OPIA Blog

With the provisional accreditation of two new North Carolina institutions last week, the United States became the first country in the world to host 200 law schools. Quantity, however, does not necessarily produce quality, explained a recent AP article. The proliferation of law schools has resulted in a surplus of lawyers, many of whom are having an increasingly difficult time finding work. This has led to the rise of “contract attorneys” – essentially lawyers working temp jobs at modest hourly rates. In addition to poor working conditions and the lack of job security, this temp work usually consists of monotonous tasks outsourced by law firms.

Lured by the promise of high earning potential and guarantees of employment, many students enroll in law school without doing adequate research. Universities, for their part, have also been somewhat disingenuous in their efforts to establish law schools and attract students. Because law schools feature big class sizes and small financial aid packages, they are a cost-effective and even lucrative option for many schools. Law school rankings have also had a damaging effect on the legal education system, as schools often exaggerate, underreport, or otherwise skew statistics to make their graduates seem more financially successful. To read more on this topic, click here.

In an arena long dominated by conservative judges and thinkers, liberals have started to make the case for a more progressive interpretation of the Constitution. On June 3, the DC-based Constitutional Accountability Center (CAC) became the first major think tank and public interest law firm dedicated to advancing a liberal agenda on strict Constitutional grounds. At the heart of this new venture is the belief that the Constitution’s text and history are “on the progressive side.” Douglas Kendall, the firm’s founder, hopes to be able to establish a systematic and sound legal support for progressive ideas. Among the first issues the CAC will tackle is the essentially federalist argument that states should have greater autonomy to experiment with new environmental protections.

For nearly three decades, conservatives have positioned themselves as the defenders of the Constitution, rooting their arguments in the principles of “originalism” or “textualism.” Lisa Brown, executive director of the left-leaning American Constitution Society, has lauded the CAC as a much-needed liberal voice in a largely conservative chorus. Speaking on the Constitutional discourse in America, she asserted, “It’s absolutely time to reclaim this debate.” Conservatives, for their part, have also welcomed the new organization as a constructive way to increase serious debate about constitutional interpretation. To read the full article, click here.

Writing candidly about her career, a lawyer describes the joys and struggles of choosing to work in the public interest. As an attorney helping low income children with disabilities gain greater educational access, Aisha has forgone the big salaries and glamorous lifestyles of her “corporate big wig counterparts.” She is admittedly influenced by the materialistic impulses of society, and the wide income disparity between private and public interest lawyers has at times complicated her feelings towards her professional decision.

Despite these doubts, Aisha ultimately finds that the intangible satisfaction of public interest work overrides its humble material benefits. She writes, “I won’t lie. I am proud of what I do… I do it because I feel blessed and I feel that to whom much is given much is expected. I believe we can live in a just society and I want to be on the front lines of making this happen. I believe I am fulfilling my faith and I know I am making a difference.” To read the full story, click here.

With the growing call for pro bono work in major private law firms, some companies are begining to offer a new approach. Ronnie Abrams is part of this growing trend and perhaps an example of whats to come. In a recent New York Times article, Ms. Abrams is profiled regarding her career shift from a Manhatten U.S. Attorney to Davis Polk & Wardwell special council for pro bono affairs. Her job, as she sees it, is part supervisory and part “strategy.” The image of pro bono is becoming more important as law firms seek to market themselves in a more socially responsible light. To read more, please click here.

Western Mass Legal Services has been providing help for poor families, the elderly, and simply those with no one else to turn to for a number of years. Bridging the gap between law and social work, the dedicated attorneys who choose this path in public interest law often describe it as “challenging, rewarding, and often frustrating.” However, for many such as Ali Bers, working at WMLS gives her the feeling that she makes a positive difference for those who seek her help, often in areas such as housing, Medicare, or an array of domestic issues. She is the last line of defense for those individuals seeking solutions to their problems. And while the sheer volume of cases WMLS works with is staggering, still many more must be denied, often due to a lack of resources on the organization’s part. However, for every individual seeking aid, their case is high-impact for them. Furthermore, attorney Jennifer Dieringer explains how often their problems are intertwined and require unique solutions:

They come to you with a legal matter, but when you have a conversation with them, you learn that there’s this whole other set of issues that they have, many of which are non-legal. For us to do our jobs well, we have to address not just the legal issue, but the underlying social issues as well.

However, WMLS staff attorneys describe the rewarding experience of truly helping someone, which they would otherwise not have gotten in a more traditional career at a big firm. To read more about these experiences, please click here.

Following the trend of a recently revealed loan forgiveness program, Harvard Law School is announcing a tuition waiver incentive for third-year students who pledge to commit at least five years working in public service. The move is attempting to address the calls of prosecutor’s offices and other public interest employers that high tuition costs are forcing graduates into private law, where they can hope to recoup their losses. Currently, only about 10% of HLS students choose to go into government or public interest fields. Brandon Weiss, a current third-year himself, believes the move will probably be a factor for those who are on the fence about which path to take, as well as benefit anyone already committed to public interest. Those currently enrolled at Harvard will be eligible for partial grants if they choose a public service career. To read more, please click here.

A recent study from Harvard Law School’s Program on the Legal Profession, working with the American Bar Association, has found that big law firms are steadily hemorrhaging nearly 50% of their young associates - and most are leaving of their own accord. Ben W. Heineman, a senior fellow at Harvard Law School describes this trend to be, in many ways, a fault of the business-oriented nature of the modern firm which provides young associates with neither the practical responsibility nor learning opportunities vital to their professional development. Furthermore overly ambitions senior associates and over-worked partners rarely give young associates personal mentoring and assistance, depriving these lawyers of the overall sense of firm strategy and support. Clients themselves may be to blame as they are unwilling to devote resources to young and inexperienced lawyers. This results in a vicious cycle where young lawyers feel unappreciated and bored whereas firms decline to give them opportunities since they will be leaving the firm anyway.

Heineman makes a number of suggestions including increased commitment to firm pro bono and public interest programs designed to give associates hands-on experience. More face time with partners and more experienced personnel would also aid associates in feeling connected to the firm, as opposed to feeling like “generators of “rates x hours” for annual revenue models.” To read more from about these views, please click here. Note, you must register for this online publication in order to view the content.

A new article in The New York Times discusses research on the decision-making process we all go through. Citing the work of Dr. Dan Ariely, a researcher at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, the article points to how eliminating some options from our lives can limit the opportunity costs we may face and thus reduces the anguish associated with making an important decision. Dr. Ariely uses a novel research method which tests a subject’s capacity to “let go” despite the emotional loss related to diminished future flexibility. The study portrays how such research can be applied to our every day lives and the choices that we make (or frequently take too long in making). To read more, please click here

A new initiative is spearheading the fight to protect our veterans. The Veterans Rights Project, led by Rachel Natelson of New York’s Urban Justice Center, seeks to address the plight of our soldiers returning from Iraq and Afghanistan. Ms. Natelson wants to fight “the unjust and abuse-ridden claims application process, the lack of accountability for recruiting irregularities and sexual harassment and the persistence of the ill-conceived ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ policy.”

While broad in its goals, the fledgling initiative has company such as the NYC Bar Association’s Veterans Legal Clinic. In part, the initiatives want to provide veterans with the advice and legal counsel which they currently can’t get until its too late, due to Federal restrictions.

And it looks like these programs are not a minute too soon. With the U.S. Army reporting current veterans’ levels of “severe stress, emotional, alcohol or family problems” at a rate 85 percent higher than that of 2005, it seems as if our returning soldiers need all the aid they can get.

Despite the necessity of fund raising and the current unpopularity of the Administration’s war policy, Ms. Natelson is firmly committed to “human rights and worker rights” as it relates to our troops. To learn more, please click here.

For a minority of law school graduates, the legal profession isn’t quite what they’re looking for. Those such as Jason Luros graduate from law school and simply find more available work in fields such as financial planning. Others, however, know the intrinsic value of an advanced degree in law when working with corporate legal departments and getting ahead in their various businesses. Molly Claflin uses her legal education as a stepping stone into politics. Utilizing both the connections she has made and her new-found skills, she has avoided the big-firm jobs in favor of a working for lower-pay but very rewarding position on the Barack Obama campaign.

The idea is that law degrees can be used for a variety of purposes having nothing to do with law and for many graduates, this is an appealing notion. Rachel Knight wants to further her own goals of helping the poor through legal means but at the same time realizes the pressures of having to pay off student loans. As she sees it:

Work in a firm for three years, pay all your debts, then go do what you want. … We’re our own biggest obstacles.