Have you searched postgraduate fellowships on PSJD and wished you could see them on a calendar? We’ve listened to your requests, and are excited to announce the Calendar is here! Check out it and all the other great postgraduate fellowship resources in the Resource Center on PSJD. Stay tuned for How-To’s on this convenient new resource coming later today!
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by Christina Jackson, NALP Director of Public Service Initiatives & Fellowships
Happy Friday everyone! We have had our first big winter snow storm this week, and I forgot how much fun snow sports can be. I also forgot how much “fun” driving in DC in the snow can be. If you’re experiencing cold temperatures, don’t forget about your neighbors, especially the elderly. Check on them if possible. Stay safe and vigilant out there everyone.
Spotlight on Outstanding Public Servants: If you know someone we should honor, drop me a line.
Here are the week’s headlines:
The summaries:
January 16, 2014 – “A rash of actual and potential death penalty cases left the Wyoming Public Defender’s Office pinched for money last year, the agency’s director said Wednesday. The office spent $665,000 on seven potential cases between July 1, 2012 and Oct. 31, 2013 compared to only one capital case in the past two budget cycles, Diane Lozano said during a budget hearing before the Legislature’s Joint Appropriations Committee.” “Lozano said she had to ask Gov. Matt Mead for authority to hire an additional attorney and may need to ask for a second. She is asking the Legislature for an immediate appropriation of $370,000 to replace dollars borrowed from other agency accounts to pay costs of the capital cases.” While at this point the office is able to handle these cases, the money needed for mitigation investigations has not been forthcoming. Linda Burt, director of the Wyoming chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union, said Wednesday said it’s important that defendants get the best representation they can. The ACLU will be monitoring the situation as well in the coming year. (Billings Gazette)
January 17, 2014 – The Ohio Association of Civil Trial Attorneys’ annual Law Student Diversity Scholarship program is open to incoming second- and third-year African American, Hispanic, Asian, Pan Asian and Native American students enrolled at Ohio law schools. Incoming second- and third-year female law students enrolled at Ohio law schools also are eligible regardless of race or ethnicity. Up to two scholarships worth $1,250 each will be awarded to successful applicants. Applicants are required to submit a completed application, law school transcript and a cover letter addressing the following: academic, personal and professional accomplishments and why they should be selected as a recipient of the scholarship. Applicants can submit up to three letters of recommendation. The completed application and all other requested material must be received by April 18. Winners will be announced in June. The 2014 OACTA Law Student Diversity Scholarship Application can be found at www.oacta.org. (The News-Messenger)
January 17, 2014 – Goodwin Procter LLP, a national AmLaw 50 firm, today announced its 2014 Public Interest Fellowships for Law Students of Color program, which provides awards of $7,500 to law students of color who demonstrate outstanding academic performance, leadership skills and a commitment to community service. The fellowships are designed to help support students who plan to work in public interest law positions in the summer following their first year of law school. This year, four fellowships will be awarded. Application guidelines and forms are available online; the application deadline is March 14, 2014. (Herald Online)
January 19, 2014 – “The ABA is weighing a comprehensive proposal to change the Accreditation Standards for American law schools. The proposal, developed during an administrative process conducted by the ABA over the past several years, touches on many important aspects of legal education and law school accreditation, including pro bono service, experiential learning credit requirements, and law professors’ tenure.” With respect to pro bono, the current Standards require law schools to provide students with “substantial” opportunities to perform pro bono service, without defining the term “substantial.” The National Center for Access to Justice and Equal Justice Works, in separate comments, have urged the ABA to modify the standards regarding law student pro bono service to specify the number of hours. By memorandum issued September 6, 2014, the ABA has invited submission of Comments by January 31, 2014 in anticipation of a hearing that will be held at the ABA on February 5th and 6th, 2014. Comments received by the ABA are posted on the ABA’s Notice & Comment web site. Law students can weigh in on the issue by signing a petition initiated by EJW. (NCAF Blog)
January 22, 2014 – “A commission meant to help residents gain better access to the state’s justice system released a three-year plan Wednesday that recommends creating forms in “plain language” and asks attorneys to do more charitable and free work. In its strategic plan, the West Virginia Access to Justice Commission says it will continue to examine and identify barriers West Virginians face while utilizing the legal system.” One recommendation is to develop a “self-help center” and an online assistance center. The idea is to “provide assistance to those who may have been turned away from Legal Aid due to funding cuts or statutory restrictions and provides an opportunity for attorneys to engage in pro bono work, the report states.” (The Charleston Gazette)
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by Christina Jackson, NALP Director of Public Service Initiatives & Fellowships
Happy Friday everyone! And welcome back to all the law students.
Spotlight on Outstanding Public Servants: If you know someone we should honor, drop me a line.
Here are the week’s headlines:
The summaries:
January 14, 2014 – “Gregg County commissioners learned the meaning of deferred payment Monday in accepting an $81,800 state grant for indigent defense that lawmakers withheld in 2011 to balance their budget. Similar one-time payments are being sent to counties statewide, a letter from Court of Criminal Appeals Presiding Judge Sharon Keller said. (news-journal)
January 14, 2014 – “The connection between legal help and medical and quality of life outcomes for veterans has been observed anecdotally in recent years. Now, for the first time, a study will be undertaken to quantify those results with the hope of embedding more free legal services in veterans’ facilities across the country, and giving veterans with mental health and housing needs more opportunities to live productive lives. The Connecticut Veterans Legal Center, the first legal organization in the U.S. to set-up shop in a VA setting, and the New York Legal Assistance Group will embark on a two-year study financed by nearly $700,000 from the Bristol Myers Squibb Foundation. Partnering with VA researchers in West Haven, they will follow the legal experiences and outcomes of 400 veterans with mental health and/or housing problems who are being served in West Haven, Newington and two New York City sites.” (The Register Citizen News)
January 15, 2014 – “The nation’s legal aid providers stand to get back funding this year under Congress’ latest budget plan. A bipartisan appropriations bill moving through Congress this week would undo last year’s $25 million budget cuts to Legal Services Corp, a spokesman said today. Those cuts, which came as a part of sequestration, brought a 7 percent reduction in grants for the 134 legal aid agencies that rely on LSC funding. Lawmakers also included $2.5 million in the bill for LSC to start a new grant program—the Innovation Fund—to promote creativity in the expansion of legal assistance. The $2.5 million came at the request of the staff of Rep. Frank Wolf (R-Va.), who heads the House appropriations subcommittee that controls LSC funding. Overall, LSC would receive $365 million for the 2014 fiscal year under the new appropriations bill. That is the same level as the previous fiscal year, but without the budget cuts from sequestration in March.” The bill should go before Congress soon. (The Blog of LegalTimes)
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A big congratulations to our 2013 PBP Award Winner Martin Bunt! Click here for more info about the Pro Bono Publico Award. Check out the pics on PSJD’s new Google+ page!
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by Christina Jackson, NALP Director of Public Service Initiatives & Fellowships
Happy New Year! Welcome back to the Digest. How many of you made New Year’s Resolutions? I hope they included giving back to your community. This week we have a number of great stories to kick off the new year.
Spotlight on Outstanding Public Servants: If you know someone we should honor, drop me a line.
Here are the week’s headlines:
The summaries:
December 21, 2013– “The Tennessee Bar Association has awarded a 2014 IOLTA Program Grant to the Legal Aid of East Tennessee, which they hope will aid in the help of low income people in need of legal assistance. The award, totaling $95,699, will make available additional civil legal services for low-income families in the region.” (knoxnews.com)
December 21, 2013 – “The attorneys who successfully challenged the constitutionality of the public-defender systems in Mount Vernon and Burlington are seeking more than $2.4 million in attorneys’ fees, expenses and costs over the 2011 lawsuit. Earlier this month, after nearly two years of litigation and a lengthy trial, U.S. District Judge Robert Lasnik found that the two cities routinely violated the rights of poor defendants of misdemeanor crimes by failing to ensure they had adequate legal representation.” (The Seattle Times)
December 25, 2013 – There is a unique fellowship program in San Francisco that’s putting attorneys-in-training to work for local governments and nonprofits. The pilot class of fellows for Lawyers for America, which is a program conceived by Hastings professors to give law students hands-on training in the public sector, and give cash-strapped governments and nonprofits the opportunity to enhance their ranks is hard at work. “The Contra Costa District Attorney’s and Public Defender’s offices are the first to take advantage of the program, which commits the students to their ranks for two years — one year before and one year after graduation.” New offices will be added to the program this year. Brooklyn Law is also examining becoming part of or replicating the program. (Contra Costa Times)
December 27, 2013 – The increase of 15.3% came into effect on January 1, 2014 and will bring the eligibility threshold for free legal aid to $16,306 and the maximum eligibility threshold for contributory legal aid to $26,309 for single individuals. Single individuals represent 73% of the legal aid clientele in Quebec. “As of June 1, 2015, eligibility thresholds will increase once again, with the minimum wage as a reference point. Thereafter, eligibility thresholds will be kept at this level through an indexation clause linking the thresholds to the minimum wage. Ultimately, the eligibility threshold increase for free legal aid will be 35.8%, which will facilitate access to justice for the portion of the population that works, but has limited income. The same is true for seniors living alone whose principal source of income is their Old Age Security benefits and the Guaranteed Income Supplement.” (CNW newswire)
December 27, 2013 – “Kansas court employees could face 10 days of unpaid furlough in fiscal year 2015 as the state’s judicial branch tries to deal with an $8.25 million budget shortfall, a committee appointed to study the finances has concluded. The furloughs would cut $2.5 million from the deficit, the committee said, while much of the rest would come from delayed judicial appointments, reduced training hours, the elimination of 19.5 court service officer positions and by leaving more than 100 court positions unfilled.” “The committee also recommended reducing by $250,000 a grant to Kansas Legal Services. Employees of that agency, which provides legal help for people who can’t afford to hire lawyers, could be forced to take nine furlough days to make up for the lost funding.” It is unknown if the Kansas Legislature will take action after seeing the report. (The Wichita Eagle)
December 30, 2013 – “The University of Chicago Law School and Northwestern University School of Law are the fourth and fifth schools, respectively, to sign on to [Gideon’s Promise’s] Law School Partnership Project. The effort was announced in November with the American University Washington College of Law; University of California at Los Angeles School of Law; and New York University School of Law. Each school has agreed to pay the salary of one or more new graduates in a southern public defender office, and that office in turn pledges to hire the graduate full-time within a year. The project is intended to make it easier for public defenders to hire new lawyers while creating a smoother path to those jobs for students.” For more information, go to Gideon’s Promise Law School Partnership Project. (National Law Journal)
January 1, 2014 – “Charlottesville’s Legal Aid Justice Center is getting new leadership at the top for the first time in 20 years as Executive Director Alex Gulotta leaves to take a post as head of the Oakland-based Bay Area Legal Aid. Stepping into his place is Mary Bauer, a longtime litigator known for her work on immigrants’ rights issues.” We welcome Ms. Bauer back to the community. (c-ville)
January 4, 2014 – The University of Texas Law Pro Bono Project is making it’s annual January trip to help those in need. “36 law students, accompanied by alumni and law school professors, will travel to the Rio Grande Valley for the UT Law Pro Bono Program’s annual January trip to write wills, offer workshops for Deferred Action on Childhood Arrivals (DACA) and provide immigration assistance.” The Project partners with the Texas Rio Grande Legal Aid to provide Wills on Wheels services. The DACA clinics will be organized by UT Law Pro Bono along with South Texas Civil Rights Project. And or the immigration assistance services, UT Law Pro Bono will work with South Texas ProBar and South Texas Civil Rights Project. (The Horn)
January 6, 2014 – Lawyers everywhere are standing up against cuts to legal aid. “Thousands of barristers have chosen not to attend proceedings at courts in cities including London, Manchester, Liverpool, Leeds, Birmingham, Newcastle, Winchester, Bristol and Cardiff. The nationwide protest is the first in the history of the criminal bar. The Government plans to cut fees as part of a bid to slash £220 million from the legal aid budget by 2018/19 – reducing them by as much as 30% in the longest and most complex cases.” “Agencies involved in the criminal justice system will take steps to minimize any upset court disruption could cause for victims and witnesses involved in trials.”(Belfast Telegraph) (BBC News)
January 6, 2014 – After the right to counsel in criminal cases was granted, most jurisdictions tended toward a public defender model for providing these attorneys. A new program in Comal County, Texas could change the system. ” In Comal County, policymakers are going to try using a system of vouchers. Like the school voucher concept, the idea is to put money directly into the hands of the customers, who will then decide which attorney they would like to retain.” “The Texas Indigent Defense Commission became aware of the voucher proposal when the Cato Institute advanced the idea in a 2010 paper.” (Cato Institute)
January 7, 2014 – Employees of Gulfcoast Legal Services have voted to unionize. GLS serves low-income residents in the Greater Tampa Bay area. “According to the NLRB, Gulfcoast’s new union was certified Monday and is ready to represent its members.” Employees voted to form a union in part due to the actions taken by the Executive Director since she took the helm in December 2012. (Herald-Tribune)
Super Music Bonus! A little Bing Crosby crooning about a cold winter. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dhn5fV7zf6U
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The Skadden Foundation has listed its Class-of-2013 fellows. Twenty-nine fellows, hailing from 16 law schools, will begin their projects next year. Six schools had multiple fellowship awardees: Columbia (2); Harvard (6); NYU (4); Stanford (2); Georgetown (2) and Yale (3). Other schools from which fellows come include Penn, Michigan State, University of Washington, Boston College, UCLA, UC Irvine, Washington & Lee, Vanderbilt, University of Chicago, and University of Illinois. The 2013 Class includes four additional fellowships funded in memory of Joe Flom and Peter Mullen. The Fellows will work in 10 states and the District of Columbia, focusing on issues ranging from the harassment of LGBT students in rural, impoverished regions of New York State to the foreclosure of homes of working poor Los Angeles families.
For comparison’s sake, here’s how previous Skadden Fellowship classes looked:
Congratulations to the Class of 2013! The Fellowship is such a extraordinary honor, and we look forward to seeing the great things you will accomplish.
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by Christina Jackson, NALP Director of Public Service Initiatives & Fellowships
Happy Friday and Happy Holidays! The News Digest will take a break until after the new year. I appreciate all of you reading the digest and contributing such amazing content. I love getting the heads up about great work going on out there. Keep it coming!
Spotlight on Outstanding Public Servants: If you know someone we should honor, drop me a line.
Here are the week’s headlines:
The summaries:
December 11, 2013– “Two groups of Ontario lawyers are calling for changes to the legal aid system that they say would make it easier for low-income Ontarians to hire counsel. The Criminal Law Association and Ontario Legal Aid laywers offered a united front Wednesday as they put forward the Criminal Justice Protocol Agreement — their collective bid to bring the premier, the ministry of the attorney general, Legal Aid Ontario and the Department of Justice to the table to address what the attorneys say are serious problems with legal aid. The lawyers want to see greater eligibility for legal aid, increased funding for programs, and reforms to the way Legal Aid Ontario delivers basic legal information.” (Ottawa Citizen)
December 11, 2013 – “Applications are invited for the White House Fellowship Program, a one of America’s most prestigious programs for leadership and public service. Fellows typically spend a year as full-time, paid assistants to senior White House Staff, the Vice President, Cabinet Secretaries and other top-ranking government officials. Fellows receive a salary and benefits from the agency for which they work. Fellowships are awarded on a strict non-partisan basis and encourage balance and diversity in all aspects of the program. Application deadline is January 15, 2014.” (Scholarship Positions)
December 12, 2013 – “The Massachusetts Bar Association has formed a task force to report on salary levels for state prosecutors and public defenders and the potential effects those pay scales have on the criminal justice system. The salaries in Massachusetts are lower than in some other New England states, according to research undertaken by the Committee for Public Counsel Services. However, the jury is still out on how Massachusetts compares nationally or whether it in fact offers above- or below-average starting salaries compared to most other states.” “A big concern among bar members is whether Massachusetts salaries discourage many talented lawyers from seeking working in the public sector and force existing public defenders to wonder “how they’re going to pay their rent this week,” said Douglas Sheff, president of the Massachusetts Bar Association.” (Boston Business Journal)
December 13, 2013 – “Canada has a system of civil courts that would be the envy of many countries. We have a large, well- trained and dedicated legal profession. The legal aid system in Canada provides more service in civil matters than is available in many places throughout the world. Yet, with all this and all that it costs, we are not meeting the legal needs of the Canadian public. The final report of the Action Committee on Access to Justice in Civil and Family Matters, A Roadmap for Change, tackles the difficult problem of why this is the case and lays out recommendations for what can be done to bring full access to justice to Canadians. The final report and four subcommittee reports on early stage resolution of civil justice problems, legal services, court simplification and family law are available on the Canadian Forum on Civil Justice website.” (Slaw)
December 16, 2013 – “A $150,000 donation is bringing Pro Bono Students Canada one step closer to a fundraising goal that will allow the organization to preserve — and eventually expand — its Family Law Project. The Family Law Project gives law students the opportunity to support low-to-middle income earners who do not qualify for legal aid. The students assist clients with court forms and help navigate the court system. The donation is a combined gift from Toronto-based family law firm Epstein Cole LLP and its founder Philip Epstein to PBSC’s Campaign for Family Justice, which has now raised $320,000 of its $400,000 shortfall.” PBSC is looking to expand the Family Law Project to law schools that don’t currently have the program, as well as courts that do not have student placements. Family law is an area of greatest need, and these students are often the only help available. The students fill the gaps and the experience gives them the opportunity to gain real experience. (4Students)
December 17, 2013 – “A trial is needed to determine whether the state systemically provides inadequate staff and money for the constitutionally required defense of poor people charged with crimes, a state Supreme Court judge said.” “The lawsuit was filed in 2007 on behalf of 20 defendants in Onondaga, Ontario, Schuyler, Suffolk and Washington counties. The judge said the testimony from attorneys serving in the defendant counties shows indigent criminal defendants consistently are arraigned without being afforded their right to counsel.” (The Wall Street Journal)
December 18, 2013 – “The law school announced that it has received a $15 million gift from one of its wealthiest alumni, real estate and casino magnate Neil G. Bluhm.” Part of the grant is unrestricted, but “Mr. Bluhm instructed that another $5 million be earmarked for the law school’s Loan Repayment Assistance Program, which helps recent graduates who take lower-paying government and non-profit jobs reduce their monthly payments on federal student loans for up to 10 years.” (Wall Street Journal Blog)
Super Music Bonus! Happy Holidays! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yuczsqBkZBI
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Editor’s note: Our “Expert Opinion” series offers thoughts, insights, and career advice from public interest lawyers, law students, and others who work for the public good. PSJD’s current Expert is Ruta Stropus, the Director of Attorney Recruitment and Professional Development for the Illinois Attorney General’s Office. Stropus has graciously agreed to offer some much-needed tips and advice on applying for government jobs. This edition, Ruta breaks down her top 10 tips for graduates applying to jobs within the Illinois Attorney General’s Office.
If you are new to the practice of law and are interested in our Office, the following guidelines might help explain our hiring process:
1) We only hire by vacancy. Due to budget constraints, we only hire by vacancy. Hence, the positions that are listed on our website today might not be those listed tomorrow. We modify our listings daily to reflect our open positions. Positions are listed on the website until they are filled. There is no other deadline or timeline in terms of the posting.
2) Always go to our website to check on open positions. Various sites can cut and paste our postings and make them available. However, to get the most accurate and current information, visit our website.
3) Read the posting carefully. Each one of our vacancies is different in terms of experience and minimum qualifications. Therefore, although you might be interested in a number of positions, it is unusual for any one candidate to qualify for all of our open positions. Make sure your cover letter is specific in terms of your qualifications and your interests. Instead of sending multiple cover letters for each position, just send one cover letter.
4) Consider geography. Chicago is a saturated legal market. We are inundated with resumes every time we post for an open position. Therefore, newly licensed attorneys are often outmatched by experienced attorneys. However, our Springfield office often seeks out candidates and struggles to find the right person for the job.
5) Be honest. For example, if you are a native Chicagoan and have never visited Springfield, Illinois, we question your commitment to remain in central Illinois. We do consider candidates for our Springfield positions that hail from the northern part of the State, but we also want to make sure that an attorney who fills our Springfield position is not going to flee at the first opportunity.
6) Get a license. Because our vacancies and hiring needs constantly change, we need someone already licensed in Illinois at the time of application. We do not hold positions for 3L’s. Although other agencies employ licensed attorneys as “law clerks”, our clerkship program is limited currently enrolled law students. We have participated in some fellowship programs, but fellowships are limited to our Springfield office and are available only through the law schools that participate in the fellowship partnership agreement with us.
7) Do your homework. On average, we review upwards of 50 resumes a week. I am constantly reviewing resumes, interviewing candidates, checking references, etc. We have tried to provide quite a bit of information about our recruiting process on our website. And, although we are available to answer questions, we appreciate those candidates who have taken the time to read and review the information first.
8) Be patient. Given our volume, it takes some time for candidates to hear back about their application. Typically, we receive your information and enter it into the recruiting database. Then, I review the resumes and decide which resumes meet the minimum qualifications listed in our job postings. If the resume does meet the minimum qualifications of any available posting, it is sent on for further review. Individuals at the bureau and division level decide if candidates merit an interview. Usually, you will hear back from us in a 2-3 week period regarding your candidacy. If you do not, then feel free to email or call to check on status. We use three stages of interviews, weeding out candidates at all stages until we have a finalist. Hence, the process is lengthy.
9) Respect the process. I do not meet candidates informally to discuss positions. Please do not be offended if I decline an invitation to meet for coffee or do not meet you at reception if you are there to drop off a resume. I respect the process because it is the best means to provide fairness to all applicants. My task is to make sure I find the best candidate for the position, not vis versa.
10) Know what you are in for. We have had a long-standing salary freeze. Our pay is very modest, and the work is sometimes tedious and overwhelming. Government service is challenging in many ways. The candidates who impress us are those who have a commitment to public service, an amazing work ethic and who are willing to work independently and as part of a team. During the interview, I ask candidates about their past – I want to know about those times in your life when things did not go as planned, when you had a disagreement with a colleague or supervisor, when you had to manage multiple and overlapping deadlines, when you had to enforce an ethical boundary. In addition to the qualifications listed on a job posting, I want to know if your past performance or actions have prepared you for the future challenges of a position as an Assistant Attorney General.
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Did you miss the deadline for Columbia Law School’s Center for Reproductive Rights Academic Fellowship? Not to worry, because they just extended the deadline! *cue applause*
Originally closing in November, the powers that be have re-opened the search for a two-year academic fellow to focus on reproductive health and human rights. The Fellow will receive a $55,000/year stipend.
So don’t delay this time – applications will close on February 28, 2014. Check out the full job description on PSJD.org (log-in required).
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Humanity in Action is now accepting applications for their 4-week Diplomacy and Diversity Fellowship!
The Fellowship, which is open to all master’s, doctorate, MD, JD and MBA students, is an educational program for 24 American and European graduate students about the changing international dynamics of diplomacy and diversity. From the website’s overview:
In Washington, DC and Paris, the Fellows will explore how American and European governments and societies are responding to a wide range of international and national diversity issues. The program’s guiding mission is to increase awareness of the importance of diversity in diplomacy and other international fields and to encourage the careers of professionals from minority backgrounds in foreign affairs. The four-week program will take place from May 17 to June 14, 2014.
The deadline to apply is January 31, 2014. Click here for application information.
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