Great Job For Recent Graduate

The PSLawNet Fellowship provides a wonderful opportunity for a public-interest minded
law graduate who also has an interest in nonprofit administration. Further, the fellowship offers a bird’s-eye view of the public interest arena for law graduates on public service career paths. PSLawNet, which is housed at NALP, is an “online career services center” for law students and lawyers interested in public service careers. The website contains the largest public interest law jobs database, detailed information on thousands of public interest and government employers, as well as a library of resources to aid job seekers and employers. The Fellow is the principal manager and administrator of the PSLawNet website. S/he will also have responsibilities for: development of online educational content, management of student interns, basic technology and data management, co-editing the PSLawNet Blog, interacting with NALP members, delivering presentations about PSLawNet, and other tasks as they arise.

For more information on this GREAT opportunity, please click HERE. The applicaiton deadline is March 4, 2011.

Do You Love Pro Bono Work?

If you love pro bono work, you may want to consider practicing in Mississippi - a state demonstrating its committment to pro bono initiatives of attorneys. In a recent article, it was suggested that the state is requiring a pro bono mandate for its attorneys. To read the entire article about this effort, click HERE.

HINT!!! Interested in learning more about pro bono work at Florida Coastal? Click HERE.

Student Spotlight: Caroline Cowan

Three Rivers Legal Services recently highlighted third year law Florida Coastal law student, Caroline Cowan for her exemplary public service. While at Three Rivers, Caroline has worked on a variety of legal issues while interning with us. For example, she has researched various legal issues (e.g. landlord/tenant, child custody, debt collection, unemployment comp, foreclosure, evidence, municipal code enforcement, veterans' disability, tax), Drafted Answers (foreclosure complaints), drafted Petitions (summary administration, formal administration, homestead exemption, expungement), Orders (summary administration, formal administration, homestead exemption), Appeals (unemployment comp, veterans' disability), Motions (to dismiss, for default judgment), Drafted Wills, Edited Custody Arrangement Pamphlet, Drafted Advice Letters (debt collection, unemployment comp, probate), Ineligibility Letters, Demand Letters, and Closing Letters, and Completed a Tax Return for 2009

Caroline says that she has learned much while interning at Three Rivers because has worked on so many different legal issues. Working here has made her realize what she really likes doing and what she wants to avoid in the future. In Caroline’s opinion she has received ... to continue reading the entire article and learn more about Three Rivers, click HERE.

How Can Job Seekers Compete in the Current Job Market?

A recent NALP survey asked public interest legal employers what kinds of experiences would make job applicants, particularly law students, the strongest candidates for employment. The results may surprise you ....

• Civil legal services providers look for a demonstrated passion for serving low income communities and for direct experience interacting and working with low income clients. This serves as a reminder of the importance of building cultural ompetencies for legal services attorneys. Without this awareness, it is difficult to develop trusting relationships with clients who may have limited educational background and be distrustful of service providers. Civil legal service providers also highly value bilingual ability in their attorneys, especially knowledge of Spanish or of an Asian language.
• Federal government employers seek to hire individuals with a demonstrated commitment to public service and practical legal experience gained through clinics, internships, and/or pro bono opportunities.
• Public defenders desire candidates with ... to continue reading what public defenders, prosecutors, and nonprofit legal organizations look for in candiadates, click HERE to access the full survey.

Welcome To February

Your Opinion is Needed!

PSLawNet is beginning a large-scale website redesign to ensure that we provide you with the most comprehensive and useful resource for law students and attorneys looking for public interest legal jobs.

We need your input to guarantee that PSLawNet makes the changes to the website’s design, job search functions, career resources, and social media interfaces to ensure that we best serve you. Please go here to complete our short survey (should take you no more than 5-10 minutes).

To thank you for your time, completion of the survey by individuals with PSLawNet job seeker accounts will give them the opportunity to enter a drawing for a gift card.

• First Prize Winner: $100 gift card
• Second Prize Winner: $50 gift card
• Third Prize Winner: $50 gift card

Thank you for taking the time to complete our survey! Please feel free to contact us at pslawnet@nalp.org with any other feedback.

There are over 25 new public interest jobs/internships posted in the Symplicity Document Library this month. Make sure to stay on top of the postings and apply early!

Out With The Old ... In With The New

In December, President Obama issued an executive order on Monday evening scrapping a controversial federal internship program. The order shuts down the Federal Career Intern Program -- whose popularity as a means for quickly hiring new employees has skyrocketed since it was created in 2001 -- as of March 2011. The directive also establishes three pathways for students and recent graduates to enter the federal workplace. The programs are tailored to recruit, train and retain well-qualified candidates. To read more about this exciting new program for entry level positions into the federal government, click HERE.

Great Resource To Review

Here is your new issue of Opportunities in Public Affairs, with hundreds of sought-after jobs in the Washington, DC area all focused on Jobs in Government Affairs & Policy, Public Relations & Advocacy, Media & Journalism, and Entry Level Jobs & Internships. These jobs are on Capitol Hill, in non-profits, think tanks, institutions, the government and in corporations and professional firms.

To read Opportunities in Public Affairs January 11, 2011 issue on-line, click: http://www.opajobs.com/login_subs.php

If you need login information, contact careerservices@fcsl.edu

Did You Know ...

JANUARY IS NATIONAL MENTORING MONTH???

The Duval County Juvenile Detention Facility (Duval House) is in need of mentors and tutors for the young men currently housed at the facility. Your commitment would be a minimum of once or twice per month for a few hours each time. Long term commitments are preferable but not necessary. The facility is somewhat flexible regarding scheduling and will work around your class/study time.

If you are interested in more information or to sign up as a volunteer mentor or tutor please contact:

Alisa Wilkes, Esq.
Duval House Advisory Board Member
(904) 566-8468
awilkes@sextonandwykoff.com

The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation's Headquarters Summer Legal Intern Program provides valuable and challenging professional opportunities for outstanding law school students. Our goal is to provide our summer interns with a better understanding of the FDIC's role in our financial system while providing an opportunity for public service. Our summer interns are assigned to a variety of projects within one section of the Legal Division that will provide significant legal experience.

FDIC summer intern appointments begin in mid May and may not exceed September 30, 2010. Although a summer intern appointment can not exceed September 30th, it is possible that interns from local schools may continue as part-time legal interns during the school year.

Qualifications

In order to qualify for the 2010 Program, you must:

1.be enrolled in your first or second year of an American Bar Association accredited law school, and
2.be a United States citizen.
Candidates who have, at minimum, a B average or equivalent or are in the top 33 percent of the law school class are preferred. When deciding which candidates are qualified for an interview, we look at the total application package including undergraduate record (GPA), law school courses and grades (GPA), law review or law journal participation, national or regional moot court competition participation, and other special qualifications (such as another advanced degree, foreign language skills) or life experience. Writing samples will be evaluated for legal research, analytical and writing skills (i.e., organization, grammar, spelling, and persuasiveness).

For more information, click HERE.

Exciting Opportunity!

The U.S. Attorney Office applicaiton deadline is rapidly approaching. The deadline for submitting application materials for a credit bearing externship is 4:00 p.m. on Wednesday, January 26th. While 1Ls who will have completed all 1st year required courses by the beginning of the summer are eligible, 2Ls are especially encouraged to apply. The GPA requirement for this externship placement is a 2.75.

Interested students should submit a cover letter, resume, unofficial transcript, writing sample and the U.S. Attorney's Office pre-interview questionnaire to Cleopartra Smith (in the Clinic Office - Room 255) by the application deadline. The cover letter should include your geographical preference---Jacksonville, Tampa, Orlando or Fort Meyers. The cover letter should be addressed to the following:

Judith Hoberman, Human Resources Specialist
U.S. Attorney's Office, Middle District of Florida
Tampa, Florida

Any questions can be answered by the Clinic Office.