Source for Photo: One of the biggest challenges for Pennsylvania’s indigent defense community is attracting and hiring qualified public defenders. (Thanksforbuying/Adobe Stock) Danielle Smith – Keystone State News Service

(Reported by Danielle Smith of Keystone News Service)

(Pittsburgh, PA) More than 60 counties in Pennsylvania have a shortage of public defenders for low-income residents who need these services. This Friday in Pittsburgh, a recruitment event takes place to help fill jobs for public defenders’ offices statewide. The University of Pittsburgh School of Law cohosts the statewide Career Day event with the Public Defender Association of Pennsylvania, to help connect law students from any law school with potential jobs. Megan Lovett with the University of Pittsburgh says so far, they have 50 or more applications, both for internships and attorney positions. She says she hopes that, like last year, counties across the state will see applicants from this event. Each year, public defenders’ offices handle cases that would normally require more than 12-hundred full-time attorneys – but only about 850 are working statewide.