All posts tagged: Public Interest

Volun-tourism on the Island of Enchantment (Abandonment)

We like to go somewhere warm over the winter break but decided this year that, given the suffering caused by hurricanes, it would have to be where our dollars and time would do some good.  Research led us to Vieques, a beautiful island off of Puerto Rico; and an online community bulletin board hosted by island residents linked us to a host who would rent us an apartment and connect us to daily volunteer work.  What we found was that Puerto Rico, known as “Isla del Encanto,” or “Island of Enchantment,” could instead be called the “Island We Abandoned.” A Christmas day flight to San Juan was barely half-filled, testament to the collapse of the tourism industry.  San Juan International showed little effect of the storm until we passed a destroyed hanger, a skeleton of a building.  The flight to Vieques was more revealing – flying over towns one saw blue-topped home after blue-topped home, the color being the tarps that three months after the storm serve as roofs.  The island is verdant, but some …

Couple Hugging

Hugs I’ve Received, Hugs I’ve Given

A client hugged me last week and I was happy. I still am and am still thinking about it. The man did not really even have to come in for an appointment and I was not really sure why he was there. Over five years, my students and I had represented him in an Supplemental Security Income (SSI) case and had stuck with him. We had finally won with him. He had severe health problems that slowed him but they did not obviously qualify him for benefits. He was often too sick or disorganized to go to his doctor, meaning his medical records were not very supportive. He often missed appointments with us. His fiancé helped him drink, a vice I could absolutely forgive him as he tried to find a way to live with no income in a state with no General Assistance and little other help. Judges and the law were less forgiving. His drinking only made his case harder. But we stuck with him, and eventually convinced a judge that he needed …

Want a Public Interest Job This Summer? The Time to Make That Happen Is Now

There are many reasons to pursue a public interest internship, especially in your 1L summer. For students who are strongly considering careers in the field, it is essential to start building experiences and connections now. Beyond that, public interest jobs often involve experience with real clients, can present great research and writing opportunities, offer a chance to fulfill the public and pro bono service ideals of our profession, and act as a reminder that you came to law school to solve problems for real people, not to take tests and get grades. Many students find it meaningful and fulfilling to have the experience of assisting people who would otherwise find it challenging to navigate the legal system with crucial issues in their lives, or to contribute to making our government and laws work better for the people they affect. But in order to get one of these jobs, you have to act now. PIPS Fair Why? Most public interest employers hire their summer interns now, in late January and February. Many of those hires happen …

Emily Bock

Agent of Change: Why I Empower Those Marginalized by the Criminal Legal System

I have been fortunate to work with many different social justice organizations in my short career, but some of the experiences that have been most dear to me are those that I have had while working with people who are charged with crimes, people who are incarcerated, and people who live with criminal records. I co-founded and currently chair the Temple National Lawyers Guild (NLG) Expungement Project. I coordinate with Community Legal Services of Philadelphia (CLS) to staff intake clinics throughout the city. With my student committee, I recruit, train, and organize law student volunteers to assist the advocates from CLS with their criminal record expungement cases. I also serve as an external coordinator for the Restorative Justice Project at the State Correctional Institution (SCI) at Graterford. In this role, I partner with Haverford College students, faculty, staff, and a committee of brilliant men who are incarcerated at SCI-Graterford. I coordinate volunteers on the “outside,” serve as a liaison between Graterford and the Pennsylvania Office of the Victim Advocate (OVA), and participate in two-day and …