Massachusetts Lawyers in the News
Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly - Oct 29

Lia Monahon has been named an Equal Justice Works fellow by McDermott, Will & Emery and The Children's Law Center of Massachusetts.

A Lawyer's Calling: Helping the Homeless
By Vickie Elmer, The Washington Post – Oct 28

Lawyer [and former Equal Justice Works Fellow] Sczerina Perot never knows what crisis will walk through her door at work. There are single mothers struggling to pay bills and families who have lost homes. Perot drops whatever legal research or policy project she's doing and "puts out fires for people." She said, "It's like being an emergency room lawyer." But she likes the unpredictable nature of her job as a staff attorney at the Legal Clinic for the Homeless in Washington.

Editorial: Robin Hood in reverse
Toledo Blade (Ohio) – Oct 27

First it was luxury condos for University of Alabama football fans in Tuscaloosa. Now it's building a bigger and better port facility to reinvigorate the coastal economy in Gulfport, Miss. Your Hurricane Katrina housing recovery tax dollars, hard at work. The political powers that be in Mississippi have proposed yet another shameless diversion of $600 million in federal housing funds that were allocated by Congress to help residents acquire new homes after the devastating hurricane two years ago. … Reilly Morse, a senior attorney for the Mississippi Center for Justice's Katrina Recovery Office [and Equal Justice Works Lawyer], points out that port officials already have FEMA funding and enough insurance proceeds to recover from Katrina without snatching aid from the homeless.

Agency Fails to Supply Units for Poor
Herald News (Hackensack,NJ) – Oct 26

The state agency in charge of affordable housing has failed to meet New Jersey's affordable housing shortage, according to a report released Thursday by the Office of the Public Advocate. … "We are hopeful that COAH would follow the Public Advocate's recommendations, which we think are very sensible and very much feasible," said Adam Gordon, a staff attorney [and Equal Justice Works Fellow] at the Cherry Hill-based Fair Share Housing Center. "They are asking for things that make a lot of sense."

On the Move
Legal Times – Oct 22

Sven Holmes, 56, has joined the board of directors at Equal Justice Works in D.C. He is also executive vice chairman at the accounting firm KPMG. Prior to that, Holmes was the chief judge of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Oklahoma. He received his J.D. from the University of Virginia Law School.

Port Seeks Housing Funds: Mississippi's Poor Await Help with Katrina Damage but Gulfport Has Other Plans
By Jenny Jarvie, Los Angeles Times, Oct 22

In low-income neighborhoods across coastal Mississippi, many homeowners are still patching their roofs with blue tarp, positioning plants to collect drips from living room ceilings, and taping paper over window cracks. Most say they have yet to receive financial assistance from Mississippi officials. … Reilly Morse, a senior attorney for the Mississippi Center for Justice's Katrina Recovery Office [and Equal Justice Works Fellow], says officials are operating according to a "reverse Robin Hood logic." Port officials, he said, have enough insurance and FEMA funding to recover from Katrina damage, and can explore further funding sources. "They do not need to rob the poor," he said.

Panel Will Discuss People's Rights During Traffic Stops
By Caleb Hale, The Southern (Illinois) – Oct 17

Seeing the red and blue lights of a police squad car in your rearview mirror is intimidating, especially if you're not quite sure what rights you have as a citizen with interacting with an officer of the law. Panelists are set to discuss these types of situations Thursday evening at Southern Illinois University Carbondale, when they present "Police-Citizen Interaction: Know Your Rights." The event is being sponsored by the law school, SIUC Center for the Study of Crime, Delinquency and Corrections, the Southern Illinois ACLU chapter and the Equal Justice Works.

Seeking Shelter from the Storm
By Karen Lash and Reilly Morse, Biloxi Sun Herald (Mississippi) – Oct 17

It's hurricane season. As usual, the Gulf Coast is in danger of getting trounced. But this time a storm can actually prevent a disaster. A storm of controversy, properly directed, can prevent Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour from causing a housing disaster by misdirecting $600 million that Congress slated for low and moderate-income housing to expand the state port.

Business People
Dayton Daily News – Oct 14 Ohio State Bar Association, Columbus

OSBA president Robert F. Ware recently appointed five Dayton-area attorneys as chairpersons of OSBA committees and sections for 2007-08. Stephanie L. Dannemann, a director at Legal Aid of Western Ohio Inc., has been named to chair the access to justice committee. At Legal Aid of Western Ohio, she oversees outreach activities, case assignment and supervision of cases to pro bono attorneys, recruits and supports private attorneys and law students in the provision of legal assistance to eligible clients and supervises the members of the Pro Bono Legal Corps. Previously, she served as an Equal Justices Works Americorps attorney with Advocates for Basic Legal Equality.

Microsoft General Counsel Gets Equal Justice Works Award
By Marisa McQuilken, Legal Times – Oct 12

Eliot Spitzer presented the Scales of Justice Award to Microsoft general counsel and senior vice president Brad Smith last night at the Equal Justice Works awards dinner. … Smith was being recognized for his pro bono efforts at Microsoft. By securing partnerships with Seattle area law firms, Microsoft pioneered Volunteer Advocates for Immigrant Justice, an initiative that provides legal representation for refugees.

Legal Aid Files Suit Against Local Companies & Department of Labor For Violating Rights of U.S. Workers
Texas RioGrande Legal Aid – Oct 10

Texas RioGrande Legal Aid (TRLA), the leading defender of civil rights in Texas, has filed suit against Nowell Borders, Mata Trucking Company, Martinez Packing Company, and the Department of Labor for illegally importing more than four hundred temporary foreign workers to work in south and west Texas, including the Rio Grande Valley, from 2001 to 2007. The suit, filed on behalf of 19 Texas farmworkers, alleges that the companies manipulated the visa program to obtain cheap foreign labor and avoid providing housing, transportation, and meals to workers. … According to TRLA employee and Equal Justice Works Fellow Jake Wedemeyer, "These companies purposefully manipulated events so that they could hire cheap foreign labor. They violated the rights of U.S. workers so that they could take advantage of foreign workers."

Honors and Appointments
Legal Times – Oct 8

Kelly Wilson, manager of Equal Justice Works’ Hurricane Katrina project, was honored by the Supreme Court of Louisiana and the Louisiana State Bar Association this month. As project manager, she helped place 19 attorneys and more than 100 law students with legal aid agencies to assist survivors of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. Wilson works in the group’s D.C. office.

Local Firms Sponsor Equal Justice Works Fellowships
By Michelle Lore, Minnesota Lawyer – Oct 8

What do assistance for deaf persons caught up in the criminal justice system and equal educational opportunities for low-income students in greater Minnesota have in common? They are both subjects of Equal Justice Works fellowships being co-sponsored by local law firms. The fellows are Atlee Reilly and Emily Teplin…

Hold Wal-Mart to a higher standard
By Brent Denzin, Milwaukee Small Business Times (Milwaukee) – Oct 8

Planning commissions have an eye for details. By focusing on project details, commissioners often identify traffic problems, eye sores, and hidden dangers that need to be eliminated before a project can proceed. But the devil isn’t always in the details. … Brent Denzin is an Equal Justice Works Fellow and an attorney at Midwest Environmental Advocates Inc., which recently moved its home office to Milwaukee.

Minnesota Firms Sponsor Equal Justice Works Fellowships
By Michelle Lore, Minnesota Lawyer (Minneapolis) – Oct 8

What do assistance for deaf persons caught up in the criminal justice system and equal educational opportunities for low-income students in greater Minnesota have in common?

They are both subjects of Equal Justice Works fellowships being sponsored by local law firms. The "fellows" are Atlee Reilly and Emily Teplin.

CON — Port of Gulfport: Should MDA divert $600 million in housing funds to restore port?
By Reilly Morse and Karen Lash, Clarion-Ledger (Jackson, Mississippi) – Oct 7

The Mississippi Center for Justice joins a growing list of families, religious leaders, nonprofits and businesses opposing a plan to divert $600 million of hurricane housing recovery funding to expand the State Port of Gulfport. We urge Gov. Haley Barbour to reconsider his request to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development to waive the requirement that this funding be spent on housing - and fulfill his promise to ensure that coastal Mississippians get the resources they need to rebuild their homes and lives.

Group sues K. Hovnanian Over Affordable Housing
By Michael Clark, Press of Atlantic City (New Jersey) – Oct 4

A non-profit housing organization has filed a lawsuit against a prominent developer claiming it is not abiding by an affordable-housing obligation at its Smithville development. Officials with the Fair Share Housing Center announced their lawsuit Wednesday, which claims that developer K. Hovnanian's Smithville development has no affordable housing among its 3,000 units, despite a 20 percent requirement.

This "is the way K. Hovnanian does business," said [Equal Justice Works Fellow] Adam Gordon, the group's staff attorney.

Rothenberg chosen for honor
Daily Record (Baltimore) – Oct 4

Karen H. Rothenberg, dean of the University of Maryland School of Law, will receive Equal Justice Works’ Dean John R. Kramer Award for 2007 at the organization’s awards dinner in Washington, D.C., on Oct. 11. Rothenberg is the Marjorie Cook Professor of Law, and founding director of the Law & Health Care Program. The award honors her dedication to nurturing an outstanding spirit of public service at the school, according to an announcement by the school.