The Madison-based Center for Media and Democracy, the non-profit, non-partisan publisher of PRWatch.org, ALECexposed.org, SourceWatch.org, and BanksterUSA.org, has openings for summer 2012 legal interns.

This summer, legal interns will assist with a project tracking “independent” election spending made possible by the U.S. Supreme Court’s Citizens United decision, in addition to other projects. Tasks will include legal and non-legal research and analysis, drafting internal memos as well as short articles, and other tasks to be assigned.

Learn more at PSLawNet!

AARP Services (ASI), a wholly-owned for-profit subsidiary of AARP, seeks a law student for a paid internship for approximately 15 hours per week during this semester. 

The intern will work under the guidance of the attorneys and support staff of the ASI Office of General Counsel (OGC) on a variety of special projects primarily related to ASI’s legal contracts with the third-party entities that provide benefits to AARP members.

Learn more at PSLawNet!

by Kristen Pavón

You may have heard about the debate brewing over unpaid internships (mainly in the for-profit world). What’s that? No,  you haven’t? Ok, I’ll fill you in.

Because of the economy, the numbers of unpaid internships are on the rise and more and more people are stepping up and a) suing their former employers, b) calling unpaid internships at for-profit organizations illegal, unfair and exploitative, or c) fighting the push back and are lauding these opportunities as a win-win for all parties involved.

The distinction between for-profit and non-profit/government is made because Department of Labor standards for unpaid internships only applies to for-profit companies. Employers must meet the following criteria in order to have an unpaid intern (from employment attorney Camille Olson’s Room for Debate post):

• the training is comparable to that given at a vocational school;
• the training must primarily be for the benefit of the student;
• the student must not replace a regular employee;
• the employer cannot immediately benefit from the student’s activities (for example, the intern cannot deliver mail, sort files, conduct market research, write reports, schedule interviews, or perform any other work that assists the employer in running its business unless the benefit received by the employer is outweighed by the training time that is provided to the intern);
• there can be no promise of a job following the training;
• and both the employer and the student understand that no wages will be paid.

This week, contributors gave their opinion for the New York Times’s Room for Debate . Among the five contributors was David Lat, founder of Above the Law. He was the only contributor who had experience in an unpaid public service law opportunity and because of that, I was interested in hearing his thoughts on the subject.

Lat interned with the federal prosecutors office in New Jersey and while he didn’t get a paid position with the office immediately, he did work there later on (I know this because he and researcher and author of Intern Nation Ross Perlin were guests on Minnesota Public Radio on Tuesday).

Lat is in the answer “c” group — he believes unpaid internships are win-win. His only caveats are contract-based — the unpaid internship needs to be mutually beneficial and entered into freely by both parties.

I’m inclined to agree — in the public service/non-profit realm. While I do feel the unpaid interns’ pain on the cash-flow front, the experience I came away with was worth it. All of the orgs I worked for had structured or semi-structured intern/clerk programs and the attorneys were willing and able to teach me — this makes a huge difference when deciding whether or not to take an unpaid position.

Aside from practical legal skills, I also left organizations having made strong connections with public interest attorneys, which to this day I’ve found to be completely invaluable.

I know that if a position were to open up at any of the organizations I interned with, I would be a top (if not the) candidate for the job because they are familiar with me, my work ethic and the quality of my work product.

My advice is this: do your homework when looking at unpaid positions. You want to make sure it will compensate you in ways other than monetarily — ask questions about the internship structure, work space, supervising attorneys, mentoring, etc.

Where do you land on this issue? A, B or C?

I want to hear your thoughts on this one. According to an article on MPR News, some job seekers are fearful of going back to work and that fear is sabotaging their change at landing a job. Here are the highlights:

“Part of the sabotage is in the work search itself,” she said. “Not following up, not being as aggressive as I should be.”

Marie also concedes that she has applied for jobs with companies where she didn’t have a good chance of being hired, and doing a half-hearted job with her cover letters.

“If I don’t have the energy there, or enthusiasm there, I think it sort of comes through,” she said.

Marie, who recognized her self-sabotage about a month ago, thinks she knows why she’s doing it. At 58, she’s worried employers will think she is too old. She fears rejection, and self-doubt makes her feel depressed. . . .

Many have angst that is easy to relate to, said Mary White, a job counselor in St. Paul who works for the non-profit organization HIRED, which provides resources for job training job search.

White said lots of people dread change, so it is unsurprising some would fear entering a relationship with a new employer after a traumatic layoff. . . .

With the pressure on, Marie is trying hard to overcome her negative mindset. Despite decades of taking on big responsibilities at work, she still feels insecure. But her volunteer work at a nonprofit is helping.

Read the rest of the story here. Have you found yourself sabotaging your job search? If so, is it because of fear?

The Legal Aid Society of Mid-New York, Inc. seeks a dynamic staff attorney with experience or interest in family law to work in our Binghamton, New York office. LASMNY program area covers thirteen counties: Broome, Chenango, Cayuga, Cortland, Delaware, Herkimer, Jefferson, Lewis, Madison, Oneida, Onondaga, Oswego and Otsego. In addition, LASMNY operates a statewide Farmworker Law Project from its New Paltz office.

The staff attorney will provide direct and comprehensive legal services to eligible clients including advice, negotiation, motion practice and litigation. Additionally, the staff attorney will represent clients primarily in family law cases, including custody/visitation, paternity, support violations, family offenses and abuse/ neglect matters.

Sound like a good fit for you? Check the listing at PSLawNet!

So, how does one get into the public interest field? How do you find out that public interest law is what you want to do?

Well, a Ms. JD  contributor chatted with the Assistant Director at the University of Washington Center for Public Service Law who answered these questions and more… Read it here!

The Just Health Foundation (Just Health) is searching for a group of summer volunteer associates to conduct research, write articles, and conduct community outreach. We need legal support in many areas of the law including employment, immigration, human rights, disability, estate planning, transgender rights, health policy, and family law.

The Just Health Foundation is a new non-profit organization with a mission to improve health by building an online medical-legal partnership. Lawyers in traditional medical-legal partnerships improve health by advocating for patients' health care rights. With the support of a legal advocate these patients are more likely to gain access to care and can increase the effectiveness of care received.

Selected applicants will be placed with legal specialists who will provide mentorship, training and guidance. By using this collaborative research platform, students will have the opportunity to network with our panel of experts and receive extensive training in the assigned area of law.

Find out more at PSLawNet!

In Fall 2010, NALP conducted its first public interest employment snapshot survey to provide some statistical insight into hiring market changes and forecasts. In September 2011, we conducted the 2011 snapshot survey (with a few modifications), and now, the results are out.

The survey sought responses about 1) recent law student and attorney hiring, 2) hiring expectations for the immediate future, and 3) employer advice for job applicants competing in today’s market.

You can download the free 17-page report here.

The Wikimedia Foundation, the non-profit organization that runs Wikipedia and other free knowledge projects, is looking fo legal interns for the Summer of 2012! The Office of the General Counsel runs a legal internship program to educate and train promising law students or in the areas of internet law and free knowledge organizations. The interns would work 40 hours per week at the Wikimedia Foundation’s downtown San Francisco office. The Wikimedia Foundation faces a myriad of legal issues ranging from complex copyright questions to international freedom of speech issues to mobile development to internal corporate compliance.

Because of the wide array of legal issues, the interns will be assigned challenging projects based on their particular interests and strengths. These projects could range from researching a particular legal question to drafting licensing agreements to developing internal and external policies. Each intern will receive individualized projects that they will be expected to spearhead under the supervision and guidance of an attorney from the Office of the General Counsel. Interns will work closely with their supervising attorney — attending and participating in internal and external meetings, collaborating on projects, receiving feedback and support, and generally learning about the practical dimensions of practicing law in-house at a web-based company. The Wikimedia Foundation values and promotes diversity. We invite applications from candidates regardless of race, gender, national origin, sexual orientation, age, or disability.

Interested? Check the listing at PSLawNet!

Street Law, Inc. is an international leader in programs that teach non-lawyers about law, democracy and human rights.  Founded in 1972 at Georgetown University Law Center, Street Law has helped more than 100 law schools (70 in the U.S. and 30 more around the world) develop and implement programs in which law students teach practical law in schools, communities and correctional settings.  Street Law has also worked with democratizing countries throughout the world.  Information about the organization’s programs and materials are available online at www.streetlaw.org.

There are several components to the Summer Law Student in Residence Program for 2012.

US Supreme Court Summer Institute

Street Law, in cooperation with the Supreme Court Historical Society, conducts two six day institutes in late June about the Court and its cases for high school government, civics and law teachers.  Sessions are held at Georgetown Law Center and at the Supreme Court of the United States.

Our law student assists in the development of the materials for the institute, participates in all sessions, helps teach one session, and assists with the institute follow-up.  A justice participates in the program, which also includes attendance in Court for the announcement of the final cases of the term. (www.streetlaw.org/scipage.html)

Legal Updates to Street Law Web Sites

Street Law has produced a high school curriculum (Street Law: A Course in Practical Law) which is the most popular practical law book used in high schools today. We will be providing a legal update to the web materials that complement the 8^th edition of the text (2010 edition).

In addition, Street Law has developed a popular web site for high school teachers and students who want to learn about Supreme Court decisions mandated in state history and social studies standards.  Our summer law student in residence will assist in expanding and updating this web resource, www.landmarkcases.org.

Our law student will assist with research, writing and editing tasks.

Summer law students are supervised by Lee Arbetman, lead author of the Street Law materials, director of the Supreme Court Summer Institute, and executive director of the Street Law organization.

To learn how to apply, see the listing at PSLawNet!