The OPIA Blog

Students who have strong opinions about the recent release of thousands of classified government cables and documents and who might want to or have already commented on them through blog posts, message boards, or other electronic mediums, might want to read this tale.

In what appears to be early signs of an economic recovery for law firms, and perhaps the legal market overall, law schools are seeing signs of an unfreezing of law firm hiring. Although organizations such as NALP are cautious about projecting potential hiring, and it appears the numbers of summer associates being hired isn't quite reaching the level of 3 or 4 years ago, the numbers do seem promising.

Nell Minow, Dean Minow's sister, offers a really interesting perspective on her career as a critic and former lawyer.

Should public interest attorneys get paid bonuses for their work? The answer is apparently yes and no.

Law clinics across the country are coming under fire for what is perceived as an over extension of their role. The state of Maryland is debating a bill that includes a measure that would cut money from its clinic if it doesn't provide sufficient information on its funding and practices. Although this specific legislation is being taken up in Maryland, other states such as Louisiana and Michigan are also tackling the issue. Louisiana, in fact, has already created rules restricting state-funded law school clinics.

The statistics are pretty stark: "In one decade, in part because of the Internet and housing bubbles, salaries for associates at big firms shot to the moon. From 1997 to 2007, the median starting salary at the nation’s largest firms doubled, to $160,000 a year plus bonus, from $80,000, according to the Association for Legal Career Professionals."

In a recent blog post on the Legal Times, the author highlights how law school career placement offices in Washington D.C. are shifting their focus from big firms to public interest work and small/medium-sized firms.

The New York Bar had to retract a recent report on the deferred associates experiences at public interest organizations. The initial report came to the conclusion that most of the deferred associates were unhappy with their placement and experience with public interest attorneys. The unrevised report highlighted a "culture gap" that the deferred associates felt with the organizations they were placed with.

Recent HLS graduate Jim Freeman ('03), and the organization he works for, the Advancement Project, were included in a recent New York Times article about the debate occurring on the zero tolerance policies that have been implemented in many schools across the country. The idea is to punish swiftly and severely, which is often popular among parents, but questioned by administrators and other school officials.

According to this recent NY Times article, an all-too rare but growing partnership between doctors and lawyers has been growing in various parts of the country. The purpose of these medical-legal partnerships? To simultaneously address the serious health concerns of the poor and connect them with legal aid to redress these health issues.

In this recent Washington Post op-ed by Gillian Hadfield, Sidley Austin Visiting Professor of Law at HLS, Hadfield contends that other countries may have it right in the way legal advice is delivered. Rather than solely being provided by attorneys, Hadfield contends that advice can be more effective (and has proven to be more effective in other countries) when it comes from alternate sources.

An internal congressional survey was conducted back in 2009 to look at diversity on Capitol Hill and they shared some surprising (or perhaps not so surprising) statistics: While diversity on the Hill was up, it was up by a paltry 2.5 percent from 2003.

The publication Government Executive recently came out with an article forecasting federal agency employment in 2011.

Yet another post about the declining appeal of a law firm job. Although not offering entirely new insight, it does help bring up the question to many junior associates who are slaving away if the work is worth it. Increasing demands and pressure from partners, declining pay, and even declining esteem are at play when identifying the new issues young lawyers are facing amidst this job market. As the article goes on to explain,

In a fairly dramatic event, the American Law Institute, which created the "intellectual framework" of our capital justice system, walked away from one of its defining projects: finding a intellectual rationale for capital punishment.

A recent survey on student engagement shows that nearly 30 percent of law school graduates are graduating law school with $120,000 in debt. This figure is up 11 percent since 2006. As mentioned in an earlier blog post, the debt factor does not seem to be a huge deterrent in applying to law schools, as law school admissions have admitted seeing a rise in applicants.

It appears that in times of crisis, many lawyers and law firms revisit the main reason why one goes into legal practice: to help the disadvantaged and defend just causes. Every year, The National Law Journal issues the Pro Bono Awards to lawyers doing exemplary pro bono legal work that merits recognition. Although the awards have not been given out just yet, the journal noticed a few positive trends when analyzing the data:

Although humorous, the video does raise some valid questions about the path law school offers. Considered to be a surefire way to a safe and secure career, the market for lawyers is clearly not what it used to be and many of those not graduating from top law schools may be left out in the cold when it comes time to graduate and find a job.

Two U.S. Senators have proposed legislation the Roosevelt Scholars Act as a way to attract top performing students to the federal government. It is being called the "civilian ROTC." Below are the details. The full description of the Roosevelt Scholars Act can be found here.

Legal aid programs in Massachusetts are taking a significant hit. Greater Boston Legal Services, for example, has taken a 15 percent cut to its staff. The Massachusetts Legal Assistance Corporation, the primary financial supporter of local civil legal aid programs around the state, cut its funding for services by 54 percent over the past year. All this while there has been an increase in the demand for assistance in handling housing, health care and child custody issues within the Commonwealth.

The Recorder recently wrote about new money coming into California Legal Aid organizations as well as positive recent developments for the various groups, like balanced budgets.