memorial Day and the week in which that date falls as Police Week.  The Memorial Service began in 1982 as a gathering in Senate Park of approximately 120 survivors and supporters of law enforcement. Decades later, the event, more commonly known as National Police Week, has grown to a series of events which attracts thousands of survivors and law enforcement officers to our Nation’s Capital each year.”  Please take a moment to thank a cop.  It’s a hard job, and those who do it are special kinds of heroes.  (PoliceWeek.org)

Super Music Bonus! In honor of Ashley – her favorite song right now.  Good luck in the next chapter!

by Ashley Matthews, PSJD Fellow

This is my fourth and final blog post in a series about my job-hunting adventures. You all may know me as the 2012-2014 PSJD Fellow, in which position I manage PSJD’s website and social media accounts.

Aside from the regular stress of looking for a job, I – like many other public interest law grads who scour PSJD for job vacancies – have to combat a dearth of available positions, an abundance of unpaid postgraduate opportunities, student loans, the bar exam, and a majorly competitive job market.

I’m writing this public diary so other recent law graduates know they are not alone. Looking for a job, facing rejection, and dealing with stress and anxiety can be disconcerting and isolating. So if I touch on something that has happened to you or someone you know, feel free to leave a comment! We’ll get through this together.

Entry #4: On Alternative Careers, Bucking Tradition & Following Your Passion

Since my last entry, things have been pretty busy around the PSJD office. As usual, my first priority was always making sure the site stays up-to-date with the latest public interest jobs and resources. I’ve learned a lot during my time here, but the whole reason I started this mini-series is because (cue tears) I can’t stay a PSJD Fellow forever! It’s temporary by nature and I knew it was time to start looking for the next step in my career journey.

I ended up not taking the bar in February, but this wasn’t that big of a deal to me (cue shocked gasp). I’ve always considered myself a journalist who snuck into law school, and knew that becoming a practicing attorney was not necessarily time-sensitive for what I want to do with my law degree. However, I still plan on taking the bar exam in order to do pro bono work, and I will still consider it a huge accomplishment when I finally do take it!

This brings me to the focus of this blog entry: I got “the job”! This is my last week as a PSJD Fellow, but I am staying in the public interest law community. My next position involves raising public and congressional awareness about access to justice for vulnerable communities in need of civil legal services. I’m very passionate about this work, and excited to get started!

“The dream job” means different things to all of us recent law graduates, but there is one thing I’d like readers to take away from this post: follow your passion, and don’t be scared to buck tradition. Every career trajectory is different. As law schools continue to diversify curricula and take on more multidisciplinary approaches to legal education, law students can start thinking about fresh and innovative ways to use their law degrees that may or may not involve direct legal services. If you can find an employer who understands the best way to use your unique skill set – which can include anything in addition to your legal knowledge – it could be a match made in non-litigating heaven.

NALP likes to call this phenomenon the “JD advantage.” It basically describes a situation where a law graduate nabs a position that highly values her legal training, and may even consider it necessary. The job description, however, does not usually require bar passage or an active law license.

This is great news for all the public interest law students, recent law graduates, and attorneys who are not fully committed to practicing law. We all know how competitively tight the legal job market can be, so opening yourself up to a wider array of career opportunities definitely doesn’t hurt. If you are absolutely dedicated to practicing, then by all means follow that passion! But if, like me, you are just as happy doing other types of work, don’t be scared to get out there and do just that. You can still use your skills you learned in law school to give back to marginalized or vulnerable communities.

Santa Clara Law has a great resource on their site all about non-lawyer jobs for lawyers. NALP also has advice from law graduates who chose not to practice law. PSJD posts JD-advantage jobs, which are usually housed in the “Law Related” and “Non-Legal” job categories.

The PSJD Fellowship is a JD-advantage position, and I received a lot of support in pursuing an alternative legal career path. My passion is using innovative communication strategies to increase access to justice. I am happily and shamelessly following that passion, even in the face of negative perceptions about my decision not to practice.

If you’re struggling with the decision of whether to practice law, I encourage you to think about what sets you apart and how you can uniquely contribute to the communities you wish to serve. As I get ready for this new step in my professional life, I am even more satisfied with everything that has led to this point – including law school!

As always, feel free to comment below or shoot us an email at psjd@nalp.org if you want to talk more about JD-advantage careers.

Even with unemployment still running high, the Federal Government is having difficulty hiring qualified employees.  In particular, the Federal Government is actively recruiting and hiring persons with disabilities.  If  you are such a person seeking federal employment, here is some specific guidance.

The Federal Government has a special (excepted) hiring authority for persons with disabilities called Schedule A.  You are eligible for Schedule A if you are a person with severe physical disability, a psychiatric disability or an intellectual disability.  You can find out more, including sample Schedule A letters and a training video on applying for Schedule A jobs, on OPM’s website.

Additionally, most Federal agencies have a Selective Placement Program Coordinator (SPPC) who helps management recruit, hire and accommodate people with disabilities. SPPC’s have many roles and responsibilities, including helping people with disabilities get information about current job opportunities, types of jobs in the agency and how these jobs are filled, and reasonable accommodation.  There is a nationwide SPPC Directory to help you get started.  Also, check out the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission’s LEAD (Leadership for the Employment of Americans with Disabilities) initiative to address the declining number of employees with targeted disabilities in the federal workforce. The goal for this initiative is to significantly increase the population of individuals with severe disabilities employed by the federal government.

The Federal Government has made hiring candidates with disabilities a priority.  If you are eligible, take advantage of their recruiting resources.  Federal agencies can be a great place to work.

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

Happy Friday!  This month we’re talking about service projects.  Do you have a great Law Day program planned?  Let us know!  Today, we feature spring break projects from Denver.

Spotlight on Outstanding Public Servants: If you know someone we should honor, drop me a line.

Here are the week’s headlines:

• University of Denver Sturm College of Law give back during spring break;
• Ontario budget allows more people to qualify for legal aid;
• First Sanford Heisler Public Interest Diversity Fellow announced;
• MA adds access to justice question to Bar exam;
• HUD provides grant to help Brooklyn organizations advocate for affordable housing;
• BARBRI names first Public Interest Fellow;
• Grant to John Marshall clinic for foreclosure work;
• Spotlight on Public Service Servants: San Francisco Public Defender Legal Educational Advocacy Program (LEAP);
• Super Music Bonus!

The summaries:

May 2, 2014 –  From Alexi Freeman, Director, Public Interest & Lecturer/Legal Externships, University of Denver Sturm College of Law –  This year, a number of Denver Law students skipped out on beach and mountain vacations to provide much-needed legal support to a number of different organizations and individuals over spring break.

Alternative Spring Break:  For the fifth year in a row, Sturm College of Law students traveled to El Paso, Texas and Window Rock, Ariz. to take part in the school’s Alternative Spring Break (ASB)program. Six students spent the week volunteering at immigration and civil rights legal clinics in El Paso including the Texas Civil Rights Project and Las Americas Immigrant Advocacy Center. Another 4 students ventured to Window Rock, Ariz. where they assisted non-profit organizations providing legal assistance to American Indian tribes, including DNA-People’s Legal Services and the Navajo Nation Human Rights Commission.

The ASB program offers Sturm students a unique opportunity for short-term exposure to a professional legal environment. This is especially helpful for many first-year law students seeking to jump-start their professional development. The trip also is a great way to give back as    students help make legal services more readily available to people of modest means. ASB was developed by students in the Chancellor’s Scholar program.

Tribal Wills Project:  If members of recognized Native American tribes die without a will, the American Indian Probate Reform Act of 2004 requires that all trust property go to the one eldest descendant. For some, this Act has become problematic, as it doesn’t allow for flexibility and personal choice.

Enter the Tribal Wills Project. Initiated by Professor Lucy Marsh and John Roach, the Fiduciary Trust Officer for the Southwest Region of the Department of Interior, the Tribal Wills Project allows Denver Law students to spent their spring break drafting wills, powers of attorneys, and burial instructions for members of two Native American tribes, the Southern Utes and the Ute Mountain Utes. The project is in its second year and the demand for these services has increased. This year, 21 law students traveled either to Durango or Towaoc, Colo., or White Mesa, Utah. Supervised by Prof. Marsh and three attorneys, Molly Barnett, Beth Bryant, and Paul Padilla, all Denver Law grads, the law students served approximately 70 clients. “We ran like a ‘micro firm’ out of these conference rooms,” Ryan Cusick remarked. “We worked together in teams, picked up each’s other slack, and really got along well.”

The legal work that was done could have easily cost $75K, but instead, it allowed students to fulfill their Public Service Requirement and provide a much-needed service. Overall participating students shared that it was one of–if not the best– experiences they had in law school.

May 2, 2014 – “The threshold to qualify for legal aid in Ontario will rise for the first time in 18 years, the government announced in its budget, though to what level it did not say.”  “The Liberal government’s budget, tabled Thursday, revealed that raising the criteria would allow an additional one million low-income Ontarians to qualify for legal aid ‘when fully implemented.’ It did not specify a timeline for full implementation.  Ontario’s legal aid eligibility criteria have not changed since 1996.”  (Global News)

May 2, 2014 – “The California-based Foundation for Advocacy Inclusion and Resources (FAIR) today announced selection of the first Sanford Heisler Public Interest Diversity Fellow in partnership with the Legal Aid Society-Employment Law Center (LAS-ELC) and Sanford Heisler LLP, a leading national public interest law firm.  Giselle N. Olmedo, a 2013 graduate of the University of California, Berkeley, School of Law, bested a talented pool of applicants to earn the 2014 Sanford Heisler Public Interest Diversity Fellowship.” “FAIR will provide Olmedo’s salary and benefits during the year-long Fellowship period, which is comprised of two consecutive six-month terms, based upon a grant received from Sanford Heisler. Olmedo will spend the first half of her Fellowship at the LAS-ELC and the second at a firm affiliated with the California Employment Lawyers Association (CELA), an organization of more than 1,000 workers’ rights advocates statewide.”  (Digital Journal)

May 3, 2014 – The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court approved an amendment to Board of Bar Examiners Rule III, effective July 1, 2016 to include Access to Justice as field in which test takers should be familiar with the law.  “The law to be tested in the field of Access to Justice may include the following topics: Landlord-Tenant, including evictions, affirmative defenses and counterclaims, and fee-shifting statutes; Foreclosures; Divorce, including child custody, support, visitation; Termination of Parental Rights; Domestic Abuse; Guardianship and Conservatorship; Consumer Matters, including debt collection, predatory lending and unfair or deceptive practices; Health Care Proxies, Power of Attorney, Advance Directives; Due Process doctrines related to fair hearings, civil commitment and civil right to counsel; Representation of nonprofit organizations; and Ethical rules including Massachusetts Rules of Professional Responsibility 1.2, 1.5, 1.14, 1.15, 4.3, 6.1, 6.5 and Limited Assistance Representation.” (Massachusetts Law Updates)

May 6, 2014 -The US Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) has provided a grant to Brooklyn Legal Services Corporation and South Brooklyn Legal Corporation, two organizations that advocate for affordable housing in New York. The two organizations will share the $975,000 and use the money to continue providing legal and other services to working families in Brooklyn.  (Brooklyn Daily Eagle)

May 6, 2014 – George Mason University School of Law student Catherine Wauters has been named the first-ever BARBRI Public Interest Fellow competition. She will spend a year as a legal fellow at the global nonprofit Save the Children.  “BARBRI designed the Public Interest Fellow program to promote social responsibility and increase awareness of alternative legal career paths. Contestants submitted resumes, writing samples and short videos expressing why they wanted to work for the nonprofit dedicated to affecting immediate and lasting change for children in need across the country and around the world.

In Wauters’ video, she speaks passionately about how her Peace Corps service solidified her decision to ‘pursue the law as a vehicle for greater social change.’ In Benin, West Africa, she worked to improve nutrition for infants and children by helping mothers incorporate locally available but nutritionally dense foodstuff into their diets.  Wauters, a third-year law student, said the experience proved that even small changes can make a big difference in children’s lives and can have an aggregate positive effect on entire communities. She believes that ‘promoting the general welfare of all children is the best investment we can make in our tomorrow.'”  Congratulations! (Digital Journal)

May 7, 2014 – “Struggling homeowners on Chicago’s north side may now get legal help thanks to a grant from Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan. The grant will enable law students from the John Marshall Law School, partnered with Northside Housing Cooperative (NHC), to provide additional legal assistance to home buyers in the city’s northern communities.  The Pro Bono Clinic at the John Marshall will provide expert legal assistance on homebuyer education, foreclosure prevention and employer-assisted housing, thanks to an agreement with Madigan.  The $800,000 grant to NHC comes from a national settlement involving the nation’s five largest bank servicers that were cited for fraudulent practices while servicing loans of struggling homeowners.”  (Digital Journal)

Spotlight on Outstanding Public Servants:   “A unique San Francisco Public Defender program that pairs legal advocacy with social work to keep at-risk teens in school has been selected as 2014 Program of the Year by the California Public Defenders Organization.

The Legal Educational Advocacy Program (LEAP) works directly with San Francisco youth on probation, making regular court and school appearances and training parents and caregivers to advocate effectively for their children. Of the youth who have gone through the program, fewer than 13 percent reoffend six to 12 months after exiting.

The 3-year old program, funded through a federal grant, continues to work toward the greater goal of reducing the disproportionate number of youth of color in the justice system overall. It is comprised of Juvenile Unit Attorney Manager Patricia Lee, Social Worker Marynella Woods, Education Attorney Lauren Brady Blalock and Youth Advocate Marc Babus.”  Congratulations on their outstanding work!  (San Francisco Public Defender)

Super Music Bonus! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wZNYDzNGB-Q

The Canadian Lawyer magazine recently posted a list of blunders law students make while trying to get their legal career off the ground. Here are few key mistakes that were mentioned:

“Mistake #3 – Not choosing a practice area before you complete your studies“: This is incredibly important! Employers want to see that you’ve made a demonstrated commitment to their practice area. It will also be pretty hard to compete against other law students who have experience directly related to a particular legal field.

“Mistake #5 – No legal web site or legal blog, only Facebook“: These days, it’s easier than ever to start your own website. You can use blogging platforms like WordPress or Tumblr for a free and user-friendly experience, with the option to upgrade to a more costly but customizable site. It’s a great way to set yourself apart from other applicants and provide easy access to your resume and legal writings.

Click here to check out the full list on the Canadian Lawyer website!

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

Happy Friday!  Welcome to May!  We’re going to spend the month talking about service projects.  Did you participate in an alternate spring break program this year?  We’d love to hear about it!  This week, we have an entry from Memphis.

Spotlight on Outstanding Public Servants: If you know someone we should honor, drop me a line.

Here are the week’s headlines:

• Wills now available at Walmart in Canada;
• Appleseed Legal Justice Center joins SC attorneys and VA to provide legal assistance for vets;
• Nova Scotians who don’t qualify for legal aid have another option;
• Memphis Law School marks fourth year of ASB program;
• Spotlight on Public Service Servants: Public Service Recognition Week is May 4-10;
• Super Music Bonus!

The summaries:

April 24, 2014 –  One of the many complaints by those seeking legal assistance is that it’s difficult to access.  Here’s an interesting idea – legal services in your local Walmart.  “Near the entrance of a new Walmart in Markham is an innovation in discount retailing: Axess Law. Founded by Toronto lawyers Lena Koke and Mark Morris, Axess Law provides fast and affordable legal services to time-pressed shoppers. Simple wills are $99. Notarized documents are $25, plus $19 for each additional document.”  Two locations are currently open with a third set to open this month. The locations are open until 8 pm each evening and weekends.  The firm currently does real estate law and wills.  Uncontested divorces will be added to the menu in the fall.  The idea is to provide legal services in a non-intimidating way.  (The Toronto Star)

April 24, 2014 – “Dorn VA Medical Center spokesman Kevin McIver announced Thursday that the Appleseed Legal Justice Center is working with Nelson Mullins Riley & Scarborough Law Firm on the pro-bono legal clinic for low-income veterans called Lawyers 4 Vets.  The clinic starts May 15 at the VA Medical Center in Columbia. Veterans may make appointments on the third Thursday of every month from 9 a.m. to noon.  Attorneys will assist veterans with obtaining identification papers, child support and visitation issues, obtaining pardons or clearing legal records, simple wills and powers of attorney, among other matters.”  (The Republic)

April 25, 2014 – “Nova Scotians who make too much to qualify for legal aid but not enough to hire a lawyer will soon have more access to free legal advice.  The Legal Information Society of Nova Scotia says it will launch a free summary advice clinic on May 2.  Society executive director Heather de Berdt Romilly says the free clinic has been quietly open for a few months and has been well-received by the public and volunteer lawyers.  She says the society plans to expand the program across the province over the next year.”  (News 95.7)

April 29, 2014 – “Seventy-three students from fourteen different law schools chose to spend their spring break in Memphis providing legal aid to those in need.  Student volunteers had the opportunity to sign up for one of seven different legal tracks offered as part of the University of Memphis Cecil C. Humphreys School of Law’s Alternative Spring Break Program (ASB).  The ASB program was planned and executed by the Public Action Law Society (PALS), a student organization at the law school whose mission is to facilitate student involvement in pro bono and public interest activities.  This year marks the fourth year that the law school has hosted the ASB program.”  (University of Memphis, Cecil C Humphreys School of Law)

Spotlight on Outstanding Public Servants: Celebrated the first week of May since 1985, Public Service Recognition Week (PSRW) is time set aside to honor the men and women who serve our nation as federal, state, county and local government employees and ensure that our government is the best in the world.

The theme for PSRW 2014 is Proud to Serve.  PSRW is organized annually by the Public Employees Roundtable (PER) and its member organizations. PER will kick off PSRW 2014 with its second annual Public Service 5K run/walk in Washington, D.C. Other feature events in Washington include a public town hall meeting with Cabinet secretaries, a Washington Nationals baseball game and a congressional breakfast to announce the finalists of the Samuel J. Heyman Service to America Medals.

Public servants deserve our thanks throughout the year and we invite you to continue honoring them for the work they do each and every day. Suggestions can be found in the How to Celebrate PSRW Guide.

Super Music Bonus! Thank you to all those out there working for us!  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9N2CANatVYQ

Calling all D.C. legal interns:

If you still need supplemental funding for your unpaid or low-paying summer public interest work, PSJD wants to work with you! We have a few spots left for part-time project assistants, who help us keep the website up and running over the summer. This gig is perfect for law students who can spend a few hours a week helping the global legal community access the latest nonprofit, government and public interest jobs and resources.

We pay up to $13/hour, and you’re free to set your own schedule (as long as it’s during normal business hours).

Still interested? Check out the full job description with application instructions here (log-in required). The deadline is 05/05/2014, so apply now!

Any questions? Email PSJD Fellow Ashley Matthews at amatthews@nalp.org. You can check out more summer funding opportunities in the Funding & Debt section of PSJD’s Resource Center!

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

Happy Friday!  As we start wrapping up another school year, have you done the things you need to do to be successful this summer?  PSJD has a number of resources to help.

Spotlight on Outstanding Public Servants: If you know someone we should honor, drop me a line.

Here are the week’s headlines:

• CT legislature considering bill that would increase legal aid funding;
• John Marshall Law School (Chicago) adds 6 new clinics;
• FL funding legal hotline to help juveniles;
• Spotlight on Public Service Servants: DC Bar Pro Bono Program;
• Super Music Bonus!

The summaries:

April 18, 2014 – “The legislature is considering a bill introduced by Gov. Dannel P. Malloy that would bolster legal aid for low-income residents.  Legal aid services face a $4.5 million reduction in state funding next fiscal year, because a series of fee increases approved in 2012 is set to expire.”    “Malloy’s bill would make the 2012 increases permanent. Civil lawsuits, for example, would continue to carry a $350 fee, instead of a $300 fee.
The bill would also increase the percentage of filing fees that go to legal aid.”  (Hartford Business Journal)

April 22, 2014 – The John Marshall Law School in Chicago has added six new legal clinics to its experiential learning offerings.  “John Marshall’s newest clinics focus on: Business Enterprise Law, Conflict Resolution, Domestic Violence, International Human Rights, Intellectual Property and Pro Bono. They join John Marshall’s 20-year-old Fair Housing Legal Clinic, Patent Clinic and nationally renowned Veterans Legal Support Center & Clinic. Work through the Patent Clinic now will fall under the new Intellectual Property Clinic, which will also include a Trademark track.”  (PRWeb)

April 22, 2014 – “South Florida youth advocates are creating a hotline to give legal advice for juveniles in trouble with the law.  The Children’s Services Council of Broward County approved funding for LAW-line, a helpline for families in need of legal information including diversion opportunities, civil citation and expunction processes. LAW-line is slated to start in October.  The organization also awarded a grant to Legal Aid for services for youth involved in both the foster care and delinquency systems.  The organization says the services will prevent more children from entering the foster care and juvenile justice systems and will allow them to advocate for the least restrictive and most appropriate educational, medical and mental health services for the youth already there.”  (SFGate)

Spotlight on Outstanding Public Servants:  The D.C. Bar Pro Bono Program is an independent, nonprofit organization supported entirely by voluntary contributions. The Pro Bono Program recruits, trains, and mobilizes volunteer attorneys to take pro bono cases serving individuals living in poverty who are at risk of losing their homes, their livelihoods, and their families. The program also helps small businesses and community-based nonprofits needing legal help. Last year, the Pro Bono Program touched the lives of 20,000 D.C. residents.  Learn more about this outstanding group.

Super Music Bonus! Missed Coachella this  year?  Here’s a little taste.  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lv7OyDyXcd8&list=PLFgquLnL59amLUrECpliv96Sc72SwI_6U

If you are a law or graduate student with a background in journalism and/or publishing, this one’s for you!

We just extended the deadline for our Summer 2014 NALP/PSJD Summer Publications Coordinator position. We’re looking for an awesome intern who can work with us for 10 weeks to produce the 2014 Postgraduate Fellowship and Federal Legal Employment Opportunities guides.

The selected Publications Coordinator will be joining our Washington, DC office for the summer. The stipend is $675/week for a 40 hour work week.

Still interested? The new deadline is April 25, 2014. Click here for more information.

If you already know you’ll be in Washington, DC for the summer but still looking for funding, you still have time to apply for one of PSJD’s part-time Project Assistant positions!

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

Happy Friday!  We are back!  I hope you learned as much as we did at the Conference.  Now it’s time to put that knowledge and energy to good use.

Spotlight on Outstanding Public Servants: If you know someone we should honor, drop me a line.

Here are the week’s headlines:

•  Idaho’s new Public Defense Act not going to fix the problems?;
• Endowment funds Touro law students working with veterans;
• Greenberg Traurig launches nationwide pro bono effort with KIND;
• GA Government signs Executive Order to establish conflict defender;
• Mid-Minnesota Legal Aid receives grant funds to assist seniors;
• CT examines way to provide low-cost legal aid;
• Legal Aid Society of Louisville gets grant to help clients in IRS disputes;
• Legal Aid Alberta faces funding crunch;
• Group wants TX High Court to review court fee rules for the poor;
• Spotlight on Public Service Servants: Emily Ward;
• Super Music Bonus!

The summaries:

April 5, 2014 – “Idaho’s public defender system has been called a deficient, unconstitutional patchwork and a magnet for lawsuits, and a new law addressing the problems won’t accomplish much, critics say.”  “The Public Defense Act, signed into law last week by Gov. C.L. ‘Butch’ Otter, is intended to to solve some of these problems. But critics say the law will burden counties with higher costs and doesn’t go far enough to fix the flawed system.  The law bans fixed-fee contracts that pay attorneys a lump sum to tackle all of a county’s cases. That could increase costs in counties that will need to hire more lawyers.”  “The new law will replace the Public Defense Subcommittee with a state Public Defense Commission consisting of one member each from the state House and Senate; four gubernatorial appointments from the Idaho Association of Counties, state Appellate Public Defenders Office, the Idaho Juvenile Justice Commission and an experienced defense attorney; as well as a representative appointed by the Idaho Supreme Court chief justice.  That Public Defense Act sets aside $300,000 to establish the commission, pay members’ travel and provide training for public defenders statewide.”  This is not enough say critics, and many groups are watching closely to see if the Act provides any reforms to the system.  (MagicValley.com)

April 6, 2014 – A $200,000 endowment will fund students at Long Island’s Touro Law Center who are studying legal challenges facing veterans.  The program is sponsored by the North Shore-Long Island Jewish Health System.  The endowment, announced last week, includes $90,000 for an annual scholarship awarded to a Touro student focusing on veterans’ mental health, disabilities and other issues. A separate $90,000 fund will sponsor an annual summer fellowship. And $20,000 will pay for a conference on veterans’ mental health as related to their legal problems.  That includes keeping veterans who commit nonviolent crimes from ending up behind bars, instead providing them with behavioral evaluations and treatment.” (Daily Journal)

April 7, 2014 – “International law firm Greenberg Traurig, LLP has announced a new pro bono initiative involving 150 of its attorneys in seven offices as well as the creation of a full-time fellowship position. Greenberg Traurig is partnering with Kids in Need of Defense (KIND), an organization founded by the Microsoft Corporation and Angelina Jolie, to provide pro bono legal services to unaccompanied children in immigration proceedings.”  “In addition to devoting significant pro bono work to this project, Greenberg Traurig is funding a full-time fellowship position at KIND through Equal Justice Works, a non-profit organization that facilitates two-year fellowships for recent law school graduates pursuing careers in public service. This position is part of a broader fellowship program.”  (Digital Journal)

April 8, 2014 –  “Georgia’s governor signed an executive order Tuesday to provide $4 million to cover costs associated with providing lawyers without conflicting interests for poor defendants.  The order signed by Gov. Nathan Deal moves money from the Governor’s Emergency Fund to the Georgia Public Defenders Standards Council.  The allocation comes after the state Supreme Court ruled last year that lawyers in the same public defender’s office cannot represent co-defendants in a criminal case if doing so would create a conflict of interest. The ruling effectively meant that many cases must be referred to outside lawyers.”  (Enquirer-Herald)

April 10, 2014 – “The St. Cloud office of Mid-Minnesota Legal Aid has received a grant of Older Americans Act funds from the Central Minnesota Council on Aging to provide legal services for seniors residing in Cass County.  The funds will be used to provide legal advice, counseling and representation in court and administrative hearings. There is no cost for these services.”  (Pilot-Independent)

April 10, 2014 –  “A Judicial Branch work group is looking into how the state might provide low-cost legal representation for people who lack the resources to pay standard legal fees but who have too many assets to qualify for legal aid.  The Workgroup on Modest/Moderate Means was created in January at the recommendation of the Judicial Branch’s Access to Justice Program. According to Chief Justice Chase Rogers, the group’s goal is to assess ‘the feasibility of establishing a voluntary statewide modest means program’ with the support of state bar associations and the 26,000 licensed lawyers in the state.”  The group held it’s first meeting in March, and expect to submit a plan for creating a statewide program to the chief justice by this fall.  (Connecticut Law Tribune)

April 12, 2014 –  “The Legal Aid Society of Louisville has received a $50,000 grant from the Internal Revenue Service to expand the free legal services society lawyers provide to low-income taxpayers involved in disputes with the IRS.  The society’s Low Income Taxpayer Clinic provides legal help for income-eligible taxpayers with disputes with the IRS that involve such issues as: unpaid tax debt, non-filings, lack of a Social Security number, incorrect claiming of dependents, help in obtaining the Earned Income Tax Credit, and debt relief for some spouses in specific circumstances.”  (The Courier-Journal)

April 12, 2014 – “Groups representing Alberta’s defence lawyers lost a bid this week to restructure Legal Aid Alberta, but the head of the program says it can’t avoid drastic changes if someone doesn’t step in with more money.  ‘There’s no question we’ll have to consider what changes we’ll have to make — and very shortly — to our programming, given the static funding situation,’ said Suzanne Polkosnik, president and CEO of the publicly funded agency, which provides lawyers for low-income Albertans and other legal services.”  “While funding has remained the same, demand for legal aid has gone up: the group provided service 227,600 times last year, a jump of 33,000 cases since 2010.”(Calgary Herald)

April 14, 2014 – “Advocates for the poor are asking the Texas Supreme Court to revise a rule regarding indigency court affidavits following concerns about inconsistencies in how it is being enforced throughout the state.  The Texas Access to Justice Commission issued a report in May calling for an overhaul of what is known as Rule 145 when questions were raised about how court officials were collecting fees from the poor even after their cases had been resolved.”  Access to Justice hopes that modifying the rule it would clarify procedures for court officials while allowing those who are indigent to access the courts.  (Star-Telegram)

Spotlight on Outstanding Public Servants:  Emily Ward, a 3L at Penn State’s Dickinson School of Law, dreams of a career in the public interest.  She’s started early by advancing a pro bono program to help the homeless.  “Building on research and draft materials done by former students Heather Hoechst, 2012 graduate, and Maren Miller Bam, 2013 graduate, Ward brought the concept to fruition by completing the volunteer manual, recruiting volunteers, and conducting student training sessions. The 33-page manual includes interviewing techniques, forms and resources available to qualifying mission guests.”  Read more about here amazing work here.  Congratulations!

Super Music Bonus! Is it Spring yet?  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6tkqdOB5bEw