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Louisiana law clinics stripped of cash?
Students at Louisiana State University make their way at the LSU Union in Baton Rouge, La.
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Kai Ryssdal: Oil has been gushing into the Gulf of Mexico for 23 straight days now. BP has said it will pay all "legitimate claims." A phrase that's going to take armies of lawyers to define. Louisiana residents have a history of fighting for damages and tougher standards after disasters like this one. Hurricane Katrina is another good example. Often the armies of lawyers that it takes come from law schools. But a new bill kicking around the Louisiana legislature would limit what those law students can do.
Eve Troeh reports.
Eve Troeh: The website for the Tulane Environmental Law Clinic includes a long list of accomplishments.
This year it's blocked construction of a coal-burning plant and kept an industrial park off coastal wetlands.
LISA JORDAN: When we have a victory, it's that some project that violated the law either didn't happen at all, or it went forward but with much better environmental controls.
Lisa Jordan is a lawyer at the clinic. She says plenty of private attorneys line up to sue for damages after an accident -- like the BP spill. Her staff is there to help make sure it doesn't happen again.
Louisiana State Senator Robert Adley says the clinic's success comes at a high price.
ROBERT ADLEY: A great deal of action taken by the law clinics has resulted in a loss of jobs and economic development for the state.
Adley is behind a bill that would strip all state funding from any university whose law clinic sues a government agency or company. Even private schools like Tulane get a lot of state money for some programs.
With oil flooding the Gulf, it might seem like a bad time for a bill that favors business. Yet, Adley maintains Louisiana needs a business-friendly climate now more than ever.
Lisa Jordan at Tulane says Louisiana needs a strong industry watchdog, too.
JORDAN: When there's no one else looking over them, a lot of things get overlooked.
Jordan says law clinics push agencies and companies to use best practices that could prevent future accidents.
I'm Eve Troeh for Marketplace.
@ Stan Richardson: Being a lawyer in neighboring Texas, and at one time a law student who participated in the types of law clinics that Tulane offers, I can tell you there are VERY strict guidelines for who can be a client. And, it is preposterous to prevent a clinic from suing a governmental agency, especially when government bodies, like Louisiana, Texas, and Washington D.C., are so deeply in bed with industry more than ever. And, when it comes to the environmental fights that the Tulane clinic has won, it is always that the government has approved the building of a plant or refinery on poor people's land, because, after all, what rich person would want to deal with the fumes and discharge from those plants?
Maybe you should be asking, "What is the role of law clinics?".
They were originally created to provide legal advice to people who can't afford $600.00/hr attorneys.
Now, if they are trolling for rainmakers and using state funds to do it then there is something seriously wrong with this picture.
So, somebody should ask the question and review the economic status of the people the "law clinics" are representing. How many of those law clinic clients are really there because they have no place else to go and how many are there for the chance to score a big payday and have the state pick up the legal tab?
Robert Adley must be insane to say that the legal clinics cost Louisiana jobs. Considering the ongoing loss of jobs and productivity, a direct result of this oil spill, Adley's comments and ethically questionable bill, are an insult to the intelligence of every Louisiana resident.
