Connect Rural Communities with Legal Assistance

Rural Summer Legal Corps (RSLC), a partnership between the Legal Services Corporation (LSC) and Equal Justice Works, supports 30 dedicated law students who want to spend their summer serving rural communities. Program participants, called Student Fellows, have the unique opportunity to explore their passion for public interest while gaining valuable legal skills through hands-on experience at LSC-funded organizations.

David Kim, a third-year law student at The University of Maryland Francis King Carey School of Law, served as an RSLC Student Fellow in 2018. During his Fellowship, David worked on a medical-legal partnership at Pine Tree Legal Assistance in Maine, connecting military servicemembers, veterans, and their families in rural communities with legal assistance. He engaged in community outreach and education, developed resources, presented at training sessions, and conducted interviews and legal research on behalf of clients.

“It helps to bring equal representation and justice to all American citizens,” said David Kim, 2018 RSLC Student Fellow. “Not just those who can afford it. Not just those who are in close proximity to bigger cities and metropolitan areas.”

Join David Kim in the fight for equal access to justice! Apply to Rural Summer Legal Corps, by 11:59 p.m. EST on February 11, 2019. For more information about RSLC eligibility and requirements, please visit rurallegalcorps.org/apply.

By Kimberly Barton, 2018 Rural Summer Legal Corps Student Fellow

I spent the past summer participating in the Rural Summer Legal Corps (RSLC), a rural outreach program sponsored by the Legal Services Corporation (LSC) and administered by Equal Justice Works. I worked at Legal Aid of Nebraska’s Grand Island Office with the Raising Effective Advocacy for Crime Victims Health and Safety (REACH) initiative, where I assisted rural victims and survivors of domestic violence and elders who have faced abuse or financial exploitation.

At Legal Aid of Nebraska, my main responsibilities included:

• Providing education outreach to local partners and agencies serving domestic violence victims
• Conducting client intake and interviews, legal research, drafting pleadings, and preparing for and attending court hearings
• Observing and reporting on protection order proceedings in courts in various rural counties

My summer experience has highlighted the need for lawyers who serve low-income clients in rural Nebraska and other rural areas across the country. Legal Aid of Nebraska and similar state legal aid programs have limited resources. A caller who qualifies for free legal services may receive a range of assistance, though full-scale in-court representation for all of one client’s legal issues is rare. Clients are expected to take initiative and be resourceful, as sometimes Legal Aid of Nebraska can only provide self-help information or a referral. This can be challenging for clients, especially when they face a domino effect of legal and personal issues.

For example, a client seeking a protection order against a spouse may later need to file for divorce and resolve custody and child support disputes. There may be related debtor/creditor and bankruptcy issues, property disputes, and criminal matters. This has taught me to think more holistically about what information and advice a client may find useful. It has also given me more patience and understanding when I communicate what services Legal Aid of Nebraska can and cannot provide.

I would absolutely recommend the Rural Summer Legal Corps to others. I’ve had the opportunity to explore a career in civil legal aid and meet tremendous people along the way. I especially enjoyed the conference at the LSC Headquarters in Washington, D.C. before I began my internship. The thoughtful programming gave me the opportunity to connect with like-minded law students and solidify my interest in public service. I look forward to building on this interest in my next two years of law school and beyond.

Kimberly Barton is a law student at the University of Nebraska College of Law in Lincoln, Nebraska.

If you are interested in Kimberly’s experience and want to explore a career in civil legal aid, submit an application to Rural Summer Legal Corps by 11:59 p.m. EST on February 11, 2019. For more information about program eligibility and requirements, please visit rurallegalcorps.org/apply.

The Rural Summer Legal Corps connects passionate public interest law students with civil legal aid organizations to address pressing legal issues facing rural and isolated communities. The program, a partnership between Equal Justice Works and Legal Services Corporation, begins with extensive training that prepares law students for the challenges of serving rural clients, including how to conduct effective outreach and innovative ways to meet with clients living in remote areas. Listen to 2018 Student Fellow Caitlyn McDaniel describe the value of the program and the importance of pursuing wide-ranging service experiences while still in law school.

To apply to Rural Summer Legal Corps, submit an application by 11:59 p.m. EST on February 11, 2019. For more information about RSLC eligibility and requirements, please visit rurallegalcorps.org/apply.

By Emily Guillaume, 2018 Rural Summer Legal Corps Student Fellow

“She sold the chickens. The ducks, too,” I sighed as I relayed the message from our client to my supervisor. My supervisor shook her head. “Those were marital property, right?” I asked. My supervisor nodded. “Yep. Along with the llamas. And if she isn’t letting him see the dog, we’ve definitely got a fight coming.”

So goes a typical conversation in the Lewisburg office of Legal Aid of West Virginia. Divorcing couples bicker over tractors, pigs, and chicken coops. Tenants might complain about gutters filled with snakes or raccoon-infested dumpsters. It’s a bit like a reality show—think “Judge Judy” meets “Duck Dynasty”. But all kidding aside, my experience helping to serve the underserved in this state has been both rewarding and challenging in not only ways I predicted, but also in ways I never could have imagined.

Allow me to be blunt for a second: By almost every standard measure, West Virginia is poor. The per capita income is $24,478; 19.1 percent of the population lives in poverty, including an estimated 91,734 children. West Virginia is also poor in health: 38.1 percent of adults are obese (the highest in the nation), almost a quarter of adults smoke, and overdose deaths from opioid abuse total almost 44 per 100,000 (also the highest in the nation).

But there are plenty of aspects, too often overlooked, wherein West Virginia is decidedly NOT poor. It is not poor in beauty—I have had the privilege of traveling to some spectacular places all over the world, including some of the most pristine forests and mountains. None of those places come close to the jaw-dropping, abundant natural beauty of West Virginia. It is similarly not poor in hospitality. I came to West Virginia for the summer without knowing a soul. Despite their reputation for being skeptical of outsiders, I found West Virginians among the most friendly and gracious I have ever met. I was never not welcomed into the homes of complete strangers for good food and even better conversation.

It is also not poor in resilience. I saw many clients hardened by years of hard, thankless work, poor life decisions, and crippling poverty, sometimes exacerbated by drug or alcohol abuse. Perhaps some of it was their own doing, but much of it was certainly not. Regardless, many of them found their way to us ready to get help and start anew. Too, the state itself is in the midst of reinventing itself—while it’s still infamously known as coal country, many counties are now capitalizing on other natural resources and becoming meccas for outdoor recreation. There’s hope and optimism aplenty.

So yes, there are real problems here. You can find those just about anywhere. But what you can’t find just anywhere are the resources, people, and audacity to fight those problems. Luckily, that’s what I’ve saw at Legal Aid of West Virginia—an organization dedicated to making things better and finding ways to make the ordinary extraordinary.

Emily Guillaume is a law student at Indiana University Maurer School of Law who spent last summer helping to address the access to justice crisis for people living in West Virginia, as part of the Rural Summer Legal Corps.

Create your own story of service, just like Emily! Apply for the Rural Summer Legal Corps today.

Interested in spending your summer putting your legal education to work in a rural community? If you’re a first or second-year law school student, apply to our Rural Summer Legal Corps (RSLC). Each year, Equal Justice Works, alongside the Legal Services Corporation (LSC), supports dedicated law students as they bring legal services to rural and isolated communities throughout the nation.

Rural communities in the United States commonly face shortages of talented lawyers. Often, those living in rural and isolated communities are forced to travel hundreds of miles to obtain legal assistance. The RSLC aims to close the gap in civil legal aid by mobilizing law students to improve access to justice for those people living in rural and isolated areas.

“To me, public interest law is about giving a voice to oppressed, silenced, and forgotten people and places,” says 2018 RSLC Student Fellow Emily Guillaume, addressing her motivation for participating in the program.

At LSC-funded civil legal aid organizations, Student Fellows gain hands-on experience as they complete 300 hours of service within an eight-to ten-week period, while earning a $5,000 stipend. Potential work includes providing direct legal services, performing legal research and writing, and conducting outreach and education on a variety of current legal issues facing rural communities. Additionally, law students have the opportunity to attend a substantive three-day training seminar in Washington, D.C.

To apply, submit an application by 11:59 p.m. EST on February 11, 2019. For more information about RSLC eligibility and requirements, please visit rurallegalcorps.org/apply.

Formed in 2003, the National Advisory Committee (NAC) brings together a diverse group of eight law students and eight law school professionals to serve as Equal Justice Works ambassadors within the law school and legal services communities. NAC members extend the reach of Equal Justice Works initiatives by providing leadership, feedback, and outreach assistance to support the organization’s mission of helping law students transform their passion for public service into a lifelong commitment to equal justice.

NAC members serve two-year terms, and participate on a rolling basis—this year, four students and two law school professionals will join the Committee to replace members who have completed their terms of service. The entire NAC will meet later this year in Washington, D.C., for a strategy session on how best to expand access and knowledge of public interest law in their respective regions.

Newest Members of the 2018-2020 National Advisory Committee: 

Students:

• Midwest Region: Walter Jean-Jacques, Notre Dame Law School
• Northeast Region: Derek Demeri, Rutgers Law School
• Pacific Region: Neema Mohammadizad, The College of Law at John F. Kennedy University
• Southwest Region: Kaylyn Hager, University of Arkansas Little Rock William H. Bowen School of Law

Law School Professionals:

• Mid-Atlantic: Aoife Delargy, The Catholic University of America Columbus School of Law
• Northeast: Carolyn Goodwin, Boston University School of Law

If you are interested in joining the National Advisory Committee or would like more information, please contact [email protected].

Equal Justice Works, the nation’s largest facilitator of opportunities in public interest law, today announced its 2018 Regional Public Interest Award recipients. Each year, the Equal Justice Works National Advisory Committee honors eight law students who have demonstrated commitment to public interest law and pro bono work.

Chosen for their innovation and impact, each of the students selected is recognized for providing outstanding service through law clinics, volunteer work, internships, extracurricular projects, and more. The 2018 Regional Public Interest Award recipients include:

Nida Din
University of Houston Law Center
Southwest Region

Mary Stewart-Holmes
New York Law School
Mid-Atlantic Region

Bryanna Jenkins
DePaul College of Law
Midwest Region

Jasper Katz
Temple University, Beasley School of Law
Northeast Region

Jennifer Mendoza
University of Washington
Mountain Region

Andrew Navratil
Georgia State University College of Law
Southeast Region

Jeremy Thomas
Cumberland School of Law, Samford University
Central Region

Jessica Valadez
UC Hastings College of Law
Pacific Region

Recipients will be presented with a commemorative plaque and a monetary reward of $250.

If you would like more information on how you can serve on your campus, please contact [email protected].

Equal Justice Works, the nation’s largest facilitator of opportunities in public interest law, is currently recruiting legal services organizations in New York to serve as host sites for its New York State Family Security Project (NYSFSP).

Supported by the New York State Commission on National and Community Service (CNCS) and two foundation allies, Carnegie Corporation of New York and the Ford Foundation, the NYSFSP will focus on fostering family security and community education through the delivery of high-quality legal services to underserved and/or low-income immigrant families.

Program participants include 20 full-time Equal Justice Works Fellows and 106 part-time law students. During a one-year term, program participants will serve at select nonprofit legal organizations and serve immigrant families to address barriers in protecting or obtaining lawful citizenship status, lack of planning for possible separation, and other issues related to family unity and stability.

The nonprofit organizations that host Equal Justice Works Fellows and law students must meet several requirements that include providing professional guidance and support, health insurance, and other benefits to all program participants. Host sites are also responsible for Equal Justice Works Legal Fellows and law students complying with all CNCS AmeriCorps Program guidelines, as well as Equal Justice Works AmeriCorps program policies and guidelines.

The NYSFSP presents host sites with a valuable opportunity to build capacity at their organizations, raise awareness of key issues, and expand legal services offered to immigrants and their families.

Below is the current list of host sites, including links to position announcements for Equal Justice Works law student opportunities. These organizations are looking for highly-qualified candidates who are passionate about service and family security to participate in the program.

• Capital District Women’s Bar Association The Legal Project. Inc. – Albany, NY
• Center for Safety and Change – New City, NY
• Cornell University – Ithaca, NY
• CUNY School of Law Foundation, Inc. – Long Island City, NY
• Erie County Bar Association Volunteer Lawyers Project, Inc. – Buffalo, NY
• Journey’s End Refugee Services – Buffalo, NY
• Legal Aid Bureau of Buffalo, Inc. – Buffalo, NY
• The Legal Aid Society of Rochester, NY – Rochester, NY
• Legal Assistance of Western New York, Inc. – Geneva & Jamestown, NY
• The Volunteer Lawyers Project of Onondaga County – Syracuse, NY
• Syracuse University – Syracuse, NY
• Volunteer Legal Services Project of Monroe County, Inc. – Rochester, NY

If your organization is located in New York and is interested in hosting a Equal Justice Works Fellow and a law student, please contact Qudsiya Naqui, Senior Manager, Public Programs at [email protected].