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Federal Practice Manual for Legal Aid Attorneys: 6.3.11 Rule 19 Motion for Joinder of Parties

Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 19 governs the mandatory joinder of parties.2804 Advocates who engage in affirmative litigation against corporate entities—e.g., employers of low-wage workers, debt collectors, large apartment complexes, or predatory lenders—may learn in discovery that they must join additional defendants (often related corporate entities) to obtain full relief or because any relief ordered in the action would necessarily affect those other business entities.

Federal Practice Manual for Legal Aid Attorneys: 9.3.3 Remedies

The unique feature of the Declaratory Judgment Act is its authorization to “declare” the rights and legal relations of the parties to the controversy; such declarations have the force and effect of a final judgment.4495 Congress plainly intended declaratory relief to substitute, in appropriate cases, for the “strong medicine” of an injunction.4496 Since a declaratory judgment does not have the coercive power of an injunction, a lesser showing is required to obtain declaratory relief.

Federal Practice Manual for Legal Aid Attorneys: 2.7.6 Remands—28 U.S.C. § 1447(c)

As the Supreme Court has observed, “normally it's the plaintiff who must seek judicial intervention if it wishes to have the matter remanded to state court.”381 28 U.S.C. § 1447(c) provides that a motion to remand on grounds other than subject matter jurisdiction must be filed within thirty days of removal.382 This implies that a motion to remand on subject matter jurisdiction grounds may be filed at any time.

Federal Practice Manual for Legal Aid Attorneys: 7.2.3 Commonality

Under Rule 23(a)(2), plaintiffs’ grievances generally must share a common question of law or fact.3404 To meet the Rule, only one question of law or fact must be common to the proposed class.3405 Some factual differences among class members do not defeat commonality.3406 Class actions that seek class-wide injunctive or declaratory relief "by their very nature often present common questions satisfying Rule 23(a)(2)."

Federal Practice Manual for Legal Aid Attorneys: 6.2.20 Expert Discovery

The Federal Rules “provide for extensive pretrial disclosure of expert testimony.”2650 Experts are generally defined by the Federal Rules of Evidence.2651 Rule 26 requires parties to disclose the names of their trial experts.2652 A party must also give the opposing party a written report, prepared and signed by witnesses who are “retained or specially employed to provide expert testimony in the case or one whose duties as the party’s employee

Federal Practice Manual for Legal Aid Attorneys: 9.4.19 Civil Rights Act and Most Other Cases—Governed by Rule 54 and Local Rules

Rule 54(d)(2)(B)(i) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure requires fee motions to be filed no later than 14 days after entry of judgment “[u]nless a statute or court order provides otherwise.”4646 Pursuant to Rule 83, following notice and comment, courts may adopt local rules consistent with federal rules and statutes.4647 A local rule setting a fee motion deadline that differs from Rule 54 is an “order of the court,” and the local rule governs.4648

Federal Practice Manual for Legal Aid Attorneys: 1.2.2 The Shelter Access Project in the District of Columbia

The Washington Legal Clinic for the Homeless created the Shelter Access Project to promote equal access to emergency homeless shelters for residents of the District of Columbia.20 The Project educated and trained shelter residents on their rights under the Americans With Disabilities Act through brochures and oral presentations. The Project attempted to provide technical assistance to the government agencies and private contractors which administered the shelter care system.

Federal Practice Manual for Legal Aid Attorneys: 1.2.3 Fighting Foreclosures in Los Angeles

Neighborhood Legal Services of Los Angeles County faced increasing numbers of clients in foreclosure actions.22 Neighborhood Legal Services found that referrals to hotlines and resource-intensive affirmative litigation in individual cases were not making a significant impact in addressing the enormous foreclosure problem in the San Fernando Valley. As a result, Neighborhood Legal Services partnered with a large community organization, One LA-IAF, which had identified foreclosure as a priority issue for its members.

Federal Practice Manual for Legal Aid Attorneys: 1.2.4 Expanding Health Care in Illinois

Efforts to expand health care in Illinois highlight the skills and capacities that public interest lawyers can bring to advocacy campaigns, as well as the necessary skills such lawyers often lack that are required to make such efforts successful.235 In the late 1990s, the Shriver Center became aware that many low income working parents were losing their health insurance coverage as they moved from welfare to work. The Center developed a policy proposal designed to expand health care coverage for these families.

Federal Practice Manual for Legal Aid Attorneys: 1.2.5 Reforming Disability Compensation in the District of Columbia

A multi-pronged approach to problem solving was employed in Lightfoot v. District of Columbia.25 Lightfoot involved a challenge to the policies by which the disability compensation benefits of injured D.C. city employees were reduced, suspended or terminated. One of the co-counsel in the federal litigation, the D.C. Employment Justice Center, founded a group called the Injured Worker Advocates. A Center attorney who was not involved in the federal litigation supported this group.

Federal Practice Manual for Legal Aid Attorneys: 1.2.7 Legislative Advocacy

As explained above, because social problems have become more complex and, in some cases, litigation is not well suited to address them, advocates must consider legislative advocacy. Such advocacy can take many forms, from support for new legislation to increased funding for certain programs. It is therefore important for legal aid attorneys to consider legislative reform and to develop the drafting skills required to draft proposed legislation.

Federal Practice Manual for Legal Aid Attorneys: 1.2.8 Press and Media

Newspapers and other media are useful in several ways. Publicity and articles can get a message out and shape public opinion. This is especially useful if you need public opinion to support your lobbying efforts or to encourage the public to take a particular action. An article or story can reflect public opinion and bolster your moral standing or provide a margin of comfort for a judge who might otherwise be afraid to issue a novel order. News reporting can serve as another source of fact finding and can force your adversaries to pin down their position as they are quoted.

Federal Practice Manual for Legal Aid Attorneys: 1.2.9 Community Education

Community education is one of the most important undertakings of a legal services attorney.31 In most circumstances, it will also be an adjunct to litigation. Community education may be particularly necessary when you are trying to locate plaintiffs or witnesses or when you want to test the capacity of a public system.

Federal Practice Manual for Legal Aid Attorneys: 1.2.10 Direct Action and Community Development Work

Direct action can refer to two different approaches to obtaining your desired solution. First, you can simply fix or coordinate the fixing of the problem. For instance, the defendant in a lawsuit initiated by her town to declare her house an imminent health hazard and to raze it contacted a legal services lawyer. Legally, the attorney could have raised procedural defenses or counterclaims relating to the client’s disability. Instead, the lawyer contacted a local community group that, working with a local church, sent a team of people and a dumpster to the house.

Federal Practice Manual for Legal Aid Attorneys: 1.2.11 Amicus Participation

One alternative to the substantial investment of time and resources required for the preparation, initiation, and prosecution of direct litigation on behalf of your clients is to participate, selectively and strategically, in pending lawsuits involving other parties that have raised the same or similar issues.

Federal Practice Manual for Legal Aid Attorneys: 1.2.12 The Amicus Curiae

Through the vehicle of the amicus curiae—the “friend of the court”—legal aid attorneys can vigorously represent their clients’ interests, often in the context of precedent-setting decisions, without formally initiating or intervening in the underlying litigation. Amicus participation thus affords attorneys the opportunity to influence directly and immediately the outcome of cases that may dramatically affect their clients’ lives while avoiding most of the resource constraints imposed by conventional litigation.

Federal Practice Manual for Legal Aid Attorneys: 1.2.14 Contents of the Brief

Under the federal appellate rules, such briefs may be filed “only by leave of court or if the brief states that all parties have consented to its filing.”38 Generally an amicus who is unable to obtain the requisite consent will file a motion for leave to file its brief and at the same time file the brief itself—a procedure prescribed by Rule 29.39 The motion must identify the “movant’s interest” and the “reason why an amicus brief is desirable,” and the brief must be filed “no later than 7 days afte

Federal Practice Manual for Legal Aid Attorneys: 1.2.16 Reply Briefs and Oral Argument

The Supreme Court prohibits the filing of amicus reply briefs.58 Other federal courts have adopted the same rule.59 However, an amicus that has been permitted to file a brief in connection with a petition for certiorari or other discretionary review (e.g., a rehearing or rehearing en banc in the court of appeals) certainly may seek to participate in the briefing on the merits if review is granted.60