New Jersey's U.S. Attorney's Office looks for volunteer help

Despite the down economy, the New Jersey U.S. Attorney's Office is looking to hire some highly qualified lawyers.

There is a catch. The pay is zero.

In what's becoming a popular maneuver across the country, New Jersey's U.S. attorney, Paul J. Fishman, is advertising for volunteer prosecutors who can be lured to work free for one year to get prestigious experience in federal courtrooms.

"As people leave, we can't replace them," said Fishman, whose staff typically includes 147 lawyers but is down 10 percent because of a hiring freeze. "We're going to start interviewing people on an ongoing basis and hope to have some on board by mid-fall."

Fishman is hoping for about six hires he can place in Newark, Camden, and possibly Trenton. The volunteers would handle the same cases first-year assistant attorneys do - including child pornography, drug charges, and bank robbery - and are not to be confused with interns, who have more limited experience.

William Fitzpatrick, the deputy U.S. attorney who oversees the Camden and Trenton offices, said the volunteers will be a good resource. In Camden, prosecutors are preparing the high-profile trial of two former Camden police officers accused of making bogus arrests and filing false reports. It is scheduled to start in October.

"The more good, qualified prosecutors on your staff, the better," Fitzpatrick said.

The Eastern District of Pennsylvania, which includes Philadelphia, has also advertised for volunteers and is now screening about 30 applications to fill a handful of positions.

Those hired must have strong credentials and undergo intense screening. In a good market, these lawyers may typically command $80,000 or considerably more. While some may sacrifice pay to get experience, others want to move from the private to public sector or change their specialty.

Philadelphia's First Assistant U.S. Attorney Louis Lappen said he was pleased with the "qualified and outstanding" applicants who submitted resumes by the June 30 deadline.

"The experience level has run from just graduating law school to 10 years of practice," Lappen said. "This is a very desirable position."

The New Jersey Attorney General's Office has had a similar program since September 2009. Out of 248 applicants, 149 lawyers have been hired for Volunteer Associates in Public Service. There are currently 15 volunteers. The office also has hired 31 former volunteers.

"We view the VAPS program as a win-win," said Paul Loriquet, a spokesman for the Attorney General's Office. "The volunteers get to preserve their skill sets, while working in a prestigious office. And we get to maintain our caseloads and evaluate their work performances, with an eye towards possible future employment."

Caroline Jones, a former volunteer who was hired full time, said she entered law school before the recession and found limited opportunities when she graduated from Widener Law School in Delaware in 2010. She started practicing employment law as a volunteer for the Attorney General's Office, and now works there full-time doing education law.

"I thought it seemed like a great opportunity to get some experience," Jones said. "I had no expectation or anticipation that I would be hired."

Eve Biskind Klothen, assistant dean for pro bono and public interest programs for Rutger's Law School in Camden, said such programs help new lawyers in a tight market, especially those who want to prosecute.

"This is a way to get a toe in the door for a position that typically would have been available a decade ago," Klothen said. "We have an awful lot of law school students who come out committed to public service."

Sonia Cunha, director of career services at Seton Hall University School of Law, said lawyers working free is not new.

"I've heard of faculty members who have been here forever say when they started out, they walked into an office and offered their services for free," Cunha said.

She does have concerns about the financial hardships of working free. At the U.S. Attorney's Office, volunteers must commit for a year and may not collect any income from legal work for outside sources.

The U.S. Attorney's Office cannot hire anyone with a financial connection elsewhere to avoid appearance or actual conflicts of interest, officials said.