Tight on money but loaded with cases to prosecute, the U.S. Attorney’s office in Kansas City has been using unpaid attorneys fresh out of law school to help out.

 

According to The Kansas City Star, U.S. Attorney Beth Phillips implemented the program because of a hiring freeze that prevented her from adding any more salaried positions to her staff.

 

With unemployment among lawyers at about 5% in Missouri, and underemployment among young lawyers close to 30%, Ryan Hershberger decided to spend a year serving as a special assistant U.S. Attorney without getting paid in order to gain valuable career experience.

 

A member of the narcotics unit, Hershberger has handled an eight-person drug conspiracy case, while another unpaid special assistant has indicted more than two dozen gun defendants as part of her work for the violent-crimes strike force.

 

What is happening in Kansas is part of a larger trend across the nation. Unpaid lawyers are known as “Special Assistant U.S. Attorneys (SAUSA).” A typical call for unpaid attorneys reads, “The Office of the United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut is seeking applications from attorneys who are willing to accept an unpaid temporary position that offers a valuable opportunity to gain exposure to the office while also obtaining litigation experience and conducting trials.

-Noel Brinkerhoff, David Wallechinsky

 

U.S. Attorney Helps Volunteer Lawyers Learn Prosecutor’s Role (by Mark Morris, Kansas City Star)