Volunteer for Legal Aid's Pro Bono Day on October 30

As part of the American Bar Association’s Pro Bono Week (October 24-30), the Maryland Legal Aid Bureau will host a Pro Bono Day clinic on Saturday, October 30 at its Baltimore City office from 10am to 2pm.  The organizers are looking for law students to volunteer and help with logistical support throughout the day.  The last two Pro Bono Days, held in October 2009 and May 2010, each served well over 100 people with more than 140 legal issues. 

If you are interested in volunteering, email Brett Schwartz at brett.schwartz@ubalt.edu by October 25 at noon.  The Legal Aid Bureau is located at 500 East Lexington Street in Baltimore. 

Legal services organizations statewide continue to see marked increases in the number of individuals and families coming forward to request legal assistance in all areas of the law.  This past summer, for example, close to 2,000 people walked through Legal Aid’s Baltimore City doors seeking legal assistance.  Now more than ever, the demand for services far outweighs the resources available.

UBSPI Co-Sponsoring Fundraiser Thursday (10/14)

Come out this Thursday, October 14 from 8-11pm at the Ropewalk Tavern in Federal Hill for a fundraiser in support of the Susan G. Komen Foundation.  The cost to attend is $4 if you are wearing pink or $7 otherwise.  All proceeds go to the Susan G. Komen Foundation.  Entry fee includes drink specials and food.

This event is sponsored by PDP and co-sponsored by UBSPI, SALSA, CLA, ILS, and the Moot Court Board.

My Public Interest Summer, Part 2

This past summer, UBSPI - in conjunction with MLSC and the University of Baltimore School of Law - funded 11 UB law students to work in public interest organizations throughout Maryland.  Their stories and experiences will be highlighted on Out in the Streets throughout the year.  For more information about our summer public interest grants, click here.

This summer I had the great opportunity to work for Community Legal Services of Prince George’s County (CLS).  CLS has three legal clinics and a pro bono and reduced fee referral program.  Its self-representation legal clinic is located at the Prince George’s County courthouse in Upper Marlboro, MD.  CLS also has a worker’s rights clinic and a Latino outreach family law clinic in Hyattsville, MD. 

I first wanted to work with CLS because I would be able to help my neighbors in my own county while using my Spanish language abilities in a legal context.  My main responsibilities were opening the Latino outreach clinic, conducting intake with clients, and researching legal issues as assigned by the attorneys at CLS.  I have gone from being very self-conscious in Spanish to being able to listen, understand, and help people with complex family and landlord-tenant issues using only Spanish. 

As I reflect back on my work, I am happy to have helped many of my neighbors seeking legal representation.  My desire to do public interest work has been piqued and I intend to continue working in the public interest field, both in English and Spanish.  I am very grateful to both CLS and UBSPI in helping me this summer.  Muchísimas Gracias!

--- Catrina Aquilino, University of Baltimore School of Law

Register for the 2010 Equal Justice Works Conference and Career Fair

Equal Justice Works is holding its 2010 Conference and Career Fair in Washington, DC from October 22-23.  The event, which will be held at the Bethesda North Marriott Hotel and Conference Center, will feature more than 130 public interest employers, practitioners, and leaders.  Though the period to apply for on-site interviews is over, there will still be a table talk fair where you can learn more about public interest organizations and employers and discuss possible internship and career opportunities.  

For more information about this great networking event, visit the conference site here. 

My Public Interest Summer, Part 1

This past summer, UBSPI - in conjunction with MLSC and the University of Baltimore School of Law - funded 11 UB law students to work in public interest organizations throughout Maryland.  Their stories and experiences will be highlighted on Out in the Streets throughout the year.  For more information about our summer public interest grants, click here.

This summer, I was lucky enough to work as a full-time law clerk in the Baltimore City Public Defender’s office, Felony Division.  I thought I knew what to expect, but wow! has it been eye-opening.  I have had such a wide range of experiences over my 3 months here.  I have done everything from the mundane law clerk tasks of copying and filing, legal research and a little bit of writing, to the much more intriguing trips to jail and investigation of crime scenes.  I was even able to help try a case by sitting at trial table with my attorney, passing questions I thought might be important, and answering our client’s questions as they arose.  I learned quite a bit from all of these experiences.

But for me, the best and most rewarding part of my summer spent here is exactly what drew me to this work to begin with.  It’s the feeling of helping people who you know truly need your help.  There are plenty of people who want to put criminals in jail, but not enough who want to help them attempt to preserve their rights, and navigate a very complicated system.  It is clear from the first time that you meet a client that they really need your help.  And it is an awesome feeling to know that the work you are doing helps them.  The biggest thing I have learned is that not all client’s goals are the same.  They all have different things in mind, and different outcomes that they want.  It’s very cool to try to help them get there.

I started working on a case when I got here that my supervising attorney had been working on for quite some time.  Our client is in jail, and has been there, awaiting trial, for over a year.  I don’t know if he committed the crime or not, but there are some serious issues in the case.  I remember after doing a good amount of work on this case finally going to jail to meet him for the first time.  I remember telling him about the issues we have found, the research I had done, and the strengths and weaknesses of our potential case.  I remember answering his questions as best I could.  When we were done, he told me he loved me, he thanked me for the work I was doing on his behalf, and then as I got up to leave, I put out my hand to shake his, and instead, he pulled me in for a pretty strong hug.  It was unexpected, but also welcome.  It was a very powerful experience for me, as has been my entire summer here at the Public Defender’s office.

---Matt Rogers, University of Baltimore School of Law

First General Meeting and Happy Hour Thursday (9/16)

Please join us this Thursday for our first general meeting of the semester.  Learn more about UBSPI, the events and activities that are planned for the year, and how you can get more involved in the work that we do:
 

Thursday, September 16

12pm or 5pm in the Business Center, Room 129

Following our 5pm meeting, we will head over to the Owl Bar for happy hour from 5:30-7:30.  The Owl Bar is located in the Belvedere at 1 East Chase Street.  See you on Thursday!

Summer Grant Opportunities

Let's be honest.  Public interest jobs are often some of the lowest paying in the legal profession.  The long hours, high stress, and lack of resources are often not compensated with high pay. UBSPI, understanding the financial challenges that students interested in public interest law face, provides funding to UB law students to intern during the summer at public interest organizations that otherwise could not afford to compensate them for their work.    

This past summer, UBSPI funded law 11 students to work at public interest organizations in Baltimore City and throughout Maryland.  Financial support for these grants comes from UBSPI's Annual Goods and Service Auction held each February, generous matching donations from the University of Baltimore School of Law, and grants from the Maryland Legal Services Corporation (MLSC).

Throughout the year, Out in the Streets will feature the stories and experiences of the student grantees who interned in places such as the Public Defender's Office, the Homeless Person's Representation Project, and the House of Ruth Domestic Violence Legal Service Clinic.

Are you interested in becoming a public interest grantee next summer?  Stay tuned to the blog and look out for annoucements at school for UBSPI Summer Grant Information Sessions.  Grant applications will be made available in February 2011.  For more information, please contact us at ubspi@ubalt.edu.

*UPDATE* Click here to download the 2011 application, due March 25, 2011.  (You must be a member of the UBSPI TWEN page).