But while commitment to public interest law is strong, finding the means to financially survive a career with less earning potential, while carrying the burden of student loans, can be challenging. The Lewis & Clark Law School Loan Repayment Assistance Program (LRAP)  is designed to help alumni doing public interest work pay down their debt. Now in its 10th year, the program has recently grown to help more graduates qualify to cover their debt.

“We recognize that supporting public interest lawyers enriches the legal field as a whole,” said William Penn, public interest law coordinator. “With LRAP assistance to graduates, nonprofits, and government agencies serving the under-represented can hire and retain top quality lawyers who might otherwise be unable to afford working in the sector.”

Hear Lewis & Clark law school student and PILP grant recipient Ginger Beck talk about her work on behalf of the under-served.

What is public interest law?

Public interest law is law practiced on behalf of underrepresented people like those living below the poverty line, or underrepresented causes like minority rights, civil liberties, and religious expression.  Public interest lawyers work at non-profits and in government, at public defenders offices, legal aid offices, and environmental organizations. There is no single political ideology associated with public interest work, just belief in the democratic virtue that the legal system works best for everybody when no one is left without access to the courts.  LRAP recipients have worked across the country in public defender offices, donor-supported organizations, government-supported organizations, and faith-based organizations.  Public service is a broader category that includes public interest law, other government work, and work with the courts.

Strong commitment to serving public among students, alumni allows program expansion

Need for the loan repayment program is particularly strong at Lewis & Clark Law School. For the class of 2007, 11.6 percent of students started at public interest organizations, 16.3 percent started in government positions, and 7.3 percent started at judicial clerkships.  Together, that is 35.2 percent of recent alumni starting in what is commonly called public service careers.  With similar numbers for the class of 2006, Lewis & Clark Law School had the fifth-highest percentage of students entering public interest careers, and the sixth highest entering public service careers in the nation, according to Equal Justice Works E-Guide to Law Schools.

In 2006, students passed a student-initiated effort to impose an annual student fee to help pay for LRAP. Of the 86 schools that reported having a loan repayment program, only five other school programs are student-supported. As a result of the student fee, the law school can help more graduates in the public sector by lifting the income cap and the number of years of eligibility.

“Students from the Public Interest Law Project brought the student fee idea to their peers and even for those not entering the public service sector, there was strong support,” said Penn. “I think this effort on behalf of the students demonstrates how unique this law school community is.”

How the program benefits students and the public

Since the program started, 35 graduates have been helped with their loan payments and nearly a quarter of a million dollars have been distributed. Law school graduates working in the public service field earning less than $45,000 are eligible to apply up to five years after graduating. In 2008, the program was able to cover 100 percent of all program recipients’ debt payments. The average award last year was nearly $8,000 per recipient.

“We strive to cover up to 100 percent of a graduate’s law school debt burden as long as funds are available,” Penn said. “This is rare, since other schools often have an award cap.”

LRAP can make the difference between whether or not a law school graduate can afford to work on behalf of the public—and whether or not public service organizations can access legal services.

“To a public interest-minded law graduate with sizeable loan debt, a non-profit salary may not be enough to pay the bills, but it is enough to make a person face reality:  modern life has practical limits that compete with principled ideals,” said Brett Brownscombe, Conservation Director at Oregon Trout. “For me, LRAP meant that I could start my legal career representing a group that had never before hired an attorney on chronic public land conservation needs in rural Oregon.”

Other resources for law students pursuing public interest careers add up to tremendous savings

Presently, there are two recently created federal loan repayment programs for graduates:

1. Starting in July 2009, the Income-Based Repayment (IBR) program can limit a graduate’s student loan payments on federal loans (Stafford, Perkins, Grad Plus) to 15 percent of their disposable income.
2. If a graduate consolidates with Federal Direct Lending, makes their IBR payments, and works in a qualifying nonprofit or government position for a total of 10 years, the remainder of their loans is forgiven.

Learn more at at finaid.org and at www.equaljusticeworks.org.

Penn pointed out that it is possible that a Lewis & Clark Law School student who pursues public interest law could wind up having all of their loans covered.  Because Grad Plus loans qualify and can cover the remainder of tuition and living expenses after Perkins and Stafford loans, it is possible for graduates to get through law school on 100 percent loans that qualify.

“In theory, a graduate could take a public service job after law school, get IBR set up, and receive an LRAP that could cover their loan payments for five years while they work that public service position. Then, after the LRAP period ran out, pay just 15 percent of their disposable income to loans for five additional years and end up free of law school loans with relatively very little money out of pocket.”

“Our moot court teams performed magnificently against tough competitors, and we are equally proud of our closing argument competitors,” said Pamela Frasch, executive director of the Center for Animal Law Studies. “Judges went out of their way to commended our students for being so well-prepared and articulate.”

Bryan Telegin and Carey Whitehead advanced to the final round of the Appellate Moot Court Competition and won the prize for Best Respondent Brief.

Annmarie Robustelli advanced to become one of only four finalists in the Closing Argument Competition.

“Our coaches, Kathy Hessler and Pamela Frasch, spent an enormous amount of time helping us develop our arguments and understand the finer points of the problem,” Telegin said. “As well, many Lewis & Clark faculty and staff volunteered to coach our rounds and pushed us very hard. I am willing to bet that no other team had as much community-wide involvement leading up to the competition.”

In preparing for the competition, students must have a thorough understanding of the law and the ability to articulate the long-term ramifications of applying a particular ruling.
They also learn different techniques of persuasion than those used when arguing to a jury. While a jury may be persuaded by passion and may ignore the law altogether, an appellate tribunal is primarily motivated by factors such as policy considerations and strong legal precedent.

“The competition gave me an incredible opportunity to enhance my advocacy skills,” Robustelli said. “Not only did I gain a deeper understanding of the law and the judicial process, but the feedback I received from the judges was invaluable.”

In 2008, Lewis & Clark took the championship in the National Center for Animal Law’s National Animal Advocacy Moot Court Competition. Erin Smith and Lauren Goldberg won the competition, with Smith receiving the Best Oralist award. PEAC clinical professor Allison LaPlante served as lead coach for the animal law moot court teams.

In this video, Kathy Hessler, director and clinical professor of the Animal Law Clinic, discusses the ways Lewis & Clark students prepared for this year’s National Animal Law Competition.

“The size of these grants speaks volumes about our efforts to help victims of crime,” said Meg Garvin, executive director of NCVLI. “It will allow us to increase the capacity of our national network by 50 percent. It means that every day an additional 200 victims of crime may be able to receive free legal help.”

Four new clinics

The U.S. Department of Justice Office for Victims of Crime has awarded NCVLI $4.2 million to support its network of eight legal clinics and allow them to open new clinics in four more jurisdictions. The clinics provide free legal services to crime victims in state and federal criminal cases.

Each clinic serves approximately 50 victims at any given time, helping them access a judicial system that is not designed to assist crime victims through the process. Since launching in 2004, NCVLI’s network of clinics has represented more than 1,000 crime victims in criminal courts and trained more than 15,000 criminal justice professionals.

The clinic network currently includes clinics in Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, Maryland, New Jersey, New Mexico, South Carolina and Utah. NCVLI will issue a request for proposals in December to begin the process of identifying the new states in which to launch clinics.

“The Office for Victims of Crime has been critical to our launch and our growth over the last six years,” Garvin said. “There are thousands of crime victims struggling with the judicial process—many of them unable to afford legal assistance and our ongoing relationship is helping hundreds of victims seek justice and become survivors.”

Violence against women

A two-year grant from the Department of Justice Office on Violence Against Women totaling $150,000 will focus on the rights of victims of domestic violence, sexual assault, stalking and dating violence. NCVLI will provide training and assistance to agencies that help these victims.

“Because the Violence Against Women Act was only recently amended to allow for assistance to these victims in criminal courts—as opposed to civil courts—this is a tremendous opportunity to fill a gap in services for these victims and to advance victims’ rights,” Garvin pointed out.

Leading animal law experts will convene at the 16th annual Animal Law Conference at Lewis & Clark Law School on Oct. 17-19 to explore the interconnections between domestic and international animal law and a broad array of issues such as religion, farming, environmentalism, and homeland security. The conference, titled One Earth: Globalism & Animal Law, has sold out with more than 200 lawyers, law students and animal advocates registered to attend from across the United States, Europe, New Zealand, Canada, Japan and Hong Kong.

“Animal law intersects with many different fields of law, and our conference offerings have grown over these many years to reflect that,” said Pamela Frasch, executive director of Lewis & Clark Law School’s Center for Animal Law Studies, one of the conference organizers. “As this specialty takes root, experts from fields as diverse as environmental law and immigration law recognize the need to pay greater attention to animal law both in a domestic and international setting.”

Joyce Tischler will deliver the keynote address on Oct. 18, offering a perspective of the past, present, and future trends in animal law. She is the co-founder and general counsel of the Animal Legal Defense Fund, a non-profit law organization that works to advance animals’ interests through the legal system and a sponsor of the conference.

Other speaker highlights include:
•    Dr. Paul Waldau, director, Center for Public Policy and Animals at the Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine at Tufts University
•    Steven Wise, author and founder/director of the Center for Expansion of Fundamental Rights
•    Peter Sankoff, professor of law, University of Auckland, New Zealand
•    Kathy Hessler, clinical professor of law, Lewis & Clark Law School

Megan Lemire, Lewis & Clark law student and conference organizer representing co-host Student Animal Legal Defense Fund, said the conference offers formal and informal opportunities for experts and practitioners to share ideas and strengthen the growing network among professionals in the field.

“This conference is the oldest animal law conference in the world, so it has come to represent the who’s who of animal law experts and advocates,” Lemire said. “Whether you are just starting your career in animal advocacy or are a veteran of animal law, this is a unique opportunity to learn, network, and find innovative approaches in a quickly evolving area of the law.”

Visit the Center for Animal Law Studies for a schedule of events, waitlist registration information and downloadable podcasts after the conference.

“Lewis & Clark Law School’s partnership with the CDLC to create this practicum is unique throughout the nation,” said Lisa LeSage, Associate Dean and Director, Business Law Programs. “No other law school has such a partnership which is mutually beneficial for the community and our students. Community nonprofits benefit from the provision of free, much-needed legal services and law students gain practical, hands-on experience in transactional law that they would not otherwise receive.”

Under the direction of experienced and highly skilled attorneys, students assist clients with a multitude of business transactions, including financing, mergers and acquisitions, real estate, land use, tax, human resources and general corporate legal issues.. Students have the opportunity to participate in client meetings, corporate board meetings, and in drafting business and legal documents.

Since its inception in 2000, the CDLC has assisted in the development of nearly 3,000 units of affordable housing and nine community facilities, and provided training to over 750 board and staff members of community-based organizations. By doubling the number of nonprofits and community development corporations the CDLC can serve, the legal clinic conservatively projects that this grant will benefit 18,000 individuals over the next three years.

About the Collins Foundation
The Collins Foundation, an independent private foundation, was created by Truman W. Collins and other members of the family of E. S. Collins. The foundation exists to give greater expression to humanitarian endeavors in the state of Oregon and to assist in improving the quality of life for Oregonians.

Garvin has worked on crime victims’ rights for over 5 years, helping to grow this area of law and develop the national movement.

“We’ve come a long way in educating the public about the challenges victims of crime face in the judicial process,” Garvin said. “Our federal government and states have made great strides in developing legal safeguards for victims, but we still have a lot of work to do to ensure victims understand their rights and that the system affords those rights. I’m proud to be able to continue this important work to advance justice.”

What NCVLI does
NCVLI promotes balance and fairness in the justice system through crime-victim-centered legal advocacy, education, and resource sharing. NCVLI provides legal technical assistance to attorneys and advocates of victims and educates lawyers, judges, law students, victims’ advocates, the law enforcement community, and the public about victims’ rights. NCVLI also administers federal grants to eight clinics across the nation that offer pro bono legal help for victims of sexual assault, homicide, domestic violence, fraud, and more.

Over the past four years alone, NCVLI’s clinics have represented more than 735 victims, made nearly 1,000 court appearances, and filed over 500 documents on behalf of victims. Over the same time period, NCVLI’s headquarters office has responded to nearly 2,000 requests for legal technical assistance and trained over 12,000 people in victims’ rights.

Crime victims’ rights defined
Seventeen states have no victims’ rights amendment to their constitutions. Even in the 33 states that have made rights for crime victims constitutional, victims and criminal justice professionals often do not know the rights exist, let alone whether those rights are routinely asserted and enforced in criminal courts.

Rights that are enforceable afford victims critical information such as timely notification of upcoming hearings and proceedings involving their case, and also provide victims participatory status, including the right to be present in the courtroom to watch the proceedings, the right to confer with the prosecutor, the right to protection from the accused and those acting on behalf of the accused, the right to be heard at sentencing following the conviction of their offender, and the right to restitution.

“We work on behalf of victims who are being left in the dark about their cases,” Garvin said. “Victims are often uninformed about the investigation, the judicial process, and parole and probation hearings of convicted perpetrators. To achieve justice, victims must be an integral part of the process, just as the defendant, the prosecutor, the judge, and law enforcement are each integral to the criminal justice system.”

Garvin has a B.A. from the University of Puget Sound, an M.A. in Communication Studies with an emphasis in rhetorical theory from the University of Iowa, and a J.D. from the University of Minnesota. Learn more about her legal work and achievements and NCVLI.

The SBLC’s mission is to provide low- or no-cost business transactional legal assistance to small and emerging businesses, primarily those owned by women, minorities, and recent immigrants.
Since its inception in October 2006, the SBLC has served approximately 136 clients, 72 percent of which were minority- or women-owned businesses, on more than 274 legal matters. Thanks to the Murdock grant, that number will grow significantly.

“This grant is critical to our mission to build capacity,” said Associate Dean and Director of Business Law Programs Lisa LeSage. “It will allow us to recruit additional pro bono attorneys, expand outreach resources, and engage more clinical interns, thus increasing the number of small businesses we serve.”

Maggie Finnerty, who has been the SBLC’s sole clinical professor since its launch, was recently promoted to the new executive director position. The SBLC will now be able to hire a new clinical law professor, who will focus on working with student-interns enrolled in the course.  While Finnerty will continue to work with a few student-interns, as executive director she will be able to perform even more community outreach to entities focused on serving the needs of women- and minority-entrepreneurs, such as small business development centers and other business incubators, as well as law firms and bar associations in the Portland area.

Read a profile of SBLC in the Lewis & Clark Chronicle.

“We’re thrilled to receive this honor once again,” said Robert Klonoff, dean of the law school. “Our faculty and students offer the very best to the public and private sectors, as well as the judiciary, in the way of innovative environmental policies and programs to address one of the most critical and pressing issues of our time.”

Lewis & Clark Law School has served as a leader in the field of environmental law since it founded the program in 1970, the first of its kind in the country. In addition to its environmental law curriculum, the law school offers students hands-on opportunities to put their coursework into practice through one of its three clinical programs: the Pacific Environmental Advocacy Center (PEAC), International Environmental Law Project, and Animal Law Clinic.

Beyond the educational value to students, the clinics develop persuasive legal strategies to affect environmental policies and how federal, state and local agencies carry them out. PEAC, named the “winningest” clinic in the country in 2007 by National Jurist, provides law students the opportunity to work on important environmental cases.

“Before coming to Lewis & Clark, I hardly knew anyone outside my local environmental community,” said Katie Strong, a law student who, through PEAC legal action, helped successfully argue for the reinstatement of Endangered Species Act protections for the Sonoran eagle population. “Now, I have connections with attorneys and environmental advocates across the country.”

The highly competitive environmental and animal law moot court programs offer students the opportunity to practice legal research skills, write briefs, and deliver oral arguments. Lewis & Clark moot court teams have won the National Center for Animal Law Moot Court Championship two years in a row and the Pace National Environmental Moot Court Championship five times in the past 15 years.

The law school also boasts seven environmental organizations or student-driven projects, such the Public Interest Law Project and the Northwest Environmental Defense Center, which are designed to enrich students’ educational experience and serve the greater community.

“The opportunities we offer outside the classroom are incredibly valuable,” said Janice Weis, associate dean and director of the environmental and natural resources law program. “Students are learning from each other, working closely with faculty on real cases, and engaging Portland organizations on projects that make this city a better place. Collectively, these experiences make for an outstanding educational program and a tight-knit community.”

In addition to the first place finish in the environmental law field, the legal writing program ranked 18, the intellectual property program ranked 22, and the law school jumped from 82 to 73 out of 195 American Bar Association-approved law schools in the country.

Ryan and Misty Painter, along with their two young daughters, are devastated by the loss of their family pet, who broke her tether and escaped their yard. According to attorneys at the Animal Law Clinic, when the Painters discovered Kalua, her tether was attached to Slape’s fence.

“It is unclear why someone would shoot a dog who is tethered to a fence. Whether Kalua’s tether got caught in the fence, or whether someone tied it there is unknown. In either case, a tethered dog presents no immediate danger,” said Laura Ireland Moore, the Painters’ attorney at Animal Law Clinic.

The Painters encouraged the Columbia County District Attorneys office to pursue the appropriate animal abuse charges, but nine months later the office has not acted. The Painters are pursuing civil damages for the special value for their dog along with claims for loss of companionship and emotional distress.

“We hope that bringing this case will highlight the serious nature of animal abuse crimes,” says Misty Painter. “Kalua suffered so much that night and we have to do something for her. Without the DA acting, we are only left with the option to file a lawsuit to recognize our loss and her suffering.”

The National Center for Animal Law, based at Lewis & Clark Law School in Portland, Ore., trains and supports animal law students in order to further the field of animal law and promote legal protections for animals.

The center encourages and develops practical trainings and resources recognizing that the present generation of students will become litigators, prosecutors and judges; executive directors, staff and board members of non-profit organizations; and lobbyists and legislators creating stronger legal protections for animals. Law students are the voice of the future for animals in the legal system, and the National Center for Animal Law strengthens this voice by fostering curriculum developments; hosting conferences, competitions and trainings; providing financial support for animal law students; and developing resources for students pursuing careers in, and involving animal law. The Animal Law Clinic provides legal services in animal protection cases.

Lewis & Clark Law School is located at 10015 S.W. Terwilliger Blvd. For more information, call 503-768-6849.