Kentucky Equal Justice Center is looking for an attorney committed to public interest advocacy and with experience in employment law to serve as staff for KEJC’s Workers’ Rights Project.

The Employment Law Attorney will provide services other than direct representation of clients. The attorney will work as a multi-forum advocate for low wage and non-traditional workers through partnerships, policy advocacy, impact litigation and community education.

Is this just what you were looking for? Find out how to apply at PSLawNet!

by Kristen Pavón

Another great legal aid program bites the dust.

The Florida Bar Foundation is the only statewide organization in Florida that provides funding for legal aid (and does so without strings) and promotes improvements in addressing the civil legal needs of the poor.

The FBF has already suspended funding for the Florida Law School Civil Clinics and Florida Public Service Fellows programs. Now, the Foundation’s Legal Aid Summer Fellowship program is also being suspended. The good people at the FBF expect that funding for the Summer Fellowship program will be suspended for several years, possibly.

This is a sad day for civil legal aid in Florida. I was a Legal Aid Summer Fellow in 2010 and the amount of legal work fellows accomplish in ten weeks is incredible. In ten weeks, I was able to meet and interview with more than 60 clients, offer advice to almost all of them, and draft over 20 legal documents for pending litigation. And that was just me. The other 39 fellows did the same, if not more, I’m sure.

Let’s do a bit of math, shall we? In theory, the 2010 summer fellows funded by the FBF helped 2,400 clients and wrote 800 legal documents. That’s a big hit for legal aid organizations in Florida.

The benefits that the fellows received from the program are immeasurable. Fellows were able to build relationships with attorneys, save some money (the pay is $5,000 for rising 2Ls and $7,000 for rising 3Ls — paid for my Barbri course!), learn the ropes and do some really satisfying work.

I hope the program comes back sooner than later.

The Foundation’s main source of support comes from the Interest on Trust Accounts (IOTA) Program. However, Foundation grants also are supported by gifts from Florida attorneys, law firms, corporations, foundations and other individuals.

The Georgia Law Center for the Homeless is looking for a staff attorney to join in providing legal services to Atlanta’s most vulnerable populations. GLC serves its clients in a holistic manner, helping them move toward self-sufficiency.

The staff attorney will represent clients in civil legal proceedings, primarily in family law, housing law and public benefits. Also, the attorney will conduct outreach to area shelters and homeless service providers.

If you’re a member of the Georgia bar, check out the complete listing at PSLawNet!

Consumers Union, the nonprofit publisher of Consumer Reports® and ConsumerReports.org®, is looking for a law school graduate or graduate-level policy analyst to work for two years as the Esther Peterson Fellow in its Washington D.C. Office.

The Esther Peterson Fellow will receive hands-on experience and training in advocacy on consumer issues at the federal legislative and executive branch level.

Responsibilities include legal research and writing, bill analysis, lobbying Congress and administrative agencies, and filing petitions at administrative agencies.

If you’re committed to social and economic justice, learn how to apply at PSLawNet!

Business and Professional People for the Public Interest (BPI), a Chicago-based public interest law and policy center that addresses compelling issues of social justice and quality of life in the Chicago region, is hiring interns for the summer of 2012.

BPI’s staff of lawyers and policy specialists works to increase the availability of affordable housing for working families, transform segregated public housing, improve Chicago’s public schools, and help restore open, honest, responsible, and accountable government in our state using a wide variety of approaches, including legal and policy research, advocacy, organizing, litigation and collaboration with non-profit, business, community and governmental organizations.
Interns work closely with our staff on important public interest projects in BPI’s program groups: affordable housing, public housing, public education, and political reform.

Interns receive excellent supervision and mentorship, the opportunity to contribute directly to solving pressing policy issues, and the chance to learn more about Chicago’s ever growing public interest community.

1Ls, 2Ls, and 3Ls are encouraged to apply. BPI is frequently able to offer summer funding assistance to legal interns through the Public Interest Law Initiative (PILI) program. PILI provides funding for law students to work at various public interest legal organizations in Chicago.

To apply or learn more about the position, see the listing at PSLawNet!

The American Civil Liberties Union Foundation of Florida (ACLU), a statewide affiliate of the National ACLU, is seeking a Staff Attorney specializing in lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) and HIV/AIDS related issues.

The staff attorney may be involved in the broad range of ACLU and civil liberties issues. However, the staff attorney will be expected to work primarily on civil rights issues on behalf of LGBT individuals and families.

The attorney will likely be located in the affiliate’s main office in Miami, although placement in one of the ACLU FL’s Regional Offices (Tampa, Pensacola, or Jacksonville) may be considered.

Interested in working with ACLU? Check out the whole listing and find out how to apply at PSLawNet!