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ACLU is reporting unprecedented new memberships and donations. Environmental groups seem to be, as well. Do you think this will open the door a bit for PI/NGO work in the coming years?

At the same time, because government positions will be more sparse with the hiring freeze/elimination of certain agencies, it's possible that there won't be a net gain in PI openings.

Eh. It's difficult to tell at this point.

Anonymous User wrote:ACLU is reporting unprecedented new memberships and donations. Environmental groups seem to be, as well. Do you think this will open the door a bit for PI/NGO work in the coming years?

At the same time, because government positions will be more sparse with the hiring freeze/elimination of certain agencies, it's possible that there won't be a net gain in PI openings.

There are only so many PI organizations that can survive off private funding.

The majority are government funded and I think we all know where that is headed.

If public interest places start hiring like crazy, they will likely target experienced attorneys who can handle litigation right away.

zot1 wrote:If public interest places start hiring like crazy, they will likely target experienced attorneys who can handle litigation right away.

Maybe some of the better funded PI places like the ACLU will target experienced attorneys, but experience is expensive, and I think plenty of less well-funded places, like Legal Aid, Bronx Defenders, etc., will hire less experienced people and just throw them in. And since the vast majority of PI work falls in the latter category, there may be positions for new attorneys. That said, poorly funded places would hire more people now if they could, and they can't, and no reason to believe they will come into more money anytime soon, so will likely be a wash.

bretby wrote:

zot1 wrote:If public interest places start hiring like crazy, they will likely target experienced attorneys who can handle litigation right away.

Maybe some of the better funded PI places like the ACLU will target experienced attorneys, but experience is expensive, and I think plenty of less well-funded places, like Legal Aid, Bronx Defenders, etc., will hire less experienced people and just throw them in. And since the vast majority of PI work falls in the latter category, there may be positions for new attorneys. That said, poorly funded places would hire more people now if they could, and they can't, and no reason to believe they will come into more money anytime soon, so will likely be a wash.

Why hire new grads when they volunteer or get their own fellowships?

deadpanic wrote:

Anonymous User wrote:ACLU is reporting unprecedented new memberships and donations. Environmental groups seem to be, as well. Do you think this will open the door a bit for PI/NGO work in the coming years?

At the same time, because government positions will be more sparse with the hiring freeze/elimination of certain agencies, it's possible that there won't be a net gain in PI openings.

There are only so many PI organizations that can survive off private funding.

The majority are government funded and I think we all know where that is headed.

In my experience in the nonprofit legal impact industry, very few are government funded and those that do recieve funding from the government it or a small amount.