Description:
Summary Description:A Non-Profit Organization invites third-year law students and recent law school graduates who are eligible to receive funding through a post-graduate fellowship funded by their law school to apply for a one-year fellowship at the A Non-Profit Organization. This position would be for 12 months starting in fall 2024.
This position will provide recent law school graduates with an exciting opportunity to develop their litigation skills while doing meaningful work to protect civil rights and civil liberties. Working with experienced attorneys, the fellow will conduct litigation, research, and/or policy advocacy on a wide range of civil rights and civil liberties issues. If the law school requires that the prospective fellow provide a proposal for the type of work to be done at A Non-Profit Organization, we will work with the selected applicant to develop a fellowship proposal that aligns with our institutional priorities, particularly criminal law reform and voting rights.
Duties and Responsibilities:
- Participate in and support major civil rights and civil liberties litigation.
- Investigate potential civil rights and civil liberties issues and help to identify an appropriate response.
- Engage in fact-gathering and other pre-litigation work, such as submitting public-records requests and attending court hearings or public meetings of agencies.
- Conduct legal research and analysis, draft pleadings and briefs, prepare memoranda, and write demand letters.
- Communicate with clients, potential clients and our organizational partners.
- Draft and edit public education and non-litigation advocacy materials.
- Assist with the ACLU-PA's non-litigation efforts, such as recruiting private counsel to assist impacted individuals, responding to public questions, and working with coalition partners.
- Help manage the summer legal internship program and supervise student interns.
Required Qualifications:
The ideal candidate should have a demonstrated commitment to public interest law and civil liberties, a commitment and ability to work with and support a wide range of communities and a diverse workplace, and a willingness to collaborate extensively with A Non-Profit Organization in our advocacy work. Once selected, A Non-Profit Organization will work with the candidate to craft a fellowship proposal and submit a joint application to the sponsoring law school, if needed.
The specific minimum qualifications are:
- A Juris Doctorate from an American Bar Association-accredited law school.
- Exceptional writing, research, and analytical skills, which can be demonstrated through clerkship, fellowship, clinical work, summer internship, or other experience.
- A strong understanding of civil liberties and civil rights.
- Excellent communication skills, including the ability to connect with both legal and non-legal audiences.
- Ability to work cooperatively on a variety of projects with lawyers, other A Non-Profit Organization staff, and community partners.
- Membership in the Pennsylvania Bar. If you are not currently a member, you must either be eligible to be admitted on a temporary or permanent basis to the Pennsylvania Bar or sit for the next available Pennsylvania Bar examination in summer 2024 and pass it.