Legal aid programs in Massachusetts are taking a significant hit. Greater Boston Legal Services, for example, has taken a 15 percent cut to its staff. The Massachusetts Legal Assistance Corporation, the primary financial supporter of local civil legal aid programs around the state, cut its funding for services by 54 percent over the past year. All this while there has been an increase in the demand for assistance in handling housing, health care and child custody issues within the Commonwealth.

What might be overlooked about legal aid is the cost benefit. Legal aid reduces the burden on state social service organizations by helping secure unemployment benefits for some employees as well securing federal funds for unemployment.

Rather than fund legal aid to its levels from years before, Massachusetts is making the decision of underfunding it. It appears this is another loss for lower income individuals and families facing tougher times now than ever before.

Some of the good news:
*A check for $800,000 came to the California Rural Legal Assistance about a week ago. The organization was facing a shortfall that could have possibly forced them to cut pay and cut staff attorneys.
*The Asia law Caucus received a check for $400,000 which helps an organization that already had a surplus. The money will allow the organization to hire two new staffers and handle the growing demand for housing and elder law services.
*The Legal Aid Foundation of Los Angeles received $700,000 which will allow them to consider hiring a lawyer for housing work and an intake screener for domestic violence complaints.

Why did these various legal aid organizations receive the money, you ask? The money came from a 2002 case filed against U.S. Tobacco, the maker of Skoal and other brands of chewing tobacco. Under the terms of the settlement approved last year, money that went unclaimed by consumers would be distributed to various charities.

#4: Responsibility–more responsibility earlier.
#6: Money–yes, money. A surprise to me but given the current climate, the playing field has become more and more leveled.
#9: Fun–You’re breaking down institutions and messing up the status quo against huge corporations (potentially). What isn’t exciting about that?
#3: Community–I know this is chronologically out of order, but it might be worth mentioning last. There there is a great and powerful sense of community among public interest lawyers. This helps drive their efforts and causes.

The figures are quite astonishing, actually. The federal civil servants enjoyed an average annual salary of $79,197, whereas the private employee was earned $49,935. The numbers are even more stark when taking into account the benefit packages: $119,982 for federal civilian vs. $59,909 for private employees. It should also be noted that these figures came from the Commerce Department’s Bureau of Economic Analysis but the study that compared federal civilian employee salaries vs. private sector employee salaries was done by the Cato Institute, a right-leaning think tank.

These statistics are not misleading in of themselves, but they don’t illustrate the whole story. They do not, for example, take into account types of profession or geographic region. The statistics are essentially raw data that lumps compensation together into one pool. The Cato Institute is not necessarily distorting data, but it is leaving out some essential information for the reader. For the reader who might want to accurately compare a lawyer in private practice in Montana vs. a lawyer in Washington, D.C the study, unfortunately, falls short.

The Dean’s letter was done, in part, to get students to think about the legal profession in a different way than they had thought of it when applying to law school. Dean White wanted to address some of the major elements that many career service offices already address when advising students: Opportunity building and networking. The article recaps much of her letter but emphasized a key concept known as “opportunity-making.” This practice asks students to “1) highlight an area that is most interesting to them; 2) identify the people with whom they want to associate; and 3) understand where key issues in their areas of interest proliferate. These factors give them a sense of direction. Students who take the time to craft this brief plan are not just looking for a job; they are architecting a career.” This sounds like a fundamental aspect of building a career. Pointing this out when entering law school can only help.

The legal job market is shrinking and forcing law schools to rethink what will best prepare students for the changing face of the legal field. How can we, schools are asking themselves, better prepare students with hands-on legal experience prior to entering the job market? Externships are quickly becoming a new popular option, but the article admits they are only a small piece of the puzzle. Recent graduates are, in many cases, competing with seasoned attorneys for high profile internships, clerkships and even low level associate positions. Externships, while providing a potential “in” or stopgap solution, cannot change the new realities of a constantly changing legal job market. To read the full article, click here.

The article, found in Minnesota Daily, the campus paper, highlights the growing demand at Law Schools to address the the rapidly changing job market. What many career service offices within law schools are recognizing is the increasing shift in the legal job market and the growing demand being placed on public interest organizations requires a shift in thinking. Students are now looking to the public sector and government lawyering jobs more and more.

The program will place 25 Law School graduates in a wide variety of legal positions, including assisting state judges and public defenders, working for the Legal Aid Society of Minneapolis and doing policy work for various public interest organizations.

This article features a brief interview with Donziger and Am Law Daily, where the journal asks him about the most recent twists in the case. The lawsuit was filed in 1993 and has turned into a long arduous fight with multiple twists, including the most recent accusation of bribery on the judge presiding over the case, judge Juan Nunez.

Please also note that Steven Donziger is featured in a documentary about this case called Crude, which was released in New York on September 9th and in Los Angeles on September 18th.