HandsOnJacksonville Is Looking For Volunteers!

Do you have some time to volunteer this holiday season?

School: Biscayne Elementary
Address: 12230 Biscayne Blvd., 32218
Phone No: 904-714-4650

Decorating/distribution Day Thursday, December 2, 2010 - Volunteers still needed
Arrival time: 6 P.M.
Report to: The front office
Parking: The front parking lot
Volunteers are needed to place backpacks and gifts on each student’s desk as well as toss gold tinsel in the hallways. Some heavy lifting is required so strong women and men are most welcome.

Saint Nicholas Discovery Day Friday, December 3, 2010 – Volunteers still needed
Arrival time: 7:45 - 8:00 A. M. (schools begins at 8:30)
Report to: Front Office. Please have drivers license ready.
Parking: The front parking lot
Coffee and light breakfast will be served

On the morning of Friday, December 3rd more than 6,000 children will come to school and find that their hallways have been decorated with gold tinsel. The students will find backpacks stuffed with books and toys on their desk and volunteers to read The Secrets of Saint Nicholas book. Volunteer readers will need to borrow a copy of the book from a student. Volunteers are encouraged to engage the students in a conversation about other ways they can show giving at school and home. You may also ask the teacher about reading another story of their choice. A live Saint Nicholas will also make his rounds visiting the children.

For more information, contact Jacqui Scuncio.

The Florida Bar Foundation’s 2011 Legal Aid Summer Fellowship application is now available on-line. Please note that the application deadline date is January 19, 2011. Applications submitted after January 19, 2011 will not be considered.

Information about the Florida Bar Foundation’s 2011 Legal Aid Summer Fellowship Program is available on Symplicity. The Florida Bar Foundation’s Legal Aid Summer Fellowship Program is a great opportunity for law students to work at a Florida legal aid program for eleven weeks during the summer to get hands-on experience while solidifying their commitment to practicing public interest law upon graduation.

We encourage students to have their application reviewed by Career Services staff or Career Development staff prior to submission.

Selection Criteria:
Among the several factors to be considered in the selection of successful applicants are:

 The depth and breadth of the applicant’s commitment and experience in working with the low-income community;
 The applicant’s passion, insight, and personal commitment to public service and pro bono work;
 The applicant’s background and personal story, including their minority status, cultural diversity, and poverty experience;
 The applicant’s future career goals and employment objectives;
 The thoughtfulness, care, and clarity the applicant puts into completing the application; and
 The applicant’s writing skills and academic achievements.

Where Can the Application be Found:
The on-line application and other materials can be found on the Foundation’s website (http://www.flabarfndn.org/), by following these steps:

1) click on the Grant Programs tab at the top of the homepage,
2) scroll down to Law Student Assistance,
3) click on the Legal Aid Summer Fellowship Program button.

Applicants will need to review and print out the 2011 Program Placement List (found at the Legal Services Summer Fellowship Program webpage) before submitting their application. Students may list up to 4 program placement preferences on their application.

The Polaris Project is current seeking law students to serve as Senior Legal and Policy Fellows in their Policy and Legal Department. Fellows will assist with advocacy and policy development for stronger comprehensive state and federal laws on human trafficking.

Responsibilities Include:

conducting legal and statutory research, monitoring pending legislation, preparing legislative outreach materials, including action alerts, advocate and legislator briefs, communicating and providing assistance to legislators and other policy makers, providing technical assistance during the bill drafting process, and helping to build and assist coalitions in support of legislation. Responsibilities may also include direct lobbying, outreach and the preparation of training materials for law enforcement and others. Deadline: December 24, 2010. Check PSLawNet for application details.

Interested In Animal Law?

Compassion Over Killing (COK) - http://www.cok.net/ - is seeking Litigation Interns for Summer, 2011 (unpaid). Compassion Over Killing is a national nonprofit (501(c)(3)) animal advocacy organization. Working to end animal abuse since 1995, COK focuses on ending and preventing cruelty to animals in agriculture. The 2011 Summer Litigation Interns will work with COK’s Legal Advocacy Program in our West Coast office in Torrance, California.

The Summer Litigation Interns will work on litigation projects aimed at protecting farmed animals; most of these projects are plaintiffs’ litigation. These projects will likely employ a variety of legal theories, relating to areas such as state criminal cruelty laws, false advertising and unfair competition laws, tort liability, environmental protection laws, administrative law, tax, and corporate law. The interns will have opportunities to research new projects as well as assist heavily with ongoing projects. They will work closely with Compassion Over Killing’s general counsel.

Qualifications
Excellent research and writing skills are required. In addition, the Litigation Intern should be interested in exploring novel approaches to protecting animals through litigation. Candidates with a background and interest in animal protection are preferred, although it is not required.

Application Instructions

Interested law students should apply with cover letter, resume, writing sample, list of three references, and law school transcript to Compassion Over Killing’s general counsel Cheryl Leahy at cleahy@cok.net

Searching For Federal Jobs

Seeking and applying for federal jobs can be overwhelming, so to help lawyers get started, the 2009-2010 Federal Legal Employment Opportunities Guide provides help. The guide—produced by NALP/PSLawNet, in partnership with the ABA Government & Public Sector Lawyers Division and the Partnership for Public Service—offers information on how the hiring process works, where to find federal jobs and how to apply successfully for them. Check it out today!

For all you dog lovers ...

As a dog lover myself, I couldn't resist this story about a a program that is getting underway at a Veterans Affairs hospital in California and at Walter Reed Army Medical Center. It's called Paws for Purple Hearts, and it is helping injured veterans and active-duty troops in two very different ways.

The program trains Labradors and golden retrievers - including many offspring of Yount's dog Gabe - as lifelong service dogs and companions for veterans who use wheelchairs. But for their first two years of life, these dogs spread their love around in another way.... to read the entire article about the partnership between dogs and the federal government, click HERE.

Need A Job Or Internship?

During the past week PSLawNet has posted:

** 45 new attorney positions

** 48 internships

** 20 law related opportunities.

Additionally, there are currently 1,222 active opportunities in our job database. To search the database visit PSLawNet.

Public Service Loan Forgiveness Webinar

Equal Justice Works, an IBRinfo partner, is hosting a webinar called Getting Your Student Loans Forgiven: How Government and Nonprofit Employees Can Earn Public Service Loan Forgiveness. This free webinar will be useful for anyone working for a government entity or non-profit organization who is interested in federal student loan forgiveness. Call in, ask questions, and learn more about this important program.
Space is limited, so participants must register NOW for the December 8, noon to 1 p.m. EDT webinar (11am CDT, 9am PDT).

Summer Fellowship Now Available

The Section of Antitrust Law sponsors a summer fellowship program, named the Janet D. Steiger Fellowship Project, honoring the memory of the late Chairman of the Federal Trade Commission. Each of the 20 selected students will serve for a minimum of eight weeks in the consumer protection department of a participating State Attorney General Offices during the summer of 2011.

Students will receive a $5,000 stipend for the summer. The program also offers an optional small supplemental housing/travel allowance for those students who are not living at home for the summer.

The application period is (November 15, 2010 until January 31, 2011).

For more information, log into Symplicity today.