Description:
Brooklyn Legal Services' (BLS) Housing Unit -Right to Counsel Practice is offering unpaid summer internships.About Brooklyn Legal Services and Housing Unit
Brooklyn Legal Services, part of Legal Services NYC (LSNYC), provides high-quality, innovative representation to address the pressing legal needs of Brooklyn's diverse low-income population. BLS focuses on the problems that have the greatest impact on our clients — preserving affordable and decent housing, maintaining income support, redressing abusive lending and consumer practices, promoting family stability and mitigating the effects of domestic violence, and advocating for the disabled.
The Housing Law Unit preserves affordable housing for Brooklyn's low-income communities through representation of low-income tenants in eviction proceedings, collaboration with community-based organizations, and affirmative litigation to challenge abusive and discriminatory behaviors that displace low-income families and eliminate affordable housing. Our Unit has partnered closely with the Human Resources Administration (“HRA”) to launch and build a unit to support this ever-expanding Right to Counsel. The core of the Housing Unit team's work is to provide zealous legal representation to Brooklyn tenants facing eviction in Housing Court and in administrative proceedings through aggressive litigation and creative advocacy. Through both individual representation and cutting-edge litigation, we preserve housing subsidies and public benefits for our clients. We also provide advice and community education to tenants throughout Brooklyn at legal clinics and through Know Your Rights trainings.
Role and Responsibilities:
We are seeking detail-oriented interns who are committed to public service. Interns will assist with litigation and advocacy projects under the supervision of the attorneys in the office. Projects may include Right to Counsel intake and advocacy under the Student Practice Order, legal research, drafting pleadings and motions, and public benefits and rent subsidies advocacy. In certain circumstances, this advocacy involves speaking on the record in court and administrative proceedings. The internship will involve frequent attendance in housing court and client meetings in our office, located in downtown Brooklyn. We welcome 2Ls who are eager to explore the Right to Counsel practice as their post-graduate career.
LSNYC and BLS pride themselves on their Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging (DEIB) efforts. As a social justice organization, we are committed to fighting for a workplace that is as diverse, equitable, and inclusive as possible for everyone. Our DEIB committee and numerous affinity groups work to foster collegial relationships among staff and allow staff to explore and advocate for racial justice and anti-oppression growth within our organization and through our legal work. All employees and interns are expected to learn about, seek to understand and work to realize our DEIB goals.