In the past ten years or so, it has become increasingly obvious to many Americans that our system of justice isn't quite as fair as it should be. Partly as an outgrowth of earlier civil rights, civil liberties and legal aid group move-· r:nents, the new concept of ptfblic interest law includes those lawyers an,d law·firms who provide free (or unusually cheap) legal services to folks who have not been able to find representation before. Now the poor, racial and ethnic minorities, the handicapped and children, as well as interests such as environmentalism and consumer affairs, can be heard in court. For an excellent review of the development of the public interest l-awmovement, descriptions of how and for whom specific groups work, how they ,are now financed and what their. prospects are, see: Balancing the_Scales of justice; Financing Public Interest Law in America, .1976 (write for price and availability) to: The Council for Public Interest Law 1250 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington, DC 20036 If you feel you could use the services of such a law firm, the Council is theplace to write. Two of the larger public interest law firms handle cases for a number of these previously neglected groups and individuals. They deal with health problems of the poor, occupational health and safety, foreign affairs decisionmaking, consumer affairs, protection of the environment, access to the media and minority rights. Public Advocates, Inc. 433 Turk St. San Francisco, CA 94101 415/441-8850 Public Advocates, Inc. has served as general or special counsel for such diverse groups as the National Organization for Women, Consumers Cooperative of Berkeley, Inc., The Officers for Justice and the Childcare Swit~hboard. Center for Law and Social Policy (CLASP) . 1751 N St., N.W. Washington, DC 20036 '202/872-0670 In 1971 this two-year-old qrganization formed a division known as the International Project, which focuses on consumer and environmental issues within the foreign affairs decision-making process (e.g. trade regulations and maritime _pollution). In 1972, in conjunction with the ACLU and the American Orthopsychiatric Association, they formed a Mental Health Law Project. Theit Women's Rights Project came about in 1973, and in 1975 they joined forces with the Media Access Project. Some other public interest law groups which are listed below usually specialize in serving specific interests. The Institute for Public Interest Representation - · Georgetown University Law Center 700 New Jersey Ave., N.W. 1Washington, DC 20001 202/624-8390 In addition to conducting research, students here work closely with various federal and municipal agencies. They petition before the agencies for rulemaking, comment on rules they propose, intervene in their adjudicative proceedings, and bring suit against them on behalf of clients who are seeking access to government records under the Freedom of Information Act. Women's Law Fund, Inc. 620 Keith Building 1621 Euclid Ave. Cleveland, OH 44115 216/621-3443 The Women's Law Fund supervises law students from the Sex Discrimination and Employment Clinic at the Cleveland State University Law School and, through litigation and education, is working on the elimination of sex dis- ' crimination in employment, housing, education and government benefits. League of Women Voters Education Fund Litigation Dept. 1730 M St., N.W. Washington, DC 20036 202/659-2686 The D(!partment principally handles cases involving local and state leagues in litigation about voting rights, campaign finance, open meetings/open records and equal opportunity. They also sometimes handle non-league cases of "precedent-setting value." December 1976 RAIN Page 7 LAW Legal Action Center of the City of New York 271 Madison Ave. New York, NY 10016 21~/679-6502 This group works principally within the crimi~al justice system, with special emphasis on rehabilitating ex-convicts and drug abusers. They provide legal services for them, educate their prospectiv~ employers and initiate major litigation "designed to establish new legal doctrine regarding the employment rights." Education Law Center Inc. Suite·800, 605 Broad St. Newark, NJ 07102 201/624-1815 and 2100 Lewis Tower Bldg. 225 S. 15th St. Philadelphia, PA 19102 2151i32-6655 The Educ;1tion Law Center specializes in issues relating to public elementary and secondary schools in the New Jer.sey anq Philadelphia areas. They are concerned about parental access to pupil records, the adequacy, availability and quality of schoolfacilities, programs and personnel, and sexual and racial discrimination within the public schools.,They bring suit when necessary, give legal counsel to "education consumers," and draft and comment on legislation and legally-oriented regulations. - Center for Law in the Public Interest 10203 Santa Monica Blvd., s'th Fir. I,.os Angeles,_CA 90067 213/879-5588 The folks at this center focus their attention on environmental and quality of . life issues in the state of California. In addition to bringing "important and preceden,t-setting" cases to court, they negotiate with the government and private industries and monitor state and federal regulatory agencies to assure that new and existing environmental regulations are properly implemented. Oregon Volunteer Lawyers for the Arts at the Northwestern School of Law Lewis and Clark College 10015 S.W. Terwilliger Blvd. Portland, OR 97219 503/244-1181 The school provides legal service to .artists having problems with contracts, taxes, copyrights, obscenity or theft, and sponsors a yearly conference iri Law and the VIsual Arts. -Lauri deMoll
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy NTc4NTAz