#LEGAL SERVICES

[reasonsforhope]

"The vision

“Every lawyer has skills that can help the climate. We’ve just gotta make the connections.” — Environmental lawyer and advocate Matthew Karmel

The spotlight

“How many lawyers does it take to break a Guinness World Record?”

Matthew Karmel posed this question on LinkedIn in February, adding, “No, this isn’t a bad lawyer joke; it’s a reason for climate optimism.”

Karmel, a principal at the law firm Offit Kurman and the chair of its environmental and sustainability law practice group, is one of the organizers of the Climate Pro Bono Bootcamp, a two-day virtual conference dedicated to helping more lawyers and legal professionals figure out how to donate their time and skills to advance climate work.

When people — including lawyers themselves — think of the intersection between climate and law, their minds may go straight to high-profile climate lawsuits or other legal action aimed at holding big polluters and inactive governments accountable. But there are many other forms of legal support that climate causes might need, from simple contracts to forming a new business or nonprofit to legal defense. “There are so many attorneys working at large law firms, small law firms — attorneys everywhere who just don’t do litigation, but are still very passionate about climate change and want to apply their skills in that way,” said Stephanie Demetry, the executive director of Green Pro Bono, an organization that matches attorneys with companies, nonprofits, grassroots leaders, and others who need legal assistance to advance climate solutions.

Karmel had the idea for the conference in late 2023, after he had been working with Green Pro Bono for a few years. “I was sitting there thinking, Why isn’t everyone doing this?” he recalled. “The things I’m doing aren’t unique. It doesn’t require specialized legal skills. It requires passion, and the general legal knowledge that every lawyer has.” He approached Demetry with the idea of hosting a training to help demystify what climate-related pro bono work can entail and build up the network of attorneys interested in offering it.

They held the first bootcamp in January of 2024 and had around 700 attendees — far exceeding their expectations. After the event, Demetry said, Green Pro Bono more than doubled the number of attorneys in its network and also saw a 53 percent increase in the number of projects that got picked up.

But for this year’s bootcamp, planned for late April, they’re aiming to increase that attendance — and setting the ambitious goal of growing it a hundredfold. That’s the number that would break a Guinness World Record for the largest attendance at a virtual law conference in one week (yes, this entry truly does exist). It might be a longer-term goal, but it’s one they’re serious about. Breaking the record, Karmel said, would be a powerful way to demonstrate the growing interest in climate action among the legal community, and also an opportunity to reach thousands more attorneys, students, and others with the event’s key message: that you don’t have to choose between your day job and working for the causes you care about."

You can find out more about the climate pro bono bootcamp, which is FREE, right here. It's April 22 & 23, 2025 at 12:00pm – 5:00pm EDT

-via Grist, April 2, 2025

[shu-of-the-wind]

soooooo this is a shitshow

if trump's budget goes thru the senate, most legal aid orgs are going to lose massive chunks of funding.

which means most civil legal aid orgs will lose programs and employees, close offices, and have to restrict the kinds of cases they take.

this in turn means vast swatches of people are just not going to be able to get any legal help at all in divorces, restraining orders, child custody, evictions, fair housing act claims, immigration services of all stripes, disability claims, SSI and SSDI issues, health care discrimination, and more.

i am not being hyperbolic when i say This Will Kill People.

PLEASE call your state senator (you can leave an after hours voicemail if you don't want to talk to anyone) and talk about this. your community needs legal aid. i promise you that.

[giveamadeuschohisownmovie]

With A24’s Warfare being an incredibly realistic depiction of the battlefield and HBO’s The Pitt being the same but for the ER, I was wondering if we’re eventually going to get a realistic show about the legal field. None of the stylized stuff from shows like Suits or Better Call Saul, just straight up reality.

But then I realized, that would be one of the most boring shows on TV ever lol. You know what that would be like? You go to the office, spend hours on a laptop reading files and replying to clients, and then you go home. Every now and then you go to the courthouse, but it’s mainly just people sitting around and talking. Sometimes it takes 30+ minutes for the hearing to start since the judge is late or their previous case went over time. And sometimes, the courtroom stuff is just the attorneys asking for a continuance of the case, which means you’re only in the room for like ten minutes. Maybe even less.

(Source: me, a paralegal who has worked for two law firms in the past nine years / actually represented someone in court / soon-to-be-licensed attorney)

(Side note: If I HAD to pick my favorite depiction of the courtroom, it’d be either My Cousin Vinny or Extraordinary Attorney Woo. Yes, Daredevil exists, but the courtroom scenes in the original show still make me cringe a little lol)

[onlytiktoks]

https://www.reuters.com/legal/trump-says-law-firms-agree-pro-bono-work-common-causes-2025-04-11/

[covid-safer-hotties]

Dear Friends,

Do you want to fight mask bans? We want your help to protect the right to mask and defend public health.

The World Health Network (WHN) has a Legal and Advocacy Team that fights proposed mask bans and engages in advocacy on other key legal issues. There is dangerous legislation currently proposed in New Jersey and other areas in the U.S., and unfortunately we expect more to follow. We believe that the right to wear a mask is essential, especially for vulnerable communities, and we need your help to protect it.

We welcome people of all backgrounds and skill sets. You do not need to be in the legal field to join!

Join our WHN Legal and Advocacy Team meetings to strategize and take action.

Meeting Details: Day & Time: Tuesday Evenings at 6:15-7:00PM Eastern Time Location: WHN Slack Workspace, #Act-Legal-and-Advocacy-Team Channel

You do not need to attend every week in order to participate.

If you’re a legal professional, advocate, or simply passionate about protecting public health, we invite you to join the fight. Your voice is needed now more than ever.

[xxskyethetiredemoxx]

Tell me why tf it's pretty much illegal to be homeless, at least in the UK? Vagrancy (so things like rough sleeping, begging, etc) are against the law. Police can and will tell people to move, I've seen it myself.

If you're gonna make it illegal for people to sleep on the streets, maybe, yk, give them an alternative? Maybe even house them? Just a thought?

Like you can't even get a job in most cases if you're homeless, cause you have to provide your address. You can't even fucking volunteer. This is a problem, and no matter how many times the government claims to be fixing it, we see zero results. Do better.

[purepurposefulprayer]

🔥 Divine Justice – Standing in Spiritual Warfare

Scripture Foundation: "Let justice roll on like a river, righteousness like a never-failing stream!" (Amos 5:24)

Prayer:

Lord Jesus,

Courtrooms are one of the main battlegrounds where "the accuser of our brethren, who accuses them before our God day and night" (Revelation 12:10) brings false accusations, spreads lies, uses rumors, and incidents from our past, and slanders what You have placed within us.

Lord God, first we lift up all judges in prayer. For those who are followers of the one true faith and servants of the One True God—a God whose judgments are pure, whose rulings are righteous, whose power is undeniable, who "inhabits the praise of Israel" (Psalm 22:3) and never forsakes the righteous—we speak blessing over their homes, their health, their children and grandchildren, and over the work of their hands.

But for false judges and wicked judges—men and women in judges’ robes who can be bought, who plot evil, who "love money" more than righteousness (1 Timothy 6:10)—we decree and declare in Jesus’ name that their time of corrupt service is ending.

We ask that You expose their lies and corruption, and overturn their wicked verdicts and edicts. Lord Jesus, we pray that the truth will come to light through investigative journalists, whistleblowers, and those who seek justice.

To those who would bury these stories through bribery and blackmail, we ask for Your divine intervention. "The wealth of the sinner is stored up for the righteous" (Proverbs 13:22), and we call forth that divine transfer—that every corrupt judge and their enablers would see their ill-gotten wealth placed into righteous hands, revealing their involvement in wicked dealings.

Let this be a sign to the earth that there is a God in heaven, the Great God in whose hands even the Leviathan is like a bird.

Great God, Your Word commands: "Do not pervert justice; do not show partiality to the poor or favoritism to the great, but judge your neighbor fairly" (Leviticus 19:15).

Yet we see judges "whose eyes and heart are set only on dishonest gain, on shedding innocent blood and on oppression and extortion" (Jeremiah 22:17).

O Great God, how long will the wicked reign? As the psalmist cried: "How long will the wicked reign, Lord? How long will the wicked be jubilant? They pour out arrogant words; all the evildoers are full of boasting. They crush Your people, Lord; they oppress Your inheritance" (Psalm 94:3–5). "They slay the widow and the stranger and murder the fatherless. Yet they say, 'The Lord does not see; the God of Jacob takes no notice'" (Psalm 94:6–7).

Great God, we cry out, knowing that "the wicked accept bribes in secret to pervert the course of justice" (Proverbs 17:23). But we also know Your heart: "Let justice roll on like a river, righteousness like a never-failing stream!" (Amos 5:24).

Make the judges of the earth "follow justice and justice alone, so that you may live and possess the land the Lord your God is giving you" (Deuteronomy 16:20).

For "when justice is done, it brings joy to the righteous but terror to evildoers" (Proverbs 21:15).

Great God, bring joy to the righteous—Your people—and bring peace to Your people.

In spiritual warfare, we take authority against the powers and principalities that subvert court systems and legal systems. We speak to that corrupting influence and command: Come out from these systems!

We expose lies and schemes by the Word of the Lord. We take authority in the Spirit and stand with Holy Spirit boldness, declaring that corruption has no place, no power, no authority in this land.

Jesus died, shed His blood, and "disarmed the powers and authorities" (Colossians 2:15), returning the keys and scrolls to their rightful place.

We are those who heed Your call to "learn to do right; seek justice. Defend the oppressed. Take up the cause of the fatherless; plead the case of the widow" (Isaiah 1:17).

We are those who trust that "it is God who judges: He brings one down, He exalts another" (Psalm 75:7).

We are those who "do not take revenge, my dear friends, but leave room for God’s wrath, for it is written: 'It is mine to avenge; I will repay,' says the Lord" (Romans 12:19).

To the enemies of God’s people—corrupt judges, their families, and staff who enable wickedness—God will repay!

We humble ourselves and worship the God whose judgments are gracious.

We wait on His justice, knowing, "The Lord longs to be gracious to you; therefore He will rise up to show you compassion. For the Lord is a God of justice. Blessed are all who wait for Him!" (Isaiah 30:18).

We seal these words in the mighty name of Jesus.

We pray that our bloodline will be a people set apart by God to demand His justice throughout the earth.

We ask Your forgiveness, Great God.

We repent and renounce those spaces and places in us that have aligned with false judges and judgments, and we seek only Your will for justice on the earth.

In Jesus’ mighty name, Amen.

[pagankingfinn]

A little bit of backstory, my ma has been trying to provide for herself and my sister and I. We're all disabled, on government assistance for food, on Medicaid, and still can't afford rent much less the $3500 retainer for her lawyer.

The reason she needs a lawyer is because my so called father has refused to make payments, owes over 50k in arrears, in contempt of court, refused to see my sister at all, and is more useless than a dead house plant. He has refused to do anything about his situation, has been abusive in every way possible towards me and my mom as long as I can remember, refuses to give the court any documentation, and blames us for his problems. He has completely cut off contact since my sister came out as trans.

3dit: thanks all for the help. We didn't win the court case but we didn't use all the hours either.

[swedishwatermelon]

has anyone made one of those posts where it's a list of every movie mentioned in suits? because please 🙏

[ravenroseglaive]

Lawyers Beat Trump In Court! (For Now...)

Big win for democracy

[chronicsymptomsyndrome]

Does anyone know a reliable resource to find certain laws in specific areas? I am autistically at my wit’s end.

I have been looking for years and cannot find a single law addressing idling vehicles specifically in my area. I’ve found tons that say no more than five minutes out of every sixty, but none of them are specific to my area, and I have such a hard time believing this is a law in most of the country but not in my specific city/neighborhood.

I want to put up a sign but also cannot find any helpful information on whether or not I could get in a lot of legal trouble or fined for that in my area.

Any help insight advice etc is soo appreciated as I feel completely stuck/trapped and absolutely desperate. The meltdowns are getting to the point where I am afraid of snapping and becoming violent (which is doubly terrifying because I live in magaville so I just know everyone has at least like three guns on their person at any given moment)

[hotnewsflash]

Hot News Flash

@msn @cnnpolitics @msnbc @yahoonews @google #Trump has more legal issues other recent presidents, as #musk is paying voters ahead of elections #TeslaGate . Judge orders that #signalgate members need to preserve their texts.

[onlytiktoks]

[opendirectories]