law clinics

Due to the ever-dwindling coffers of legal aid clinics over the past decade, and the “everything must go” approach to the national budget this year, most observers expected the President Obama’s budget plan to include extensive cuts to the Legal Services Corporation, which has funded aid for low-income people in need of a lawyer since the 1960s. Instead, the president suggested a $30 million increase to the LSC’s budget, an apparent nod to the view that legal aid for the poor is even more essential considering the tough economic climate.

Last month, we wrote on the GJEL blog about the growing challenge to university law clinics in Maryland and Louisiana. While some claim that the state-funded clinics provide a rare opportunity to represent “the little guy” against massive corporations, others say they’re full of a bunch of liberals who just want to stick it to “the man.” This week, the challenge grew more serious in Louisiana, where state Sen. Robert Adley introduced a bill, similar to legislation rejected by Maryland’s legislature, that would withhold state funds from law clinics that refuse to turn over case information.

This Tuesday, a New Jersey state appeals panel heart arguments on whether the Rutgers University’s state-funded environmental law clinic must disclose client names and finances. Developer Sussex Commons claims the clinic is avoiding financial accountability in order to promote an “anti-development political agenda and bias.” The suit, which came after the clinic sued Sussex to halt construction on a planned strip mall, is hte newest in a string of corporate challenges to the autonomy of university clinics.