Public Works

Public Service Interview Week – Update No. 3

by ANDREW BROADDUS

Students participating in the 2010 Public Service Interview Week, please note the following important information:

Accepting or Declining Interviews: Applicants are now able to see if they have been selected for interviews on Symplicity.  Please refer to our previous postings on how to accept or decline interviews.  Remember that the deadline for accepting or declining interviews is January 28 at 11:59pm.  Students who have already accepted offers for employment: given the challenging job market, we ask students who have already secured positions to please decline their Public Service Interview Week interviews to allow room for students who are still seeking.

Final Interview Schedules:  Once the deadline for accepting or declining interviews has passed, we will begin creating final interview schedules which will be available for review on Wednesday, February 3. Please be sure to review your scheduled interviews carefully. 

Continue reading update No. 3 after the jump

Virginia Public Interest Law Association (PILA) Peer Resume Review

By YARED GETACHEW

The pilot PILA peer resume review program was launched by PILA and the Public Service Center last semester to encourage first year students to take advantage of the vast repository of knowledge available at the Law School and to help forge strong mentoring relationships between first and upper class students. (Read more about the PILA Mentor/Mentee Program here).

In early fall, my colleague Amanda Yale and I met with several PILA volunteers and went over the nuts and bolts of the resume creation and critique process.  Based on reports I received from first year students, the peer review program has proved highly successful, allowing first years to obtain not only helpful initial  feedback on their documents, but also, the opportunity to learn about various public interest employers and the experiential and educational benefits they offer.

PILA will continue the peer review program this semester during two separate sessions in advance of  Public Service Interview week.  The review sessions will be held January 26-28 and February 1-4 in the study rooms located in the Law School Library (Withers Brown 238C/B). A sign up sheet is available in Sara Wood's box.

Much credit for the success of this program goes to Sara Wood, Erin Crowgey, Kristin Weissinger, and Susan Edwards who organized the training and review sessions, and to all students who participated in the review sessions - Emily Higgs, Tommy Krepp, Dan Perell, Chris Mccoy, Mike Wakefield, Kasey Levit, Julia Snyder, Rajat Rana, Troy Lieberman, Elspeth England, Ashley Wilkinson, and Melanie Smith.  Thank you for your service to the Law School community.

Public Service Interview Week - Update No. 2

By ANDREW BROADDUS

The Public Service Center has been working with employers in the last several weeks to make sure that we continue to provide them a smooth and efficient recruiting experience at Virginia. Thank you for complying with all of our requests to date.  Please take a moment to review two important updates below.

 Additional Employers

• Two additional employers have agreed to participate in Public Service Interview Week: Foley & Lardner/Just Neighbors and Fairfax Public Defenders Office.  Both employers will attend Interview Week on Thursday, February 11.

 

• If you submit an application to the employers, please follow the steps outlined in our previous post with the only change being that you will select "2010 Public Service Interview Week - Supplemental Session" as the "Session."  You need to request bids for these employers by Sunday, January 24, at 10:00pm.

Accepting and Declining Interviews: Beginning on January 27, students will be able to see if they have been selected for interviews. To review your invitations and accept or decline interviews, please do the following: 

More on how to accept and decline interviews after the jump.

Post-graduate Fellowships Presentation: February 8, 2010

by YARED GETACHEW

Project-based public interest fellowships offer graduating law students an opportunity to pursue the job of their dreams.  Created through a joint effort between a sponsoring legal organization and the applicant, projects generally involve the provision of legal services to those in need. Fellowships also offer immediate and intensive exposure to the practice of public interest law.  They are awarded on the basis of the strength of the proposed project, demonstrated commitment to public service, and personal attributes.

On February 8, 2010, at 12:30 PM, in SL258, three current fellows - (featured left to right above) - Cary  Brege '08 (EJW), Amy Woolard '08 (Powell), and Rebecca Vallas '09 (Skadden), will join me to discuss the nuts and bolts of the fellowship application process. The event is open to all students. Please come with your questions.

UPDATE (February 8): Tim Freilich, 1999 Skadden Fellow, and currently Director of the Immigration Advocacy  Program at the Legal Aid Justice Center, will fill in for Rebecca Vallas who was not able to travel from Philadelphia due to the snowstorm. I regret Becca will not be able to join us for this event but I am working on getting her to give a talk about advocacy in civil legal services.  More on this soon.

Virginia Law Conference: 50 Years After the Sit Ins

by YARED GETACHEW

Sponsored by the Mid-Atlantic People of Color Legal Scholarship Conference (MAPOC), the Virginia Journal  of Social Policy & the Law, and the University of Virginia School of Law Center for the Study of Race and Law, the conference features several keynote speakers (Julian Bond, Reverend Charles Sherrod, Phoebe Haddon, and Henry Chambers), works-in-progress, panels discussions, roundtables, and a publication opportunity. See here for a full schedule of the program and registration fees. Note: Students may attend the panels and works-in-progress for free. (The full cost of attendance for students, including keynote lunches, is $25.00).

Virginia Collaborative Professionals: Public Education Video Contest

by YARED GETACHEW

Virginia Collaborative Professionals (VaCP), a nonprofit association of attorneys, mental health and  financial experts, is seeking online videos that highlight the advantages of using the collaborative process in divorce rather than the more traditional adversarial court-based approach. Videos may be created by an individual or a team. The deadline for submission is March 31, 2010. Prizes will be awarded to the top four videos: $1,000 for first place, $300 for second-place, $200 for third place, and $100 for the "Peoples’ Choice" award.

Public Interest Law Conference at UGA Law

The 5th annual Working in the Public Interest Law Conference (WIPI) organized by the University of Georgia  School of Law will be held February 26-27, 2010. The event features speakers, networking receptions, and panel discussions on a range of public interest issues. Attendance is free for all students and faculty. Additional information on the conference is available on the WIPI site.

Public Policy Handbook 2010-2011

The University of Arizona James E. Rogers College of Law recently published the 2010-11 Public Policy Handbook featuring more than one hundred internship and fellowship programs for law students and recent graduates. 

The handbook includes two tables: one provides a list of agencies, eligibility, application deadlines, and information on funding.  Another directs applicants to specific programs based on subject matter or issue(s) undertaken by the organizations.

The online version of the handbook is available on the Public Service Center's Employment Resources page here (LawWeb sign-in required).

BLSA Celebrates Martin Luther King, Jr. Day Through Service

The University of Virginia School of Law's Black Law Student Association (BLSA) celebrated the civil rights leader's legacy through service today. The students served lunch and dinner at the Charlottesville Salvation Army Soup Kitchen.  The Charlottesville Corps of The Salvation Army has served the community for ninety years, providing those in need with hot meals and free lodging for the night.  

Several students volunteered during the lunch and dinner shifts.  Featured below are a few - second years Jeree Harris, Estelle Hebron-James, Reba Medoza, and Kwabena Akowuah.

Honoring Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

The Mortimer Caplin Public Service Center honors today the life and legacy of Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. (January 15, 1929 - April 4, 1968) whose work to secure civil and human rights for all Americans is an inspiration to many, especially to those who dedicate their lives to public service.