Division for Public Services

Throughout its history, one of the goals of the American Bar Association has been to apply the knowledge and experience of the legal profession to promotion of the public good. This is the overriding mission of the ABA's Division for Public Services, an Association program division providing staff support and expertise for attorney-sponsored programs and activities that lend focus, voice and visibility to the Association's public services role.

Nine membership groups carry out the work of this Division:

Through their programs, the Association studies important legal issues affecting society and formulates remedial responses ranging from policy positions to demonstration projects, model legislation, technical assistance, videotapes, clearinghouses, public education initiatives, working conferences and numerous publications. These activities are advanced with an annual budget of over $3 million, much of which is derived from gifts and grants to the Association's Fund for Justice and Education. The members who direct these endeavors are primarily, but not exclusively, lawyer members of the ABA. They include distinguished legal scholars, legislators, judges, lawyers in the public interest community, private firm practitioners, corporate and government analysts, health and social work professionals, scientists, and economists.

Division for Public Services 2009 - 2010 Clerkships

The Division offers two Clerkship opportunities:

The first is a ten-week Spring/Summer Clerkship open by competition, reviewed on a rolling basis and offering students entering into their second or third year at an ABA-accredited law school the opportunity to design and complete a legal research and writing project in substantive areas of Division concern. If of acceptable quality, the Division may publish the resultant monograph. Applicants must be members of the ABA Law Student Division and may join at http://www.abanet.org/lsd/home.html.

The second is a Fall/Winter Clerkship and typically involves conducting project research and writing; developing information for directories and other databases; coordinating survey development, distribution and results; or editing manuscripts for publication. Applicants may be undergraduate or law school students depending on project need.

2009-2010 Clerkship Flyer
Shanda Moyers, a 3L at Stetson University School of Law, was the winner of the 2007-2008 PSD Clerkship. Shanda's research focused on the small segment of the long-term homeless population with the most pronounced barriers to self-sufficiency, primarily mental health and/or substance abuse issues. Her research evaluated the effectiveness of legislation and the use of the criminal justice system in combating street homelessness in comparison with the effectiveness of measures employing outreach and the Housing First model.
2005 Winner of the PSD Summer Internship
Criminal Responsibility and Multiple Personality Defendants, a monograph produced by our 1997 Internship winner,
Ms. Sabra Owens.
Article by 2005 Winner, Dr. Andrea Blau, Mental & Physical Disability Reporter, Vol. 30, Issue 1

For information about the Clerkships and how to apply, please call 202/662-1691 or email cccoleman@staff.abanet.org.

Also, see our article in the September issue of the ABA Law Student Division's Student Lawyer magazine. Visit the ABA Law Student Division at http://www.abanet.org/lsd/home.html.

Contact Us

For more information about the Division for Public Services, please contact us at:

American Bar Association
Division for Public Services
740 15^th Street, NW
Washington, DC 20005-1022
202/662-1694 • 202/638-3844 (fax)
Email: pubservices@abanet.org

Public Service News

Commission on Mental and Physical Disability Law will hold its Second National Conference on the Employment of Lawyers with Disabilities, on June 15-16, 2009 in Washington, DC. Click here for more information.
The 2009 National Security Writing Competition, Redefining Liberty in the 21^st Century, is open to all law students. Deadline for submission is August 15, 2009. Winner will receive a cash prize and a free registration to the 2009 National Security Law Conference. Click here for competition guidelines.
The 2008 winner of the ABA Law and National Security Writing Competition is Sarah Miller, Harvard Law School, Class of 2009. Her paper Covert Action and the War on Terror: Reconciling Secrecy and Public Legitimacy, will be published in our National Security Law Report. Many thanks to all those who submitted papers through this competition. We were very pleased with the depth and variety of topics presented. Click here to read the 2008 winning paper.
Lawyers Working to End Homelessness is a newly published book produced by the ABA's Commission on Homelessness and Poverty. For more information, please click here.
The ABA Commission on Immigration is pleased to offer Standards for the Custody, Placement and Care; Legal Representation; and Adjudication of Unaccompanied Alien Children in the United States. To order a copy, click here. For more information, visit the Commision's website.

Awards

The Standing Committee on Environmental Law and the Section of Environment, Energy, and Resources seek to recognize individuals or organizations who have distinguished themselves in environmental law and policy, contributing significant leadership in improving the substance, process or understanding of environmental protection and sustainable development.

American Bar Association Award for Distinguished Achievement in Environmental Law and Policy, Call for Nominations - 2009
Past Winners of the ABA Award for Distinguished Achievement in Environmental Law and Policy