Introduction

Every year in this country, four out of five low-income people in need of legal assistance are denied services. Many eligible clients do not receive help because of a language barrier, a disability or lack of literacy. Many others are turned away because of overwhelming case loads at legal services offices. In the United States, there is an average of one legal aid attorney for every 6,861 low-income people.

Equal Justice Works AmeriCorps plays a critical role in closing this gap and securing affordable housing, lost wages, orders of protection, health care, public benefits and education for low-income and underserved communities.

Equal Justice Works AmeriCorps is an AmeriCorps program funded by the Corporation for National and Community Service. More than 70,000 AmeriCorps members across the country serve communities and change lives while gaining important leadership skills. This AmeriCorps program is unique in its mission of engaging law schools and law students in community legal services.

Debra Rosenbluth, an Equal Justice Works AmeriCorps Fellow with Three Rivers Legal Services, manages, along with her fellow Equal Justice Works AmeriCorps Fellow Nancy Wright, several community-based legal clinics on several topics, including housing advice, job corps, elder outreach and homeless outreach. Together, they recruit law student volunteers from the University of Florida Levin College of Law, train the students for various clinics, and manage all legal research, community presentations and client contact in the clinics. Debra hopes to instill a public service ethic in law students she recruits and trains and is constantly thinking of creative ways to try to accomplish this goal.

After these amazing experiences she knew that she would be committed to legal services throughout her career as an attorney.

"It is great to watch law students become fierce advocates for clients they only met a few minutes before," Ms. Rosenbluth said. "The students learn about the legal issues facing low-income clients in a classroom, but when they have a chance to meet with people facing these issues,the theoretical becomes personal."

Through the program, Equal Justice Works AmeriCorps Fellows are placed at pro bono and legal services organizations across the country to promote public service among law students while developing their own legal and professional skills. Each Equal Justice Works AmeriCorps Fellow collaborates with community legal aid providers and law schools to develop quality pro bono opportunities for law students. As an Equal Justice Works AmeriCorps Fellow, you will learn how to manage projects and people in order to expand access to legal services for people living in poverty.

Equal Justice Works AmeriCorps Fellows engage law students in pro bono activities through a number of strategies:

• In Gainesville, Fla., AmeriCorps Fellows serving with Three Rivers Legal Services recruit and train law students to staff legal clinics in places of worship, shelters and senior centers.
• In western Ohio, AmeriCorps Fellows serving with Advocates for Basic Legal Equality travel across 32 counties to increase the visibility of pro bono work. They work with agencies to create legal clinics in rural areas and meet with local judges to gain their support.
• In the Gulf Coast region, AmeriCorps Fellows continue to help survivors of hurricanes Katrina and Rita navigate a difficult legal system compounded by the natural disasters. in addition to directly serving clients, Fellows in the region manage remote law student volunteer projects and help manage the hundreds of law student volunteers that travel to the region over summer, winter and spring breaks.

For many, becoming an AmeriCorps Fellow is the first step to building a successful career in public interest law. Here are some examples of what program alumni are doing now:

• Executive Director of the Family Law and Social Policy Center, Syracuse University College of Law, Syracuse, N.Y.
• Director of Public Service Initiatives, NALP/PSLawNet, Washington, D.C.
• President and Founder, Jacksonville Legal Clinic Inc., Jacksonville, Fla.
• Director of the Public Interest Law Program, Public Interest Clearinghouse, San Francisco,
• Director of Clinics, Volunteer Lawyers Network, Minneapolis
• Staff attorney positions with legal service agencies across the country

Questions?

If you have questions about the Equal Justice Works AmeriCorps program or any of the positions listed, please contact us at probono@equaljusticeworks.org or call (202) 466-3686.