news release
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
March 17, 2009

CONTACT:
James Carroll
(202) 466-3686 ext. 102 		jcarroll@equaljusticeworks.org
www.equaljusticeworks.org
APPLICATION PERIOD OPENS FOR 2009 SUMMER CORPS;
PROGRAM FOR LAW STUDENTS ADDS MORTGAGE-FORECLOSURE INITIATIVE, SUPPORT FOR PUBLIC DEFENDERS
WASHINGTON, D.C. - The Equal Justice Works 2009 Summer Corps application period will begin on Wednesday, March 18 and will close on Wednesday, April 1. As a result of the poor economy, thousands of families are facing foreclosure and lack access to affordable legal assistance. With this in mind, there have been three new developments in the Summer Corps program:
  • Mortgage Foreclosure Prevention has been named the 2009 Summer Corps Initiative. Equal Justice Works is committed to providing assistance to those individuals and families facing mortgage foreclosure and will set aside member slots for law students working on eligible mortgage foreclosure-related issues.
  • The program will now fund law students working in state, local, and nonprofit Public Defender’s offices.
  • Law students will also be able to work as part of teams in conjunction with Equal Justice Works AmeriCorps Legal Fellows and their host sites. Visit http://www.equaljusticeworks.org/programs/americorps/apply for a list of sites that are accepting applications.
Summer Corps is an AmeriCorps national service program funded by the Corporation for National and Community Service which allows law students to help tens of thousands of low-income Americans each year working at qualifying nonprofit organizations across the country.

In exchange for a minimum of 300 hours of service, members earn a $1,000 AmeriCorps education award voucher that can be used to pay current educational expenses or qualified student loans. They also gain first-hand experience and legal skills in areas such as client intake, representation, legal research and writing.

In 2008, 333 Summer Corps members provided direct legal services to 18,395 low-income individuals. For more information on last year’s program, download the Equal Justice Works 2008 Summer Corps Summary of Accomplishments.

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Equal Justice Works, a nonprofit, nonpartisan 501(c)(3) organization, was founded in 1986 by law students dedicated to working for equal justice on behalf of underserved communities and causes. Today, Equal Justice Works is the national leader in creating summer and postgraduate public interest opportunities for law students and lawyers as well as in urging more public interest programming at law schools. For more information, visit www.equaljusticeworks.org.
EQUAL JUSTICE WORKS | 2120 L Street, NW | Suite 450 | Washington, DC 20037
tel: (202) 466-3686 | fax: (202) 429-9766 | www.equaljusticeworks.org