Equal Justice Works

Filing Period

Jul 1, 2009 to Jun 30, 2010

Signed

May 4, 2011

Return Version

2009v1.7

Gross Receipts

$12,540,749

Mission

Major Activities

Activity 2

AMERICORPS LEGAL FELLOWS: Equal Justice Works engages lawyers and law students as AmeriCorps members to provide low-income people access to justice. Created in 1993, Equal Justice Works AmeriCorps provides legal services to 40,000 people each year. AmeriCorps Legal Fellows and Summer Corps members create pro bono opportunities, prevent foreclosures, eliminate legal barriers to housing, and protect victims of abuse, eviction, wrongful termination. Through two grants from the Corporation for National and Community Service, Equal Justice Works AmeriCorps Fellowships address emerging crises across the country. In the last year:-541 Summer Corps members served 23,089 clients at 310 different non-profit legal aid organizations and public defender offices in 44 states and the District of Columbia.- 30 AmeriCorps Legal Fellows across the country prevented 1,086 foreclosures. The Joint Economic Committee of Congress estimates the cost of a foreclosure to a community to be $77,395. Through a $1.2 million Recovery Act grant, the program achieved a return of $71 for every taxpayer dollar invested.- Across the country, AmeriCorps Fellows served 980 veterans with benefits or foreclosure assistance, and helped 104 homeless vets secure permanent housing.-On average, each AmeriCorps Legal Fellow recruits 75 pro bono lawyers and law students. Together, they serve 700 clients per Fellow, at a cost of $43 per client. Sixty-six AmeriCorps Fellows generated 4,495 pro bono lawyers and law students. Together they served 34,455 clients.

Activity 3

LAW SCHOOL ADVOCACY AND OUTREACH:Law schools comprise a vital and dynamic constituency of Equal Justice Works. As part of our mission to mobilize the next generation of lawyers committed to public service, we recognize that the message of the importance of public interest law has to be inculcated early and encouraged throughout the law school experience. We also realize that most of our law school partners need resources and assistance to augment their own in order to reach a broader spectrum of the law community. In 2010, 198 law schools, including nearly all of the ABA accredited schools, were members of the organization. The annual Equal Justice Works Conference and Career Fair drew over 1000 law students and 130 employers who interviewed for more than 500 summer and post-graduate positions. The Equal Justice Works Guide to Law Schools is a free interactive online resource of public service opportunities, curricula, and financial programs at law schools in the United States. The Guide is the result of a unique collaboration between Equal Justice Works and more than 150 participating schools. Because educational debt prevents many law students from pursuing careers in public service, Equal Justice Works advocates for the creation and expansion of loan repayment assistance programs. More than 100 law schools now have some form of loan repayment assistance available to their students. Equal Justice Works educational debt relief program is designed to inform law students, law school advisors, and recent law graduates of the programs available to alleviate educational debt burden. In 2010, we hosted 10 educational debt relief webinars that reached more than 2000 students, public service employees, and civil legal aid attorneys, and conducted 17 regional trainings reaching more than 2100 law students and public interest lawyers.

Filer

EIN

52-1469738