FACT SHEETS (Download as PDF)

• ABOUT EQUAL JUSTICE WORKS
• EQUAL JUSTICE WORKS/WEST
• EQUAL JUSTICE WORKS FELLOWSHIPS
• AMERICORPS LEGAL FELLOWS
• SUMMER CORPS
• LAW SCHOOL ADVOCACY AND OUTREACH

ABOUT EQUAL JUSTICE WORKS

InIn a democratic society sustained by the rule of law, access to legal representation is fundamental to ensuring the basic rights of all its members. Equal Justice Works creates a more secure, just and equitable nation by ensuring a sustainable pipeline of talented lawyers entering public service and by fostering broad commitment to public interest law and pro bono services.

MISSION

The mission of Equal Justice Works is to create a just society by mobilizing the next generation of lawyers committed to equal justice. Since 1986, Equal Justice Works has collaborated with the nation’s leading law schools, law firms, corporate legal departments, bar foundations and nonprofit organizations to provide the training and opportunities that enable attorneys to provide effective representation to vulnerable populations.

• We help law schools establish and strengthen public interest programs.
• We provide public service work experience, professional development and training for students and lawyers.
• We build strong support in the legal profession for public service through pro bono work and financial support.

PROGRAMS

Lawyers can make a significant difference in the lives of individuals and communities that desperately need legal assistance to obtain justice. Equal Justice Works provides a continuum of programs that begin with prospective law school students and extend later into careers in the profession.

Public Interest Law Opportunities for New Lawyers
The Equal Justice Works Fellowship Program was created to address the shortage of attorneys working on behalf of underserved populations and causes. Today, the program supports more than 100 entrepreneurial public interest lawyers working in 20 states at 98 nonprofit organizations. The ongoing success of our fellowship program – the largest postgraduate legal fellowship program in the nation – is the result of many factors. Every year, hundreds of public interest-minded law students and recent graduates design two-year programs with nonprofits that have an intimate knowledge of the most critical needs of the community they serve. This innovative, community-based model for developing programs ensures they address the timeliest critical issues in our communities including foreclosures, homelessness, community economic development, immigration, civil rights, juvenile justice, employment rights, access to health care, consumer fraud and domestic violence.

Recognizing the value of volunteer service and the need for more legal resources among low-income communities, Equal Justice Works created the AmeriCorps Legal Fellowships in 2003. Equal Justice Works AmeriCorps Legal Fellowships improves access to justice by increasing the availability of pro bono legal services nationwide to low-income clients. It is one of the most productive and highly regarded national service programs.

Supported by an AmeriCorps grant from the Corporation for National and Community Service, the program is a postgraduate opportunity to address gaps in legal services through pro bono management and direct legal services. During 11-month fellowships, Equal Justice Works AmeriCorps Legal Fellows recruit volunteer law students and lawyers and work to narrow the justice gap in health care, public benefits, affordable housing, lost wages, protection orders, education and other areas. The program makes a lasting impact on the communities it serves by facilitating pro bono opportunities and expanding the legal resources in low-income and underserved communities.

Providing public interest opportunities to law students encourages career-long commitments to public service. The Equal Justice Works Summer Corps program engages law students around the country who are working to expand the delivery of legal services to those who need it most. Summer Corps is another AmeriCorps-funded program that, in 2009, provided more than 350 law students with the opportunity to dedicate their summers to public service at qualifying nonprofit and public interest legal organizations.

Law School Advocacy & Outreach
The Equal Justice Works Guide to Law Schools is a free interactive online resource of public service opportunities, curricula and financial programs at more than 150 law schools in the United States. The result of a unique collaboration between Equal Justice Works and participating schools, the Guide fills a void in existing commercial law school rankings. It compiles extensive data on the availability of clinical and externship programs, financial aid and loan repayment assistance programs, the number of staff members dedicated to public service programs, and other criteria essential to students who plan to pursue public service careers or who want to gain lawyering skills before they graduate. The resource allows users to look at individual school profiles or compare schools based on the criteria most relevant to them.

Each year Equal Justice Works hosts the legal profession’s largest national public service job fair at its Conference and Career Fair. The event typically attracts more than 1,000 law students and graduates, as well as more than 150 public interest employers—national nonprofit organizations, public defenders, legal aid offices and federal government agencies—seeking to fill internships and staff positions in public interest law.

Equal Justice Works has been a leading advocate for the creation and expansion of loan repayment assistance programs on law school campuses. In the past year, we took a leadership role in educating students and their advisors on the provisions of the College Cost Reduction and Access Act. The new law has changed the landscape around loan repayment assistance programs and represents a major breakthrough in coping with student debt. The result will be an increase in the number of students who can make public service a viable career option. We have dramatically increased our outreach work in this area have undertaken an outreach campaign to increase awareness of the income-based repayment and public service loan forgiveness provisions of the bill among law students and their advisors as well as public interest lawyers.

Contact: Sally Carlson, Communications Director, (202) 466-3686 ext. 102

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EQUAL JUSTICE WORKS/WEST

Opened in March 2008, Equal Justice Works/West is located in Oakland, California and is the first step in our strategy to strengthen our programs and expand the reach of our efforts in California.

Equal Justice Works was founded in 1986 and established the Equal Justice Works Fellowship Program in 1993. Since then, Equal Justice Works has placed over 241 lawyers (Equal Justice Works Fellows and AmeriCorps Legal Fellows) at nonprofit organizations in every region of California to assist underserved communities, causes and individuals. Upon completing their fellowships, an estimated 80 percent of these attorneys remain in public service.

In 2010, Equal Justice Works is supporting 21 fellows working at 2 legal services agencies in 8 cities in California. Our Fellows provide direct legal services, advocacy and other support to underserved individuals and communities. Equal Justice Works/West will help to coordinate and expand services in California by:

• Supporting Equal Justice Works Fellows in California through training and coordination;
• Providing programming for alumni, sponsors, law schools and host organizations;
• Overseeing the fellowship selection process including interviews of fellowship candidates on the West Coast;
• Participating in the design and implementation of strategic reform initiatives, especially in substantive areas (e.g. juvenile justice, immigration and foreclosure response); and
• Assisting headquarters staff in developing strategies to increase the organization’s presence throughout the Western region and other parts of the country.

Last year, Equal Justice Works’ Summer Corps program for law students included 90 students working in California. Equal Justice Works/West also works with 22 member law schools throughout the state to develop effective programs and curriculum that support the next generation of public interest attorneys.

Contact: Shirley Hochhausen, Director, Equal Justice Works/West, (510) 238-9384.

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EQUAL JUSTICE WORKS FELLOWSHIPS

Equal Justice Works directs the largest postgraduate legal fellowship program in the nation, placing new lawyers in two-year assignments at nonprofit public interest organizations. The Equal Justice Works Fellowship Program creates partnerships with these host organizations, public interest lawyers, law firm/corporate sponsors and other donors in order to give underrepresented populations access to the justice system.

The Equal Justice Works Fellowship Program was launched in 1992 to address the shortage of attorneys working on behalf of underserved populations and causes in the United States. Equal Justice Works Fellows tackle such critical issues as domestic violence, homelessness, community economic development, immigration, civil rights, juvenile justice, employment rights, access to health care, and consumer fraud. Fellowship projects improve access to the judicial system for the most vulnerable among us: children, people with disabilities, senior citizens, people with HIV/AIDS, battered women and racial and ethnic minorities.

Recognizing that many obstacles prevent committed attorneys from practicing public interest law, including the scarcity of entry-level jobs and daunting student loan debts, Equal Justice Works created these two-year fellowships that offer a salary and loan repayment assistance, a national training and leadership development program, and other forms of professional development opportunities during the term of the fellowship.

At any given time, the program supports an average of 100 Fellows working around the country. Through a rigorous selection process, a diverse group of Fellows is selected by the sponsors, which are most often law firms, corporations or foundations.

Upon completion of the program, the majority of Equal Justice Works Fellows continue successful careers in public interest law.

Contacts: fellowships@equaljusticeworks.org or (202)466-3686 ext. 202

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AMERICORPS LEGAL FELLOWS

The Equal Justice Works AmeriCorps Legal Fellowship program is one of the most productive and highly regarded national service programs in the nation, making a lasting impact on the communities it serves by facilitating pro bono opportunities and expanding the legal resources in low-income and underserved communities.

Equal Justice Works AmeriCorps Legal Fellows work to improve access to justice for low-income clients nationwide. Supported by an AmeriCorps grant from the Corporation for National and Community Service, the program is a postgraduate opportunity to address gaps in legal services through pro bono management and direct legal services. By bringing together volunteer law students and lawyers with community legal aid providers, Equal Justice Works AmeriCorps Legal Fellows are able to expand their services and serve more clients. Fellows also gain hands-on experience by providing direct legal services and developing substantive legal resources.

Equal Justice Works AmeriCorps Legal Fellows work to narrow the justice gap in many areas, including health care, public benefits, affordable housing, lost wages, immigration rights and education. For example:

Jennifer Ngai, Legal Aid Society of DC: Jen serves in the consumer protection unit helping to prevent foreclosures and keep families in their homes. Many of Jen’s clients are from vulnerable populations, making them easy targets for predatory loan or truth in lending scams.

JR LaPlante, Access to Justice South Dakota: JR recruits lawyers and law students to assist pro bono projects at the University of South Dakota School of Law. He also is expanding the legal resources available to Indians through projects such as the Initiative for Indian Estate Planning.

During the 2008-2009 term of service, the 36 Equal Justice Works AmeriCorps Legal Fellows:

• Represented 26,019 clients on pressing legal matters;
• Facilitated 1,030 legal clinics which served 10,572 people and provided important legal experience to hundreds of law students;
• Partnered with 590 organizations to build community infrastructure;
• Engaged 927 pro bono lawyers (both private firm and corporate counsel offices) in public interest work; and
• Recruited 2,193 law students to assist in providing legal services to low-income communities and make the connection between the law and public service.

In 2009, Equal Justice Works received an additional grant under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, allowing us to immediately deploy 30 more Equal Justice Works AmeriCorps Legal Fellows across the country to provide legal assistance to those facing financial challenges due to the recession. In the first six months of service, these lawyers and their volunteers were able to provide 1,899 individuals with home foreclosure and housing assistance services. They also prevented 76 foreclosures and helped 566 people remain in their homes while negotiations were pending.

A client story: Serving at Atlanta Legal Aid Society, Equal Justice Works AmeriCorps Recovery Fellow Anna-Elisa Mackowiak had a client who had lived in her home since 1977. Blind and a double amputee confined to a wheelchair, the client had been living on a fixed income of Social Security disability payments since 1997.

In 2005, a mortgage company extended a $37,599.00 mortgage loan to Anna’s client, who only had two years left to pay off the original mortgage loan. Two years later, the mortgage company took more of the equity out of the home by flipping her into yet another mortgage loan, this one in the amount of $75,000.00.

The client’s monthly income was $1,203.75. Despite this fact, the mortgage company extended her a loan with a total monthly payment of $662.01, or 55% of her monthly income. Her home was valued at $131,000 at the time of the transaction, leaving a substantial equity cushion. The mortgage company knew that in the event that Anna’s client was unable to pay the loan, it would recover the funds by foreclosing. This predatory and abusive lending practice is known as asset-based lending.

Anna was able to help her client stay in her home while the case was pending. Sadly, Anna’s client has passed away, but Anna is continuing to fight to save the house for her client’s family and to keep it from falling into the hands of those who took advantage of her.

Contact: Coleman McMahon, Senior Program Manager, (202) 466-3686 ext. 120

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SUMMER CORPS

The Equal Justice Works Summer Corps program engages law students around the country who are working to expand the delivery of legal services to those who need it most. Summer Corps is an AmeriCorps-funded program that in 2009 provided 373 law students with the opportunity to dedicate their summer to public service at qualifying nonprofit and public interest legal projects.

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, including: health care, family law and juvenile justice, housing and mortgage foreclosure, immigration, and hurricane relief.

The Summer Corps experience is a valuable component of a quality legal education and provides law students with a wide variety of professional experiences. Summer Corps participants:

• Have access to Equal Justice Works’ network of alumni, experience and expertise as the nation’s largest provider of public interest opportunities for law students and attorneys;
• Gain first-hand experience and legal skills in areas such as client intake, representation and legal research and writing;
• Earn a $1,000 AmeriCorps education award voucher upon completion of 300 hours of service that can be used to pay current educational expenses or qualified student loans;
• Serve at least 300 hours at a nonprofit public interest organization of their choosing; and
• Become an official member of AmeriCorps, one of the largest national service networks in U.S. history.

In 2009, 373 Summer Corps members served in 42 states and the District of Columbia. They directly assisted 19,550 individuals and families in need of legal services and represented 142 Equal Justice Works member law schools.

Contact: Martin Costello, Program Manager, (202) 466-3686 ext. 125.

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LAW SCHOOL ADVOCACY AND OUTREACH

Equal Justice Works Law School Advocacy and Outreach unit provides a broad range of innovative resources and programs that complement and fortify the efforts of our law school partners in mobilizing the next generation of talented lawyers committed to equal justice.

Law School Membership to Equal Justice Works is available to all law schools in the U.S., regardless of their American Bar Association (ABA) Accreditation status. Membership is an excellent way for a law school to demonstrate its commitment to public interest to students, alumni, donors and the legal community. Member law schools receive year-round consultation on public interest programming from our staff, have access to resources and information through our online resource center, and are invited to submit information to the Equal Justice Works Guide to Law Schools. Students at member schools are eligible to apply to all of our programs including the Equal Justice Works Fellowships Program, the AmeriCorps Legal Fellowships Program and the Summer Corps Program.

Programs and Resources provided by Equal Justice Works Include:

The Equal Justice Works Guide to Law Schools: The Guide is a free, comprehensive and interactive online resource of public service opportunities, curricula and financial aid programs available at more than 150 schools in the United States. The Guide fills a void in existing commercial law school resource guides and rankings and is essential to students who plan to pursue public service careers. Recognizing that there is no one-size-fits-all answer as to what quality legal education means for each applicant, The Guide helps prospective applicants research and determine which schools are the best fit by allowing them to compare programmatic, curricular and financial aid offerings.

Student Debt Relief: Equal Justice Works compiles and makes available on our website a wealth of user-friendly information and resources on student debt relief programs, including information about the The College Cost Reduction and Access Act (CCRAA), loan repayment assistance programs, and the Public Service Loan Forgiveness Checklist. We also offer student debt relief webinars throughout the year. For more information, visit our website at www.equaljusticeworks.org

The following programs are available only to Equal Justice Works member law schools:

Annual Conference: Equal Justice Works Conference & Career Fair: Our annual Conference and Career Fair is the largest national public interest legal career fair in the country. Coinciding with the Career Fair, Equal Justice Works also holds an annual conference for law students focusing on emerging issues, student leadership and job skills. More than 1,200 people attend this event as employers, job seekers and conference participants.

Annual Awards: Equal Justice Works annually honors the outstanding public interest contributions of a law school dean, the work of a law school faculty or staff member dedicated to public interest law, and the exemplary public service work of a law student or a law student group or project. Any law school dean, faculty, staff or student from our member schools is eligible to be nominated for an award.

Summer Corps: The Equal Justice Works Summer Corps program engages law students around the country to expand the delivery of legal services to individuals with the greatest need. Funded by an AmeriCorps grant, Summer Corps members gain valuable legal experience and the opportunity to earn a $1,000 education award for dedicating their summer to a qualifying legal project at a nonprofit public interest organization.

Equal Justice Works Fellowships: Launched in 1992 to address the shortage of attorneys working on behalf of under-served populations and causes in the United States, the two-year public interest fellowships offer both salary and generous loan repayment assistance, a national training and leadership development program, and on-going support during the term of the Fellowship.

Equal Justice Works AmeriCorps Legal Fellowships: Equal Justice Works AmeriCorps Legal Fellows work to improve access to justice by increasing the availability of pro bono legal services nationwide to low-income clients. Supported by an AmeriCorps grant from the Corporation for National and Community Service, the program is a postgraduate opportunity to address gaps in legal service delivery to under-served constituencies through both pro bono management and direct legal services.

National Advisory Committee: Equal Justice Works hosts a National Advisory Committee (NAC) comprised of law school professionals and current law students. The NAC provides a vehicle through which students and professionals at Equal Justice Works member law schools help advance the organization’s mission to support students in developing a lifelong commitment of working on behalf of under-represented individuals, communities and causes.

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