Untie Online: Maximizing Technology to Increase Access to Justice
Under the leadership of managing partner and Nebraska Law alumna Angela Dunne, Omaha law firm Koenig|Dunne recently launched Untie Online, an affordable online divorce service that seeks to empower clients to complete their divorce on their own terms.Read more about Untie Online: Maximizing Technology to Increase Access to Justice
Nebraska Public Interest Law Fund Spotlight: Cheng (Kevin) Zhang, Center for Legal Immigration Assistance & Office of Federal Public Defender
2L Kevin Zhang, a 2019 NPILF recipient, was able to split his summer between the Center for Legal Immigration Assistance (CLIA) and the Office of Federal Public Defender for the District of Nebraska.Pro Bono Spotlight: Naturalization Clinic, Catholic Charities' Immigrant Legal Services
Catholic Charities’ Immigration Legal Services has scheduled four naturalization workshops for 2020, with the possibility of adding more if needed. The four workshops, which are always held on Saturday mornings in Omaha, will be held on March 7th, May 16th, August 1st, and November 7th.Q&A: Amy Peters ('16) - Gideon's Promise Summer Training Institute
Amy Peters is a 2016 graduate of Nebraska Law who has worked as Deputy Public Defender in Lancaster County since 2018. Last summer she was selected to attend the Gideon’s Promise Summer Training Institute, a 14-day “boot camp” in Atlanta for public defenders from across the nation. Peters spoke with JDs Advancing Justice about her career as a public defender and her experience at the Summer Training Institute.Read more about Q&A: Amy Peters ('16) - Gideon's Promise Summer Training Institute
Law School Application Fees and the Access to Justice Crisis
Jessica Valdez is a 2018 graduate of Creighton University who has been working at an Omaha law firm since graduating. Her next step, going to law school and becoming an immigration attorney, has hit roadblocks, not due to any lack of qualifications but due to the costs associated with just applying to law school.Read more about Law School Application Fees and the Access to Justice Crisis
"Leaders From Law"
I spent the first weekend of November in Denver for a Leaders From Law workshop led by Georgetown Law Professor Heidi Li Feldman. Leaders From Law is a startup organization started by Professor Feldman in the aftermath of the 2016 election that describes itself as “a co-curricular program aimed specifically at law students and young attorneys with interest in running for elected office, especially at the state and local level.”Q&A: Shannon Seim ('19) - Volunteer Lawyers Project
Shannon Seim is a 2019 graduate of the University of Nebraska College of Law. She currently works for the Nebraska State Bar Association’s Volunteer Lawyers Project as EVOLVES Program Attorney and Clinic Facilitator. Recently, as part of the National Celebration of Pro Bono, which takes place annually during the last week of October, Shannon answered some questions for JDs Advancing Justice.Read more about Q&A: Shannon Seim ('19) - Volunteer Lawyers Project
Q&A: Carly Beusch ('04) - Nebraska Coalition to End Sexual and Domestic Violence
October is National Domestic Violence Awareness Month. To learn more about the role lawyers play in combating domestic violence, we reached out to Nebraska College of Law alumnus Carly Beusch, a 2004 graduate. Ms. Beusch works as an Immigration Project Attorney at the Nebraska Coalition to End Sexual and Domestic Violence.Read more about Q&A: Carly Beusch ('04) - Nebraska Coalition to End Sexual and Domestic Violence
2019 National Law Students Workers' Rights Conference
It was a great pleasure to represent the University of Nebraska College of Law at the National Law Students Workers’ Rights Conference. The conference was an amazing opportunity. I met students from law schools across the country and other individuals with a strong commitment to improving the lives of the working peopleRead more about 2019 National Law Students Workers' Rights Conference
Nebraska Law Named a Best Value Law School
The University of Nebraska College of Law has been named a “Best Value Law School” by preLaw Magazine, a National Jurist publication. Nebraska Law ranked fourth among law schools nationally. The findings for 2019 take into consideration a number of variables, including employment rate, bar passage rate, price of tuition, cost of living, and average student indebtedness upon graduation.Public Service Loan Forgiveness: An Overview
The Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) program was created under the College Cost Reduction and Access Act of 2007 in an effort to encourage more people to pursue a career in public service by offering a path to loan forgiveness. PSLF makes it more tenable for attorneys to work in lower-paying public interest jobs, but even after more than ten years, there continues to be a lot of confusion regarding program requirements.Read more about Public Service Loan Forgiveness: An Overview
Why Public Interest Professionals Should Learn (a Little) About Tax Law
The Earned Income Tax Credit, or EITC, doesn’t sound like a particularly interesting topic to most people, but it’s something everyone working in the public interest field should know about. EITC is a refundable tax credit, meaning that if it exceeds the amount of tax owed, the taxpayer gets a check for the rest of the credit.Read more about Why Public Interest Professionals Should Learn (a Little) About Tax Law
Nebraska Law Students Provide Legal Services and Guidance at Project Connect Lincoln
On Friday, September 20, College of Law students performed “Legal Triage” at this year’s Project Connect Lincoln at Pinnacle Bank Arena. Project Connect Lincoln is a one-stop shop for veterans and people of limited means to get things like free dental check-ups and haircuts, as well free legal services.Read more about Nebraska Law Students Provide Legal Services and Guidance at Project Connect Lincoln
My Semester with the U.S. Department of Defense, Office of General Counsel
During the fall semester of my 2L year, I worked at the Pentagon as a legal extern for the United States Department of Defense, Office of General Counsel – International Affairs. Instead of taking classes at the law college, I earned 12 credit hours by learning national security law and policy first-hand while it was being applied to real-world situations.Read more about My Semester with the U.S. Department of Defense, Office of General Counsel
A Message for the 1Ls: Don’t Lose Sight of the Reason That You Came
It can be easy to lose sight of the forest for the trees. You’ll need to focus a great deal of energy on your courses and keep your head down much of the time. However, I would encourage you to look up every once in a while to let us remind you of why you are at Nebraska Law.Read more about A Message for the 1Ls: Don’t Lose Sight of the Reason That You Came
NPILF Spotlight: Los Angeles County Public Defender’s Office
2L Ariana Lopez, a California native and 2019 NPILF recipient, spent her summer working with the Los Angeles County Public Defender’s Office as an unpaid, volunteer law clerk. She plans to work with the office again next summer. Below, Ariana reflects on “the best experience of [her] life.”Read more about NPILF Spotlight: Los Angeles County Public Defender’s Office