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Equal Justice Works is a Washington, D.C.-based nonprofit organization that focuses on careers in public service for lawyers. Equal Justice Works' stated mission is "to create a just society by mobilizing the next generation of lawyers committed to equal justice." [1]
Founded in 1986 as the National Association for Public Interest Law (NAPIL), the organization works with law schools, law firms, corporate legal departments and nonprofit organizations to provide the training and skills that enable attorneys to provide legal assistance to the poor and other vulnerable populations. [2]
Research has shown that early public interest experience for law students and new lawyers leads to a lifelong commitment to justice, but that debt keeps many law graduates from taking public interest jobs. [3] Equal Justice Works has contributed to the research and advocacy of loan repayment assistance programs and the College Cost Reduction And Access Act of 2007. [4]
One hundred ninety-five law schools (including 189 of the country's 196 American Bar Association-accredited law schools) [5] are members of Equal Justice Works and participate in programs to develop public interest training and opportunities. The organization publishes The E-Guide to Public Service at America's Law Schools, an online resource of public service opportunities, curricula, and financial-aid programs. Equal Justice Works also hosts an annual Conference and Career Fair for employers, job seekers and law school professionals. [6]
Through "Summer Corps"—a partnership between Equal Justice Works and AmeriCorps—350 law students serve at nonprofit legal aid organizations every summer. [7]
"Equal Justice Works Fellowships" is the largest postgraduate legal fellowship program in the United States. [8] The projects proposed by the Fellows are varied and tend to reflect unresolved social and legal issues including immigration, health care and civil liberties. [9] [10]
Equal Justice Works is governed by a board of directors made up of law firm partners, corporate counsel, legal educators, and executives from legal services agencies. The 35-member staff is led by executive director, David Stern, deputy chief executive officer, Susan Gurley, and a management team of four directors at its Washington headquarters.[ citation needed ]
Pro bono publico, usually shortened to pro bono, is a Latin phrase for professional work undertaken voluntarily and without payment.
The Georgetown University Law Center is the law school of Georgetown University, a private research university in Washington, D.C., United States. It was established in 1870 and is the largest law school in the United States by enrollment, with over 2000 students. It frequently receives the most full-time applications of any other law school in the United States.
Loyola Law School is the law school of Loyola Marymount University, a private Catholic university in Los Angeles, California. Loyola was established in 1920.
The New York University School of Law is the law school of New York University, a private research university in New York City. Established in 1835, it is the oldest law school in New York City and the oldest surviving law school in New York State. Located in Greenwich Village in Lower Manhattan, NYU Law offers J.D., LL.M., and J.S.D. degrees in law.
New York Law School (NYLS) is a private law school in Tribeca, New York City. NYLS has a full-time day program and a part-time evening program. NYLS's faculty includes more than 50 full-time and over 100 adjunct professors. Notable faculty members include Penelope Andrews and Lenni Benson, founder of the Safe Passage Project.
City Year is an American education nonprofit organization founded in 1988. The organization partners with public schools in 29 high-need communities across the US and through international affiliates in the UK and Johannesburg, South Africa. City Year teams are made up of 18 to 24 year olds, who provide student, classroom, and whole school support, intended to help students stay in school and on track to graduate high school. City Year is a member of the AmeriCorps national service network, and is supported by the Corporation for National and Community Service, school district partnerships, and private philanthropy from corporations, foundations and individuals.
The American University Washington College of Law is the law school of American University, a private research university in Washington, D.C. It is located on the western side of Tenley Circle in the Tenleytown section of northwest Washington, D.C. The school is accredited by the American Bar Association and a member of the AALS.
Pro Bono Net is a US nonprofit organization based in New York City and San Francisco. The organization works in close partnership with nonprofit legal aid organizations across the United States and Canada, to increase access to justice for the millions of poor people who face legal problems every year without help from a lawyer. It does this by (i) supporting the innovative and effective use of technology by the nonprofit legal sector, (ii) increasing participation by volunteers, and (iii) facilitating collaborations among nonprofit legal organizations and advocates working on similar issues or in the same region. Founded in 1998 with a grant from the Open Society Institute, Pro Bono Net has developed a broad base of support from foundations, law firms, corporate sponsors and nonprofit partners alike, to build web platforms that offer powerful and sophisticated online tools to pro bono and legal aid advocates, and to provide critical legal information and assistance directly to the public. Its model has been adopted in 30 states and regions, reaching approximately two-thirds of the poverty population and lawyers in the United States.
AmeriCorps is an independent agency of the United States government that engages more than five million Americans in service through a variety of stipended volunteer work programs in many sectors. These programs include AmeriCorps VISTA, AmeriCorps NCCC, AmeriCorps State and National, AmeriCorps Seniors, the Volunteer Generation Fund, and other national service initiatives. The agency's mission is "to improve lives, strengthen communities, and foster civic engagement through service and volunteering." It was created by the National and Community Service Trust Act of 1993. In September 2020, the agency rebranded itself as AmeriCorps, although its official name is unchanged.
The Chicago Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights is a consortium of American law firms in Chicago that provides legal services in civil rights cases
A for-profit corporation is an organization which aims to earn profit through its operations and is concerned with its own interests, rather than the interests of the public.
Tulane University Law School is the law school of Tulane University. It is located on Tulane's Uptown campus in New Orleans, Louisiana. Established in 1847, it is the 12th oldest law school in the United States.
CaliforniaVolunteers is the state agency charged with increasing the number and impact of Californians engaged in service and volunteering.
New York Lawyers for the Public Interest, Inc. is a non-profit civil rights law firm located in New York City, specializing in the areas of disability rights, access to health care and environmental justice.
David Stern was Executive Director of Equal Justice Works, a national nonprofit organization based in Washington, DC working to create a just society by mobilizing the next generation of lawyers committed to equal justice. He is former president of the Stern Family Fund, a private foundation that supported policy-oriented government and corporate accountability projects.
A legislative assistant (LA), legislative analyst, legislative research assistant, or legislative associate, is a person who works for a legislator as a legislative staffer in a semi-political partisan capacity, in a non-partisan capacity at a think tank, research library, law library, law firm, trade associations, consulting firm or non-profit organization, or at a government agency as a legislative affairs professional, or in the government relations, regulatory affairs, public procurement (PP), public-private partnership (P3), and business-to-government (B2G) industries in service of the employing organization by monitoring pending legislation, conducting research, legislative analysis, legislative research, legal research, policy analysis, drafting legislation, giving advice and counsel, making recommendations, and performing some secretarial duties. There is a diverse array of work experiences attainable within the legislative assistance, legislative affairs, and legislative relations field, ranging between internship, entry-level, associate, junior, mid-senior, and senior level positions.
Alan Khazei is an American social entrepreneur. He served as chief executive officer of City Year, an AmeriCorps national service program he co-founded with Michael Brown, his friend and roommate at Harvard College and Harvard Law School.
A cause lawyer, also known as a public interest lawyer or social lawyer, is a lawyer dedicated to the usage of law for the promotion of social change to address a cause. Cause lawyering is commonly described as a practice of "lawyering for the good" or using law to empower members of the weaker layers of society. It may or may not be performed pro bono. Cause lawyering is frequently practiced by individual lawyers or lawyers employed by associations that aim to supply a public service to complement state-provided legal aid.
Public interest law refers to legal practices undertaken to help poor, marginalized, or under-represented people, or to effect change in social policies in the public interest, on 'not for profit' terms, often in the fields of civil rights, civil liberties, religious liberty, human rights, women's rights, consumer rights, environmental protection, and so on.
Equal Justice Under Law is an American civil rights impact litigation nonprofit based in Washington, D.C., which accepts cases on a national basis. The organization was founded in 2014 by Alec Karakatsanis and Phil Telfeyan, two 2008 Harvard Law School graduates. The mission of Equal Justice Under Law is to achieve equality in the criminal system and break cycles of poverty for those involved with the legal system. The organization works on a range of issues, including money bail, fees for expungement, and suspension of driver's licenses. Equal Justice Under Law and its small team of lawyers seek to drive change in the legal system through impact litigation and class action lawsuits. The firm's work has received national attention in news outlets including The New York Times, The Washington Post, National Public Radio, USA Today, the San Francisco Chronicle, the Detroit Free Press, in addition to strong local coverage of its lawsuits.