Public interest law salaries stuck at 2004 levels

Salaries for government and public interest law jobs have barely increased since 2004, according to a recent report by the Association for Legal Career Professionals.

The median entry-level salary for a legal services lawyer is about $43,000, and a legal services lawyer with between 11 and 15 years of experience earns a median salary of about $65,000. Meanwhile, the median entry-level salary for public defenders is about $50,500, and the median salary for a public defense lawyer with between 11 and 15 years is $78,600. Local prosecuting attorneys earn a starting salary of $50,000, and they earn $77,000 when they have between 11 and 15 years of experience. And public interest organization lawyers who handle civil rights issues earn a starting salary of $45,000; those with 11 to 15 years of experience earn $75,000.

The report found that, based on data from 2004, salaries at public sector and public interest organizations have only increased between $9,000 and $12,000 since 2004.

“During the last eight years, most public interest and public sector lawyer salaries have just kept pace with inflation. Most public interest starting salaries have risen between 23 percent (public interest organizations) and 29 percent (public defenders), while the consumer price index has risen about 22 percent during the same period,” James Leipold, NALP’s executive director, said in a press release. “Meanwhile, during the same period, the cost of a legal education and the average amount of law student loan debt have both risen at a much higher pace, which means that despite favorable changes in the federal loan repayment options available to law school graduates working in the public interest, there are still significant economic disincentives at play as law students consider whether or not to pursue public interest legal careers.”

To read the press release, click here.

Legal Aid: Many MD farmworkers cut off from legal help

BALTIMORE – Harvest season is under way in Maryland, and as farmworkers dig in so do human rights watchdogs. Wage theft, unsanitary conditions and safety concerns are among the issues on the radar, but those who want to help migrant farm workers experiencing those problems have problems of their own, and they’ve sent a letter to a special United Nations project outlining the situation.

Reena Shah, the director of Maryland Legal Aid’s Human Rights Project, says it’s difficult to contact migrant farm workers because growers can stop anyone trying to do outreach to the farm workers, especially when the workers live on the property.

“The growers will not allow them on, they threaten trespass, and there’s a lot of threat of retaliation to the farm workers who are reaching out to get help.”

Shah says a Maryland Attorney General’s opinion found that property rights can’t be above all of the other rights a person would have, but she says that’s not set in state law.

Shah says examples of growers denying legal access to farm workers have been documented in most states. Specific examples are represented in the letter, from 14 states. Shah has found these are not isolated incidents.

“These are things that happen on a regular basis that affect this population in a very grave manner, which results in all sorts of human rights violations, flagrant human rights violations.”

This is the first time legal aid organizations across the country have come together to submit this type of letter to the U.N. The letter was sent to the Special Rapporteur on Extreme Poverty and Human Rights.

To hear this Public News Service news report, click here.

Law Day for Seniors on Saturday, April 21

The Bar Association of Baltimore City’s Legal  Services to the Elderly Program is holding its 21st Annual Law Day for Seniors on Saturday, April 21, at the Edward F. Borgerding District Court Building, 5800 Wabash Avenue in Baltimore, from 8 a.m to 2 p.m.

The goal of Law Day 2012 is to educate seniors, their families, and caregivers about available community resources and legal issues affecting them. Maryland Legal Aid attorneys will attend, distribute information and answer questions. About 200 to 300 people attend each year. Parking is free.

 

Landing the legal job: Legal Aid staff attorney interviewed by the BBJ

Emily Jaskot, a Maryland Legal Aid staff attorney in the Long Term Care Assistance Project, was interviewed last month by the Baltimore Business Journal for an article, “Landing the legal job.”

From the article: “Emily Jaskot didn’t care about those six-figure salaries. She always knew that she wanted to work for a nonprofit helping those who might not be able to afford legal representation.

“She jumped right into public-interest law as a student at the University of Maryland School of Law. During school, she was hired as a law clerk at the Maryland Legal Aid Bureau. She never really left, thinking that keeping her face around the building was solid proof she wanted to work there. ‘It’s an organization where I really believe in the mission,’ she said. ‘All the people here are passionate and creative.’

“Jaskot achieved that leadership experience law firms seek by becoming president of the Maryland Public Interest Law Project, a student-run group that provides grants to students who work in unpaid legal internships.”

Celebrity artist (and Legal Aid contributor) Josee Nadeau featured at Sundance Festival

Artist Josee Nadeau

Examiner.com profiled celebrity artist Josée Nadeau, who painted  at last fall’s Maryland Legal Aid 100th anniversary gala in Baltimore.

“Best known as the protégée for the Curator of Claude Monet’s Garden in Giverny, France for 10 years, Josée Nadeau was the Celebrity Artist for the Stars at the LiveStyle Entertainment Film Lounge and Supper Club at Sundance 2012 where 27 events were held, including the HBO Networks Party, The Creative Coalition Spotlight Initiative Awards, Sundance Soirée, film premiere parties (Filly Brown, Wish You Were Here, etc) and too many others to list,” wrote columnist Liz Kelly.

“During Harry Belafonte’s speech about human rights at this 100-year anniversary of Legal Aid in Maryland, Josée did a live painting of this Hollywood icon in 20 minutes. Maryland’s Governor Martin O’Malley, the First Lady Katie O’Malley, Chief Justice Robert Bell and Wilhelm Joseph, the head of Legal Aid, also did the unveiling of her commemorative piece ‘Dust of Diamonds.’”

To read the entire column, click here.

Young lawyers sticking to their goals

The Washington Post profiled three recent law school graduates who talked about positioning themselves to compete for the limited number of legal jobs–including Leila Leigh, a family law attorney in Maryland Legal Aid’s Metropolitan Maryland office (Riverdale).

“A lot of law students think, ‘I have to be in law review, I have to be in moot court.’ I just stayed focused on what I wanted to do and selected internships and opportunities that would put me in a position to do what I wanted to do when I was done,” said Leigh, who interned at Break the Cycle (a nonprofit working to combat teen dating violence), Legal Momentum’s Immigrant Women Program (which works with immigrant women who are survivors of domestic violence) and Women Empowered Against Violence.

To read the article, click here.

Maryland Legal Aid hosts community birthday party

Maryland Legal Aid is hosting a community birthday party on Sept. 10 to celebrate 100 years of providing free civil legal services to low-income individuals, families, and communities in Maryland.

The party will offer something for everyone, including live music, children’s activities, craft and food vendors, health testing, and information about community resources.

The festivities will be held, rain or shine, on Saturday, Sept. 10, 2011 from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. in the War Memorial Plaza, Gay and Lexington streets, in downtown Baltimore in front of City Hall.  The event is free and open to the public.

Maryland’s largest non-profit law firm, with 13 offices across the state,  Legal Aid was founded in 1911 and has become one of the nation’s premier legal services organizations.  In 2010,  Legal Aid served more than 61,000 clients statewide in a wide range of areas including family, public benefits, health care, housing, consumer, education, elder, and employment law.

For more information about  Legal Aid or the community birthday party, call 410-951-7649, or visit Maryland Legal Aid’s website at www.mdlab.org.

Maryland Legal Aid to hold street fair to celebrate 100 years

Maryland Legal Aid’s Community Birthday Party, a free celebration of Legal Aid’s 100 years of service to individuals and families in Maryland, is on Saturday, Sept.  10 from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.  Clients, former clients, community partners and the general public are invited to join us at the War Memorial Plaza (in front of City Hall at the corner of Lexington and Gay streets in downtown Baltimore).

There will be live entertainment, food and craft vendors, representatives from community organizations, health and human services providers, children’s activities, and giveaways.  The event will be held rain or shine.

For more information, call (410) 951-7649.

Citizenship Day

Lawyers will be on hand this Saturday to assist in completing naturalization applications at Casa de Maryland in Hyattsville. The clinic is sponsored by the American Immigration Lawyers Assoc., the New Americans Citizenship Project, and other groups that help immigrants. The event is from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. and is being held at Casa de Maryland’s Multicultural Center, 8151 15th Ave. in Hyattsville. The suggested donation is $20. For more information, call Juan Carlos Navarette  (240) 491-5765 or Benjamin Brokaw (240) 491-5774.

How to make it on a public interest lawyer’s salary

 

Supervising attorney Janine Scott

Maryland Legal Aid supervising attorney Janine Scott is headlining a Baltimore City Bar Association event next week: “How to Make It on a Government/Public Interest Attorney’s  Salary,” 5:30 p.m. to 7 p.m. on Wednesday, March 30, at the Clarence Mitchell Courthouse in Baltimore.

 

Scott, author of Legal Aid Wealth: Surviving and Thriving on the Salary of a Public Interest Attorney, will discuss practical ways to manage a modest salary and still achieve your financial goals. She will be joined by Gerard Harrison of the Franklin Financial Group. The event is free to members and $40 for nonmembers. For more information, call 410/539-5936 or email info@baltimorebar.org.