Office of Law & Social Justice Initiatives

3L Madeline Taylor wins Equal Justice Work Fellowship

Sandy Ogilvy — Fri, 17 May 2013 14:20:03 +0000

3L Madeline Taylor Lands Fellowship with Equal Justice Works

Catholic University third-year law student Madeline Taylor has received a fellowship with Equal Justice Works that will commence following graduation. The prestigious and much-sought-after two year post-graduate appointments allow Fellows to design projects that address a range of legal issues including domestic violence, homelessness, community economic development, immigration, civil rights, juvenile justice, employment rights, health care, consumer fraud, and environmental justice.

Taylor will spend her fellowship with Ayuda, an organization that protects the rights of low-income immigrants in the DC metropolitan area. The Columbus School of Law’s pro bono coordinator, Jen Tschirch, assisted Taylor with her application.

“I have always known I wanted to practice immigration law, and was particularly interested in non-profit work. I am going to be working with immigrant children in Northern Virginia,” says Taylor.

In a thank you letter to Professor Lisa Lerman for her support through the application process, Taylor wrote:

“I really appreciated your acknowledgment that the career path that we ultimately choose out of law school is important and that we should not settle. I bypassed some other application opportunities, because I knew that what I really wanted to do was work with low-income immigrant populations. I feel really validated in my decision to go to law school. And I also feel like all of the unpaid internships I have had really paid off.”

The Equal Justice Works Fellowship program is very competitive, receiving hundreds of applications each year for approximately 50 fellowship slots.

GayLaw Education Fund Summer Fellowship

Sandy Ogilvy — Thu, 16 May 2013 13:29:42 +0000

Here is an application for up to $1000 in funding from GayLaw Education Fund for unpaid or partially paid interns working with LGBT clients or on LGBT issues at legal organizations this summer. Submit all materials and inquiries to GaylawEducationFund@gmail.> by June 15.

Housing Attorney opening at Legal Aid Society (DC)

Sandy Ogilvy — Fri, 10 May 2013 16:22:04 +0000

The Legal Aid Society of the District of Columbia seeks a Staff Attorney for its housing law unit.

Housing attorneys work at Legal Aid’s central office, its community office in Southeast DC, and its courtbased office inside Landlord-Tenant Court. The Staff Attorney would be expected to handle a caseload of housing cases, perform intakes, and engage in community outreach, policy advocacy and systemic reform efforts. An experienced attorney also might assist in supervising volunteer interns and law firm loaned associates.

Qualifications

The ideal candidate will have the following:

§ Experience in legal services, preferably with a background in housing law;

§ Strong litigation, organizational, communication, and leadership skills;

§ The ability to work collaboratively with other staff;

§ A demonstrated commitment to social and economic justice; and

§ Bilingual skills strongly preferred but not required.

Membership or eligibility for membership in the DC bar is required.

Salary and Benefits

The attorney will be paid in accordance with Legal Aid’s attorney salary scale. Legal Aid also offers a competitive benefits package.

To Apply

Legal Aid encourages all interested persons regardless of race, ethnicity, sex, gender, sexual orientation, religion or disability to apply. Interested persons are encouraged to apply immediately and should email a letter of interest and resume to: housingattorneysearch@legalaiddc.org.

Applications will be reviewed as they are submitted. Position remains open until filled.

ADR Writing Competiton – Deadline June 14, 2013

Sandy Ogilvy — Wed, 08 May 2013 20:49:50 +0000

James Boskey ADR Writing Competition

Sponsored by The ABA Section of Dispute Resolution in memory of James B. Boskey, an intellectual, humanitarian, Seton Hall University law professor, and mediator.

Purpose of the Boskey ADR Writing Competition

The purpose of the competition is to promote greater interest in and understanding of the field of dispute resolution and collaborative decision-making among law students

Prize: $1000 to the Competition winner

The essay may address any aspect of dispute resolution practice,
theory or research that the contestant chooses.
Essays must be 15-25 typed, double spaced pages.
Essays must use 12 point Times New Roman font with 1-inch margins.

For more info, forms, and procedures please see:

http://www.americanbar.org/groups/dispute_resolution/awards_competitions.html

Entries for the competition must be submitted by June 14, 2013

Legal Sector Employment continues to improve

Sandy Ogilvy — Wed, 08 May 2013 15:49:20 +0000

From the AmLaw Daily via Legal Skills Prof Blog:

The legal sector added 2,100 new positions in April to mark its second straight month of job growth, according to seasonally adjusted preliminary data released Friday by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

The latest increase comes on the heels of initial BLS reports that showed the industry adding 2,000 jobs in March. However, Friday’s BLS report revised that figure upward to 3,500 legal services jobs added for the month. The back-to-back gains managed to offset a rough early start to the year that saw 2,400 legal jobs lost in January and another 500 lost in February.

The recent gains have pushed the total number of professionals employed in the legal industry to 1.13 million—10,000 more than in April 2012 and the highest number since the same month four years ago. Overall, though, there are currently some 50,000 fewer people employed in the legal industry than there were at its peak in May 2007.

Fall Externship with USDC Judge Amy Berman

Sandy Ogilvy — Wed, 08 May 2013 15:31:42 +0000

Judge Amy Berman Jackson of the United States District Court for the District of Columbia is accepting applications for internship positions for fall 2013.
Interns will research substantive and procedural legal issues and draft written recommendations for resolving those issues. They will also be responsible for detailed editing and citation checking. Additionally, interns will have regular opportunities to observe court proceedings.
This unpaid internship is open to all law students. Interns during the semester are expected to work a minimum of 15 hours per week.
Applicants should submit a cover letter, resume, transcript (unofficial is accepted), a short (15 pages or less) writing sample that reflects the applicant’s research and analytical skills, and a list of three references.
Please send all applications via email to Judge_Jackson_Internships@dcd.uscourts.gov by July 1, 2013. Please do no mail applications. Also, please title the subject line as follows: “Fall 2013 intern application: [applicant’s name].” Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis.
Questions may be directed to chambers via phone at 202-354-3460 or to the above email address.

DC Law Students in Court Supervising Attorney, Civil Division

Sandy Ogilvy — Thu, 02 May 2013 13:24:58 +0000

D.C. Law Students in Court seeks an experienced attorney, licensed in the District of Columbia, as a full time student supervisor in its Civil Division. Start date: July 8.

Program Description: D.C. Law Students in Court (LSIC) is a non-profit clinical legal education/legal services program launched 45 years ago by five major District of Columbia law schools: American, Catholic, Howard, Georgetown and George Washington. LSIC provides free legal services to low-income clients with cases arising in D.C. courts and agencies, and provides third-year law students with a high-quality introduction to the skills of lawyering and advocacy. The program represents and/or assists approximately 3000 people each year in its Civil and Criminal Divisions. Civil Division cases involve mainly housing, landlord-tenant and consumer issues.

Responsibilities: The successful candidate will supervise third year law students on their Landlord-Tenant, Small Claims and Civil cases in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia, plan and teach classes in lawyering and advocacy skills and substantive law and professionalism, provide direct client representation when students are unavailable, and complete administrative and other clinic work such as recruit students in the spring, provide information to community groups, and train and mentor pro bono attorneys. Related duties include participating in weekly case acceptance conferences, attending staff meetings, participating in agency fundraising and development opportunities and events, overseeing the accurate and complete input of data in the office’s case management system, and providing in-put and comment towards student grades.

Required Qualifications: Must be a member of the D.C. Bar, be able to work both independently and as part of a team, have prior litigation experience, excellent writing and communication skills, and the ability to work in a fast-paced environment.

Preferred Qualifications: Ability to speak Spanish, teaching experience, housing litigation experience, and prior legal services background are preferred. Alumni of LSIC are encouraged to apply.

Compensation: $50,000/year, plus a generous benefits package including health insurance, liberal vacation and sick leave, retirement, and professional development opportunities

Submit applications by e-mail to:

Wing Li, Administrative Director, E-mail: hr@dclawstudents.org

Please include a resume, cover letter, writing sample and 3 professional references and indicate “civil supervisor” in the subject heading.

Closing Date: Until filled.

May 2013 DC Pro Bono Net Calendar

Sandy Ogilvy — Mon, 29 Apr 2013 19:30:37 +0000

ProBono.Net/DC has just posed its May 2013 Calendar of Pro Bono Training and Service Opporunities at http://www.probono.net/dc/calendar/

Law Clerk/Litigation Assistant – First Degree Murder Case

Sandy Ogilvy — Mon, 29 Apr 2013 13:49:18 +0000

Criminal defense attorney (also adjunct professor of law at CUA) has been appointed to represent a defendant charged with first degree murder in Montgomery County, Maryland. Looking for a law student or recent grad with a creative intellect and strong interest in criminal law to assist with motions, investigation, strategy, and general litigation support. There will be some pay. You will become an integral part of the defense and be heavily involved. The case will be indicted in early May and likely go to trial no later than October. Time commitment will vary; some weeks there will be no work, and other weeks you will be working up to 20 hrs. Candidates must (a) have a car, (b) live in DC or Maryland, (b) and not be presently working with any prosecutorial agency.

If interested, please send a resume and brief statement of interest to: jns@jsharifilaw.com

Legal Aid Justice Center – Falls Church, VA – bilingual attorney position

Sandy Ogilvy — Thu, 25 Apr 2013 21:30:58 +0000

The Legal Aid Justice Center seeks a bilingual attorney in its office in Falls Church, Virginia. The work includes the provision of general civil legal assistance in the areas of housing, consumer, and employment law for Northern Virginia’s diverse low-income immigrant communities. The program also provide extensive representation to, and work closely with, the region’s predominantly Latino day laborers.

Qualifications include:

• Membership in the Virginia bar or eligibility to waive in immediately;

• A demonstrated commitment to social justice;

• Spanish language proficiency;

• Experience working for a public interest law firm, legal services organization, or other nonprofit as an attorney or in a pro bono capacity (ideally 1-5 years of experience);

• Outstanding communication skills; and

• An ability to balance a variety of responsibilities with a healthy sense of humor.

Competitive public interest salary DOE. Exceptional fringe benefits include generous leave, fully paid health insurance, retirement plan, student loan repayment assistance, and a great work environment.

To apply, please send a cover letter, resume, references and a writing sample by e-mail to Alex Gulotta and Ivy Finkenstadt: alex@justice4all.org and ivy@justice4all.org, followed by a hard copy to:

Alex R. Gulotta, Executive Director

Legal Aid Justice Center

1000 Preston Avenue, Suite A

Charlottesville, VA 22903

E-mailed applications will only be considered if followed by a hard copy.