Legal aid programs are hurting from a reduction in funding from Interest on Lawyer Trust Account Programs and state budget cuts, forcing layoffs and cuts in services.
Legal aid groups across the country are expected to cut their staffs by 20% or more. This comes in lieu of the fact that demand for legal services is up by 30% or more, according to the New York Times.
Connecticut Legal Services might have to cut one third of their 150 legal positions. The $16 million budget for legal services in East Texas is expected to drop to $4 million. And New York Governor David Paterson is proposing a budget that would terminate the state’s $8 million appropriation for legal aid.
The situation will negatively impact third-year law students who are hoping to find jobs in legal aid when they graduate. Nonprofit legal groups often don’t make decisions about hiring until the spring or, earliest, late winter. This forces many students to find public interest jobs until they find out about hiring decisions, according to National Law Journal.
A story in The New York Times describes the lawyer trust account funding as fading due to Federal Reserve interest-rate reductions.
ABA President H. Thomas Wells Jr. said in a statement, “This is an opportune time to seek out [ABA] resources, get involved and make a difference for our practices, our profession and our communities.”
