Upcoming Deadline for Equal Justice Works Summer Corps

Applications for the Equal Justice Works Summer Corps are due this Wednesday, April 1! The Equal Justice Works Summer Corps Program engages law students around the country who are expanding the delivery of legal services to those who need it most. Summer Corps is an AmeriCorps-funded program that in 2009 will provide 355 law students with the opportunity to earn a $1,000 education award voucher for dedicating their summer to a qualifying legal project at a nonprofit public interest organization.

For the first time, the Summer Corps program will fund law students working in state, local, and nonprofit Public Defender's offices. For more information about this program, please follow the links below.

Apply Online
All applications are due on April 1 at 8:00 pm EST.

Taxation Public Service Fellowship Available

The American Bar Association Section of Taxation will award up to two Fellowships for 2010-2012 to recent law school graduates. Applicants selected for interviews will be invited to attend the Section’s meeting in Chicago on September 25-26, 2009, and asked to participate in interviews on September 26, 2009.

What Is The Program?

The Public Service Fellowship program, which began in 2008, reflects the Section’s desire to advance public service efforts in tax law, and to foster a more fair and equitable tax system. Pro Bono service has been an integral part of the Section’s activities for many years. The Section actively encourages member participation in various Pro Bono efforts, holds numerous training sessions to that end, and devotes many of its resources to providing legal services to those in need. The Section recognizes the need for funding and fostering recent law school graduates or judicial clerks who wish to dedicate some portion of their professional careers to public service in tax. For more information and application materials, click HERE.

All applications are due by August 1, 2009.

Good News About Florida Coastal Students

The Florida Bar Foundation recently announced the 2009 Summer Fellowship Class and the Career Services Department is pleased to announce that Florida Coastal had SIX STUDENTS selected to participate in the program. Florida Coastal was second in the state for the number of students selected for the Program.

It is clear that public interest law is becoming a growing trend at Florida Coastal!

Equal Justice Works

Equal Justice Works has three programs for law students interested in public interest. Click HERE for more information about any of the three below amazing programs:

• Summer Corps Program - Every year, 350 law students are placed at nonprofit legal service organizations. Students receive extraordinary experience along with an educational stipend.


• AmeriCorps Legal Fellowships - Allows Fellow to promote public service at law schools by facilitating pro bono opportunities and training for other students. Fellowships last for one year and provide a living allowance and an education award.


• Equal Justice Works Fellowships - Fellows are allowed to create hir or her own dream job with a nonprofit organization that has agreed to host the applicant. Fellows receive a salary and are eligible for loan repayment assistance. Typically, 100 Fellows are selected.

Remember, Career Service Counselors are HAPPY to assist you with these applications! Contact us today.

Do any of these legal and non-legal positions and internship opportunities sound interesting??? If so, you need to review the monthly job listings from the Washington Council of Lawyers Public Interest Jobs Clearinghouse. Come by Career Services to take a look at more information about any of the below listed positions from this month's bulletin.

• Director, Legal Aid Society of the District of Columbia
• Director of Development, Ayuda
• General Counsel, NAACP National Headquarters
• Practitioners-in-Residence, American University, Washington College of Law
• Director, Domestic Violence Program, District of Columbia Courts
• Domestic Violence & Family Law Attorney, Asian Pacific American Legal Resource Center
• Policy Associate, National Immigration Forum
• Clinical Fellow for Immigrant Rights Clinic, University of Baltimore School of Law
• Clinical Fellow for Family Mediation Clinic, University of Baltimore School of Law
• Legal Orientation Program Attorney, Texas Pro Bono Asylum Representation Project, Harlingen, Texas
• Immigrant Children’s Project Attorney, Texas Pro Asylum Representation Project
• Children’s Paralegal, Texas Pro Asylum Representation Project, Harlingen, Texas
• Legal Director, Women’s Resource Center, Scranton, Pennsylvania
• Program Director, State Voices, Detroit, Michigan
• Legal Assistant, Florence Immigrant and Refugee Rights Project, Florence, Arizona

Another GREAT Networking Event!!!

The 2009 Equal Justice Conference

May 14 – 16, 2009 in Orlando, Florida

The Equal Justice Conference brings together all components of the legal community to discuss equal justice issues as they relate to the delivery of legal services to the poor and low-income individuals in need of legal assistance. The emphasis of this Conference is on strengthening partnerships among the key players in the civil justice system. Through plenary sessions, workshops, networking opportunities and special programming, the Conference provides a wide range of learning and sharing experiences for all attendees.

Students: This is your opportunity to meet pro bono and legal services program staff, judges, corporate counsel, court administrators, private lawyers, paralegals, and many others who attend this event.

The main Conference will celebrate the ongoing collaboration between pro bono and legal services; explore additional partnerships that must be created, the resources that must be tapped, and the new issues facing clients.

For more information including registration materials, click HERE.

GREAT Networking Opportunity!

The American Bar Association’s Section of Labor and Employment Law invites students to a panel on Careers in Labor and Employment Law on April 3, 2009. During this event, experienced practitioners will provide plaintiff, labor union, government, and employer perspectives on the practice of employment law. This event will take place at 12:30pm to 2:00pm at the Ritz-Carlton Grande Lakes Resort in Orlando, FL. The program is being presented as part of the Section of Labor and Employment Law’s National Conference on Equal Employment Opportunity Law which will be attended by more than 250 attorneys from around the country.

Law students attending the Careers in Labor and Employment Law Lunch are also invited to attend an Immigration for Employment Lawyers seminar from 1:30pm to 3:30pm, and a networking reception from 6:00pm to 7:30pm, at the Ritz-Carlton.

Students wishing to attend the panel, the Immigration program, or the social, should RSVP to Tracey Moore. More more information about the Labor and Employment Law’s National Conference on Equal Employment Opportunity Law, click HERE.

Attention 2L's ... It's Not Too Late

There are still a few openings in the below clinics for the summer:

Family and Child Advocacy Clinic
Housing Rights Clinic
Consumer Law Clinic
Juvenile Law Clinic

Participating in one of these programs is a fabulous way to earn practical legal experience and gain skills credits. Applications are available in the clinic office (Room 255) and will be accepted until Wednesday, March 25th.

To be eligible, you must have already filed your Florida bar application and preference will be given to students who have already received their background clearance certificate from the bar. Feel free to e-mail me Professor McDowell if you have questions.

Are You Multi-Lingual?

The Jacksonville Area Legal Aid (JALA) Fair Housing Advocacy Center has public information brochures which describe legal rights under the Fair Housing Act and what people should do if they feel they have experienced housing discrimination. To effectively communicate to all who could be impacted by this law, JALA would like to translate its brochure(s) into languages other than English.

JALA is looking for volunteers to translate the Fair Housing brochure(s) into the language in which he/she is fluent. The substantive content is already written. JALA will send the volunteer translator the brochure via email. Using the format established in the brochure template, the translator will re-write the brochure in the non-English language. A completion date will be mutually agreed. The student may work from home for this project. The translator must keep track of his/her volunteer hours for grant reporting purposes and may volunteer for one brochure translation or many, at his/her discretion.

If you are interested or want more information about this great Pro Bono opportunity, contact Kathy Para or 356-8371, ext. 363. Indicate in your email/phone message the languages in which you are fluent (other than English).

Are you interested in the Public Defender's Office?

If you are a 1L or 2L student interested in a possible summer internship opportunity with the Public Defender's Office in Orlando (The 9th Judicial Circuit), please contact Jocelyn in Career Services as soon as possible.

Equal Justice Works Summer Corps Program

Three Rivers Legal Services has an opening for two students to participate in the Equal Justice Works Summer Corps program. This program engages law students around the country who are expanding the delivery of legal services to those who need it most. Summer Corps is an AmeriCorps-funded program that in 2009 will provide 355 law students around the nation with the opportunity to earn a $1,000 education award voucher for dedicating their summer to a qualifying legal project at a nonprofit public interest organization. Summer Corps members provide critically needed legal assistance in low-income and underserved communities in the United States on a broad range of issue areas.

Three Rivers Legal Services has an opening for two students. If you are interested, in addition to your required application for Equal Justice Works, you must also notify Deanna Coates, Esq. or Summer Griggs, Esq. at jaxvolunteer@trls.org and submit a current resume.

*The 2009 Summer Corps application will be available from March 18 to April 1. Notification of status—accepted, rejected or waitlisted—will be sent to all applicants by April 17.

For more information, click HERE.

Great Conference & Job Fair Opportunity

The National Black Prosecutors Association have announced the dates for their annual Conference and Job Fair. This year's Conference & Job Fair will be held in Memphis, Tennessee in July.

26th ANNUAL NBPA CONFERENCE & JOB FAIR

Conference: July 19, 2009 - July 25, 2009

Job Fair: July 21, 2009

For more information about the Conference, Job Fair, and many networking opportunities available, click HERE. Also available is a list of previous nationwide participants in the Conference.

Attend The Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program

Mark your calendars for the upcoming Public Service Loan Forgiveness program, sponsored by the Financial Aid Office and SBA. Come learn more about how to take advantage of loan forgiveness after graduation.

TODAY

Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program

Room 365

2:15 p.m.

Career Services wishes everyone a safe and Happy Spring Break!

The Blog will resume with updates you will want to know during the week of March 16th

Make sure to check for updates!

Summer Legal Internship In Florida (1L's & 2L's)

The Florida Office of the Attorney General is seeking 1Ls and 2Ls for unpaid Summer 2009 legal internships. The number and locations of internships are based on agency need. Although program dates are flexible, students must commit to a minimum of 20 hours per week. Interns will be placed with the Legal, Law Enforcement, or Victims Services Office, and will have a variety of responsibilities that offer an opportunity to gain practical experience.

The Office employs approximately 500 attorneys and is primarily responsible for enforcing state consumer protection, antitrust, and criminal racketeering laws. It also implements programs to assist crime victims and law enforcement. Interested students must have a 3.0 GPA and U.S. citizenship or valid work permit/student visa.

For more information including Application Instructions, click HERE. All application materials are due by April 14, 2009.

Great News For Legal Services

Promoting quality legal services for everyone is becoming a priority. The House of Representatives recently approved a $40 million budget increase for the Legal Services Corporation (LSC) as part of the fiscal 2009 omnibus appropriations bill. The 11 percent increase would bring funding for the Corporation to a total of $390 million, the third consecutive year that the House has supported additional funding to provide civil legal assistance to low-income individuals and families. Most of the funding, $365.8 million, would be awarded as competitive grants to 137 nonprofit legal aid programs across the nation. Rep. Alan B. Mollohan (D-W.Va.), chairman of the Commerce, Justice and Science Appropriations Subcommittee that oversees LSC, said the Corporation "is an important, significant program that provides legal assistance to people who are unable to afford it. We know that the poor are hit hard during economic downturns, and this funding will help more low-income Americans faced with unlawful evictions, domestic violence and other serious legal problems."

To continue reading the full article, click HERE

Networking Opportunity in Jacksvonille

"PRO BONO YOU CAN HANDLE" --Use Your Skills To Help A Jacksonville Child In Need

The Jacksonville Bar Association is sponsoring a CLE with the Special Needs of Children Committee & The Juvenile, Delinquency & Guardian ad Litem Section. This is a great opportunity to meet attorneys working for children in the legal arena as well as learn more about family law issues in general. Topics covered will include Players in a Dependency Case, Guardianship When the Ward is a Minor, Special Immigrant Status of Juveniles, Pitfalls for Attorneys Practicing Pro Bono for Children, New Deposition Rule for Children, and When Children Testify at Trial.

For more information including registration materials, click HERE. The CLE will be held on March 19, 2009.

This just in . . . .

"Fresh surveys of pro bono trends won't be available until later in the year, but data from 2007 confirm the anecdotal evidence. The Pro Bono Institute reported that 135 of the country's largest firms provided nearly 4.3 million hours to pro bono projects in 2007, representing a 170% increase since 1995."

For more information about this growing trend, click HERE.

Looking For An Internship?

The Public Service Law Network may have the opportunity for you! The Public Service Law Network (or PSLawNet.org) is an organization that gathers postings for internships, fellowships, and full-time opportunities nationwide for law students. The below opportunities are just a sampling of some of the great opportunities for summer work available NOW in Florida ...

Public Defender - 12th Judicial Circuit (Sarasota)
Public Defender - 19th Judicial Circuit (Fort Pierce)
Put Something Back Pro Bono Project (Miami)
Summer 2009 Social Justice Internship (Miami)
State Attorney's Office - 4th Judicial Circuit (Jacksonville)
State Attorney's Office - 11th Judicial Circuit (Miami)

For more details and application instructions, click HERE.

Remember, these listings are updated constantly, so remember to check back again and again.