There is a crime taking place in the poor neighborhoods of Los Angeles that is often obscured by the daily death and violence that infests the city.
Con artists, using home equity fraud, often target the elderly and impoverished residents of this area with their scams. But recent law school graduate Manuel Duran is fighting back to protect these people through litigation and other advocative tools.
This is only a portion of a video that will be shown during this year's First Monday program, beginning today at 4:00 p.m. in room 110 of the College of Law. Sponsored by the UK College of Law's Student Public Interest Law Foundation (SPILF), the program will focus on public interest law and its place in the modern world.
"It deals with areas concerned with the public as opposed to corporate lawsuits," said Roberta Harding, UK law professor and co-organizer of the program.
An example of this is providing legal services for lower-income individuals, Harding said.
SPILF is an organization dedicated to promoting interest and awareness in public interest law at UK. It also helps students obtain summer employment in that area.
The First Monday program is not restricted to the UK campus, however. Events dedicated to spreading the word about public interest law will be held on law school campuses across the country, as well as at other locations of interested organizations.
It is directed on the national level by the Alliance for Justice, a group that encourages reform of the legal system while ensuring the everyday citizen's access to the courts.
"They raise the visibility of public interest advocacy," Harding said.
The key feature of the program is the video put together by the Alliance, titled "Fighting for Justice in the 1990s." Narrated by Scott Turow, attorney and best-selling author of Presumed Innocent, the video spotlights lawyers who are pioneers in the fight for justice in today's court system. These range from several congressmen to consumer advocate Ralph Nader and others, who discuss the need for new strategies and tools for creating progressive change.
Afterward, SPILF will hold a panel discussion on "The Future of Public Interest Law." Panelists include Joe Barbieri, director of Fayette County Legal Aid, and Alison Connelly, Kentucky Public Advocate, among others.
The First Monday activities are open to all interested parties, not just law students. Anyone is welcome to attend.