New YouTube Channel launched April 28, 2009
Posted by equaljusticeworks in Equal Justice Works, Fellows.Tags: American Gateways Austin, discuss legal issues, Equal Justice Works, google grant YouTube, Kate Lincoln-Goldfinch, legal fellowship, public interest projects, videos of lawyers
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Just launched the new Equal Justice Works Channel on YouTube thanks to another grant from Google. It features several Equal Justice Works and AmeriCorps Legal Fellows discussing the work they’re doing in communities across the country. More videos to come soon.
-Aaron
This is Kate Lincoln-Goldfinch, Equal Justice Works Fellow at the American Gateways Austin in Texas. See more stories on the channel.
Law school rankings released April 24, 2009
Posted by equaljusticeworks in law school.Tags: law school rankings, best law school, U.S. News & World Report, part time law school, top law schools, U.S. News ranking
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The 2009 U.S. News Law School Rankings were released on Wednesday, including part-time programs for the first time. The top five included three Washington, DC schools:
- Georgetown
- George Washington
- Fordham
- American University
- George Mason
For more on the rankings, see the Wall Street Journal post from Wednesday. In October, Charlene shared some of her thoughts about rankings and why it is important to look beyond them when chosing a law school. Read the post here.
In this issue is also a piece on how lawyers can overcome the student loan debt burden. Equal Justice Works Fellow Corinna Spencer-Scheurich and Equal Justice Works’ Heather Jarvis are featured in the article.
From the article: Spencer-Scheurich hopes the new repayment programs will inspire more people to pursue dreams of earning a grad degree and entering public service. “People should follow their hearts. It is possible,” she says.
Read the article here.
-Aaron
Serve America Act to be signed today! April 21, 2009
Posted by equaljusticeworks in AmeriCorps, ServiceNation.Tags: Alan Khazei, AmeriCorps, Corporation for National and Community Service, Edward Kennedy Serve America Act, Huffington Post, Obama public service, President Obama signs law, SEED School, Serve America Act passes, ServiceNation, watch Obama live
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As reported in this post, the Serve America Act passed on March 31. Today, President Obama will sign it into law. Read Alan Khazei’s column in today’s Huffington Post about the Act, which he writes “is a milestone for the service movement, and the largest expansion of civilian service since the Depression Era Civilian Conservation Corps.”
The Act will allow the Corporation for National and Community Service to fund existing and new projects, increasing the number of AmeriCorps members from 75,000 to 250,000 per year. Will the Equal Justice Works AmeriCorps program grow? More [hopefully good news] on that soon.
To see where Equal Justice Works AmeriCorps Legal Fellows are working across the country, see the interactive map.
Watch President Obama sign the Act LIVE on CNN.com at 4:00 p.m. EST from the SEED School in Washington, D.C.
-Aaron
UPDATE 4/22/09: The White House Blog has a video and transcript of Senator Kennedy and President Obama following the signing.
NYU hosts job fair for deferred associates April 17, 2009
Posted by equaljusticeworks in firms & associates, law school.Tags: career fair for lawyers, law firm deferment, law firm deferrments, law firm layoffs, law firm poor economy, law firm rescind offer, NYU Law job fair
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NYU School of Law will host a career fair Monday for 3Ls facing deferrments from their firms. NYU is one of several schools offering assistance to lawyers and students facing economic challenges.
NYU’s career fair follows a smaller, regional event hosted at Volunteer Lawyers for Justice last week. For more information about the event, click here.
-Aaron
Northwestern Law steps up April 16, 2009
Posted by equaljusticeworks in law school.Tags: Above the Law, defer student loan payment, health insurance during layoff, law firm layoff, Northwestern Law
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According to Above the Law and the National Law Journal, Northwestern is offering several programs to help lawyers facing layoffs and those struggling in today’s economy. Among these initiatives is an option for students to defer making loan payments and assistance in applying for short-term health insurance. For more info, visit Above the Law or the National Law Journal.
-Aaron
Many lack equal access to justice April 15, 2009
Posted by equaljusticeworks in public interest.Tags: Ari Shapiro, Constitution Project, indigent defense system, Justice Denied, NPR
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Yesterday the Constitution Project released its report, titled “Justice Denied: America’s Continuing Neglect of our Constitutional Right to Counsel.” The report outlines the failures of the indigent defense system in the United States and offers solutions to fix the problem. To access the interactive online version of the report, click here.
In today’s Morning Edition, NPR’s Ari Shapiro reports on the findings. Listen to the report here.
-Aaron
Should Asian-Americans change names to make voting easier? April 14, 2009
Posted by equaljusticeworks in alumni, public interest law.Tags: Asian-American, name change, voting rights, voter's rights, right to vote, voter ID bill Texas, Rep. Betty Brown, Austin News KXAN, Ramey Ko
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Equal Justice Works Alumnus Ramey Ko discusses comments made during a hearing regarding voter ID bill in Texas. Comments made by Rep. Betty Brown caused controversy and are being called culturally insensitive by some.
At the hearing, Ramey argued that “Asian-Americans that live in states that required a photo ID at the polls were being denied the right to vote because the name on their identification card and the name on the voter rolls sometimes did not match.”
Rep. Brown suggested that Asian-Americans adopt different names because “this is something that would make it a lot easier both for you and poll workers if there was some name you could adopt just for these identification purposes that would be easier for Americans to deal with.” Read the full article and watch Ramey on Austin News KXAN here.
-Aaron
Trends that impact new lawyers April 13, 2009
Posted by equaljusticeworks in firms & associates, legal education.Tags: decline of firm summer program, declining salaries, entry-level hiring, law school trends, Legal Intelligencer, legal trend, opportunities for small firms, practice-based education, trend legal education
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The Legal Intelligencer has posted some “sobering future trends” that could impact new lawyers. These include:
- More practice-based educations
- Less entry-level hiring
- Declining salaries
- More opportunities for small and mid-size firms
- Death or decline of traditional summer programs
Read the full article here.
-Aaron
Different rules for non-citizens April 9, 2009
Posted by equaljusticeworks in alumni, immigration.Tags: immigrant rights, immigration issues, Free Speech Radio News, Chris Nugent, Holland & Knight, Aura Bogato, non-citizens, deportation, deportation for crime, commit crime deportation
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Immigrants may face deportation after being tried multiple times for crimes they didn’t commit, according to Free Speech Radio News. In yesterday’s piece, “Non-citizens face different set of rules even after they are aquitted of a crime”, Aura Bogato interviews Equal Justice Works Alumnus Chris Nugent of Holland & Knight. Listen to the show here.
Chris was featured in Ripples of Hope, Currents of Justice. See it here to learn more about his work. The Equal Justice Works Channel on YouTube is currently in production, so please pardon our appearance as we renovate! I hope to have it fully-functional very soon.
-Aaron
