An Interview with the Empire Justice Training Director

August 1, 2008

Jerry Wein has recently been hired as the Empire Justice Training Director.  In this interview, Jerry provides some insights into how he hopes to strengthen the legal services training community.

Empire Justice:  You were the training director at GULP many years ago and left to be a management consultant working with non-profit organizations.  We're happy to see you but...what brings you back?

Jerry:  Changes in technology and the increase in IOLA funding makes this an exciting time to return to the legal services community on a full time basis.  When I started in legal services I was able to connect with advocates throughout New York and the entire country because funds were available to bring staff together for training conferences that focused not only on skills building but also on our clients and our role as their representatives.  Learning about the history of the civil rights movement, the efforts to provide free legal services to indigent individuals, the need to empower clients, made me feel part of a community.  That feeling has never left me, no matter where I've worked, but I understand that sustaining that feeling of community has become more difficult because funds have not been available to bring staff together as frequently or in the same way.

Empire Justice:  Why is community so important:

Jerry:  Community is a buttress against burnout.  On a personal level community can sustain you in the midst of extremely stressful work conditions.  Community can give you strength at a moment when all the effort you put out there is starting to take a toll.  Community can help remind you why you wanted to work in poverty law in the first place.

Empire Justice:  Sounds too touchy-feely.  Did you spend time in California?

Jerry:  Well, it is "hands-on" if that's what you mean.  A legal services community can provide hands-on training and support to all staff to increase skills as part of its on-going efforts to assist in professional development.  We can create a community not just to get a particular task done today.  We can work to create a community that sustains individual growth and that sees itself as an important component in empowering people in poverty.

Empire Justice:  Doesn't community building go on within each office?  Why are you focusing on training that may take people away from their offices?  And why can't that training be provided by the bar association or continuing legal education provider.

Jerry:  Of course, each office creates community and yes, there are excellent CLE providers out there.  Unfortunately the market place, left on its own, will not provide training in all the substantive areas that poverty advocates need to address.  Moreover, a larger training community, comprised of many providers doing similar work, provides additional benefits--most significantly the o9pportunity to problem solve and collaborate with and learn form other legal services providers.  This is not a new idea; New York legal assistance staff--through the efforts of the Training Leadership and Diversity group, substantive task forces and the Partnership Conference have had access to dynamic, creative training environments that teach skills and address new client issue.  I just want to expand on their efforts.

Empire Justice:  Okay.  Jut how are you planning to build community, specifically?

Step One:  An Invitation

Jerry:  You're right it doesn't just happen because it's a good idea.  It happens when potential members of the community recognize that by joining and by putting energy into community endeavors, they will get something of equal or greater value back.  So here's my first step:  An Invitation, I am inviting everyone who provides legal services to the poor in the Empire Justice catchment areas to become part of a greater community that plans, provides, and participates in training.  The invitation may be in the form of a telephone call from me, or a request to complete an on-line survey or participate in a conference call or a regional meeting.

Step Two:  Engagement in a Shared Vision

When we get together we need to create a working vision of what we hope to accomplish and how we will do it.  That will provide a starting point to meaningfully include and engage all legal services groups and their staffs.

Empire Justice:  Now I get it.  It's a partnership.  All the legal assistance providers help identify training needs; the training advisory group0 determines priorities; Empire Justice provides  the overall coordination; trainers are contributed by advocacy organizations who get reduced fees for program participants; and, the training builds community for all.

Jerry:  Right, timely training on poverty law topics not readily available in the market place, and provided at low cost.  And there's another benefit; the acknowledgement program staff receive when they serve as trainers from colleagues and training participants is an important and renewing way to recognize their knowledge and accomplishments. 

Step Three:  Vision into Action

Then we'll start translating our shared vision into action, producing training programs that meet the highest priority needs of the community.

Step Four:  Accountability and Results

At the end of the year we'll look at all of our efforts and take stock-have we all done what we said we would?  Did our training activities result in the changes we wanted?  How effectively did we take advantage of training technology?  How do we build on our successes?  How do we respond to the concerns that were raised?

Empire Justice:  There's a lot of work to do.

Jerry:  Let's get started.