On the Cal Law blog Legal Pad, David Coleman, a Public Defender in California believes it unjust and counter-productive to place deferred associates in public defenders offices. Coleman, an HLS alum had some pretty strong remarks about the placement of deferred associates in public defenders offices. It is not fair to young lawyers who have willingly chosen the public sector at “50 cents on the dollar” for what big firms pay to have their opportunity to accrue trial experience diminished so that same trial experience can be obtained by a civil firm lawyer who 1.) eschewed lesser compensation in favor of high salaries and bonuses, 2.) had less interest in the criminal justice system and 3.) is destined (chomping at the bit) to return to Big Law as soon as the Firm will have them back.”
To read the complete blog post, click here.
April 29th, 2009
Posted by
opia |
Alumni, Jobs, News |
No Comments
Reporters from American Lawyer Daily stopped by NYU School of Law during a hastily put together job fair for deferred associates. The results were mixed and there appeared to be a great deal of confusion among students and potential employers.
Despite the fact that NYU reported around 140 of its 500 graduates are being deferred from their firms next year, the career fair did not pull in many students. In fact, some organizations at the fair said they spoke to more reporters than students. While the school reported it as a success despite the low turnout, some employers called it a bust, with not a single student stopping by their table. The article did confirm that employers were indeed looking and interested in placing students for the year they are being deferred. “One thing was clear to us: There will be a lot of spots for the taking for some eager, interested 3Ls–at least those from NYU and other first-tier schools. Kenneth Rosenfeld, director of legal services at the Northern Manhattan Improvement Corporation, told us he’d take on as many as ten deferred 3Ls–and that only two approached him at Monday’s event. Legal Services of the Bronx wants five of The Deferred, the New York Civil Liberties Union wants four, and all 50 or so organizations that attended want at least one or two.”
April 23rd, 2009
Posted by
opia |
Uncategorized |
No Comments
Some relief will be coming to New York State public defenders. Hidden deep in the State’s budget is a provision to cap the amount of cases public defenders will see in any given year. The resolution is aimed at addressing the longstanding gripe public defenders have had with the legal system, particularly in New York. Recent reports suggest a public defender can see as many as 592 cases a year or 103 at the same time. Lawyers have argued that this directly impacts their ability to represent their client to the best of their ability.
There is catch: The law will only apply to attorneys defending the indigent, not all lawyers in defense cases. Legal Aid organizations are looking to eventually expand the law to be more inclusive but in the meantime, this appears to be an important victory. ““This is so important to all of us in the justice system,” said Judge Lippman, who was instrumental in ensuring the legislation’s passage. “This affects what judges do in the courtroom every day. We can’t do our jobs unless you have the two key players — the prosecution and the defense — on a level playing field.”
To read the full NY Times article, click here.
April 22nd, 2009
Posted by
opia |
Uncategorized |
No Comments
This article in the New York discusses how Skadden Arps has taken a bold step in this troubling economy: offering $80,000 to all of its associates worldwide and a year off. One of the associates, Heather Eisenlord is planning on taking the year off to teach English in Sri Lanka or bring solar power to the Himalayas.
This is not the only option on the table, as the firm is also trying to find pro bono work for its associates and others are attempting to pursue different avenues of work for a year, “So far, the majority of the lawyers are looking for worthwhile legal work, Skadden says, to keep them as competitive as possible; but yes, some will take the year off to spend time with their children or look after a sick relative. Someone’s planning to wrap up his Ph.D., someone else is looking into legal work for a news organization, and another associate will be joining Ms. Eisenlord on her round-the-world adventure.”
The fact that any of these options exist at all, however, can be pretty astonishing to most Americans.
April 19th, 2009
Posted by
opia |
Jobs, News |
No Comments
Joe Davidson, Columnist for the Washington Post, wrote a column on how the federal government is squandering opportunities in developing its workforce. “Uncle Sam” he comments, is constantly behind the times with cultivating, developing and ultimately hiring interns that come through the various federal government offices. “Unlike private employers, Sam does not view interns strategically, as young professionals who should be cultivated into valued members of the federal workforce. He thinks doing a good deed by giving students experience is enough, while playing down the potential long-term benefit to the government the students represent. Sam puts most of his intern eggs into a basket with a big hole at the bottom. That basket is the Student Temporary Employment Program, which had 75 percent of the federal interns in 2007. It is “not designed to connect to career or academic goals, and . . . offers no direct route to students for full-time federal employment,” the report says. Temporary-employment interns don’t necessarily work on substantive projects. They may be assigned clerical or unskilled jobs.”
April 10th, 2009
Posted by
opia |
Jobs, Students |
1 Comment
Eric Holder’s recent appointments to the Department of Justice suggest he will work to bring on a new level of ethics compliance unforeseen in the last ten years. The Bush administration was accused of appointing political appointees to the DOJ; attorneys that are looking to defend the mantra of the administration rather than the rule of law or hold any ethical standards. Holder appears to be moving in a different direction, says this Washington Post article. “(Holder) appointed Mary Patrice Brown, a well-respected career prosecutor in the District, the new leader of the Office of Professional Responsibility (OPR), which polices misconduct by department lawyers. Brown, who runs the criminal division at the U.S. attorney’s office in the District, will become the third chief of the ethics unit since it was established in 1975 after the Watergate scandal. The move came a day after U.S. District Judge Emmet G. Sullivan expressed a lack of confidence in the office, which has been investigating lapses with witnesses and evidence that ultimately demolished the government’s case against Stevens. Citing the seriousness of the alleged prosecutorial misconduct, the judge took the extraordinary step of appointing a special prosecutor to investigate six government lawyers involved in the case against the former senator, convicted last fall of ethics violations for accepting gifts from an oil services company executive.”
April 10th, 2009
Posted by
opia |
News, Uncategorized |
No Comments
Newly unemployed lawyers, Obama campaign workers, policy directors, or people simply interested in working for the government now that Barack Obama is in office are working overtime to find a job with the current administration and its various cabinets. The search, many are finding out, is long, laborious and not always turning up roses. This Washington Post article reveals the strong desire for government work but the inability-so far-to meet the demand. “Their collective purgatory highlights the unintended consequences of Obama’s influential calls for service. He has cultivated a yen for public service among this generation, but government jobs are limited, and the tight economy is squeezing nonprofit and charitable organizations and their donors. At the same time, the White House has an unprecedented number of applications and résumés to cull, lengthening the process.”
April 10th, 2009
Posted by
opia |
Uncategorized |
1 Comment
Questions are rising about who exactly will cover the hidden costs of those new graduates who have been deferred from their law firms for a year. While many law firms have agreed to subsidize their these new lawyers upwards to $75,000, and the non-profit and public interest organizations are in many instances happy to take on the new staff, there is the issue of cost that still needs to be answered. An article in the American Lawyer Daily, quotes Mitchell Kamin, the president and CEO of Bet Tzedek Legal Services in Los Angeles, who explains some of the less obvious costs associated with bringing on a new attorney “Kamin estimates the added cost of taking on an intern for one year at his organization will come to roughly $10,500 to cover office supplies, parking, and postage (an additional $3500 will be necessary for the added training and supervision costs for these newbie lawyers).”
Some employers believe the firms had not anticipated some of the costs involved in bringing on a new associate. Non profits have reacted to the situation, in some instances, by asking firms to provide funds to cover training fees which the non-profits believe could benefit the firms long term and also step-up their fund raising efforts to cover other costs like medical benefits or malpractice.
April 5th, 2009
Posted by
opia |
Jobs, News |
No Comments
In an op-ed in the New York Times, Adam Cohen believes that with the recent economic problems facing the legal profession (deferred starts to newly associates, firm closings and the rising costs of law student debt), it may be time to re-configure the profession for the 21st century.
Mr. Cohen believes that the on-going economic problems could force the profession to look at a lot of different professional issues they have not looked at in quite a while, namely salaries and they way clients are billed.
Law schools, too, may realize that reform is necessary. “For years, law school tuition rose along with big-firm salaries. Between 1990 and 2003, the cost of private law schools rose at nearly three times the rate of consumer prices. The average graduate now leaves with more than $80,000 in debt. In one survey, 66 percent of students said debt prevented them from considering government or public-interest jobs.”
While no change is imminent Mr. Cohen conveyed a need to guide the legal profession into a new direction for the future. “Law school deans, bar association leaders and firm managers should follow Rahm Emanuel’s advice about never allowing a crisis to go to waste and start planning for what comes next.”
April 5th, 2009
Posted by
opia |
News, Students |
No Comments