April 2007

Editor’s Column

by Jason T. Vail

Like many aspiring lawyers, I came to law school with the intent to practice public interest law. And, like many similar law students, I quickly became aware of the challenges and barriers to this type of legal career. For example, my school’s career services office knew virtually nothing about public interest fields and could provide me little concrete direction or advice. When I finally came across public interest job opportunities on my own, I quickly discovered that these jobs are not at all plentiful and competition for the limited available slots is fierce. On top of it all, I had to carefully weigh my burgeoning student loan debt against the prospect of future earnings that were sure to be a fraction of what could be obtained in the private sector. Nevertheless, thanks to tremendously helpful mentoring and advice from faculty and public interest attorneys, I was fortunate enough to join the civil legal aid community after graduation, and I continue this work today.

My experiences as a law student and new legal aid lawyer have left me with a personal commitment to give the same kind of help I received to other hopeful public interest lawyers. Thus I have consistently endeavored to make myself available as a resource for advice and mentoring to young lawyers and, in particular, law students interested in public interest law. I have found my experiences giving presentations and meeting one-on-one with interested lawyers and law students to be incredibly energizing. These efforts led in part to my decision to get involved with the Bar Association and to serve as editor of De Novo, where I have strived to ensure every issue (that I have managed) included at least one article or item that might better inform the readership about public interest work and the opportunities therein. And this has not just been my own personal initiative; the Young Lawyers Division is known throughout the WSBA as the “public service arm” of the Bar for all of its work in this regard. Thus, I have tried very hard to make sure De Novo reflects this strong aspect of the Division as well as my own particular interest in lawyers working for the common good.

Now, as my eighteen-month term as editor comes to an end with this issue, I am absolutely confident that De Novo’s new editor, former associate editor Shelley Ajax, and new associate editor, Cynthia Jones, will continue to keep public service issues in front of De Novo’s readership.

I am also pleased that I will be continuing my work for the Young Lawyer Division as its representative on the WSBA Board of Governors, where I will be able to continue working to eliminate the impediments to public interest careers like those I faced. I do this not solely because it is a matter of personal concern to me; instead, I believe very strongly that all law students and young lawyers should have as much freedom as possible to choose work they find meaningful to them, whether that be public interest or any other legal practice.

I have already had opportunities to do this during my short time on the Board of Governors. I was pleased to support the Justice in Jeopardy funding package currently winding its way through the state legislature that, if successful, will increase the funding of entities providing services to low-income people. This, in turn, should result in public service employment and volunteer opportunities for young lawyers, from civil legal aid to public defense to Court Appointed Special Advocate (“CASA”) programs. I am continuing my work as liaison to the Access to Justice Board that is currently overseeing the implementation of its new State Plan for the Delivery of Legal Services, which will improve the distribution of civil legal services statewide and, consequently, chances for young lawyers all across the state to fulfill their RPC 6.1 responsibilities to provide pro bono services.

I am also now a board member of the Washington State Bar Foundation which, among other things, administers the public interest Loan Repayment Assistance Program (“LRAP”). I know full well how student loan repayment pressures can steer law students and young lawyers away from public interest careers, a problem that will continue to accelerate with rising tuition and interest rates. An effective LRAP is a way to relieve this debt burden and give new attorneys the freedom to pursue important legal work. I intend to work with the Foundation to find ways to strengthen and even expand this program. I also support the work of the APR 6 Law Clerk program, which is featured in an article written by Marjorie Walter, a current Law Clerk and future young lawyer, in this issue of De Novo. This program is a unique and vital way to ensure that the practice of law is open to all, not just those who can afford law school. If we, as a Bar Association, are serious about diversity in our profession, I believe the Law Clerk program is an excellent way to cultivate that diversity.

In closing, I hope you have found reading De Novo these past eighteen months to have been as interesting as I have found preparing and editing it to be. As always, we are continually open to your input, suggestions, and article submissions. And I particularly hope to hear from you about the work of the Bar Association and the Board of Governors and what you would like to see us doing to help you have the chance to achieve the kind of legal career that you envisioned having when you first decided to be come a lawyer.

Jason T. Vail is editor of De Novo. Mr. Vail is a staff attorney with the Seattle office of Northwest Justice Project and is a staff attorney-legal editor with the Sargent Shriver National Center on Poverty Law’s legal journal, Clearinghouse Review. He can be reached at 206-464-1519 or jasonv@nwjustice.org. All opinions are solely his own and not those of the WYLD, the WSBA, or De Novo.