The ACLU invites rising third-year law students and law graduates to apply for a sponsorship opportunity to work with us as a Legal Fellow for up to two years. The Disability Rights Program (DRP) of the National office in San Francisco seeks applicants to consider for a sponsored fellowship such as Equal Justice Works or other public interest fellowships to begin in the fall of 2023.
The Disability Rights Program's mission is to achieve an America free of discrimination against people with disabilities; where people with disabilities are valued, integrated members of society who have full access to education, homes, health care, jobs, families, voting and civic engagement. We fight to ensure that people with disabilities are no longer segregated into, and overrepresented in, civil and criminal institutions such as nursing homes, psychiatric hospitals, jails, and prisons.
Reporting to the Project Director and/or Deputy Director, Fellows are essential for DRP’s small team. DRP has many projects, ideas, and requests for assistance that could be strengthened or undertaken only with the addition of a fellow. Some of the possible projects DRP is seeking a fellow to propose include:
Guardianship – a project to study, track, and reduce guardianships in a particular jurisdiction, including developing an in-depth understanding of how guardianships are created, continue, and end, and developing tools and strategies to re-direct those guardianships towards supported decision-making
This would likely include direct representation of some individuals as well as larger-scale litigation and advocacy to change the systems, presumptions, and practices in that jurisdiction
Policing and mental health:
- Launching community-driven advocacy and litigation to redirect resources away from police and towards specialized, trained, and non-violent mental health services and supports
- Using disability rights strategies and laws to challenge expanding and draconian systems of forced mental health treatment, including forced institutionalization and guardianship, for unhoused people with serious mental illness
- Voting – developing and implementing strategy and materials to leverage disability rights laws to challenge voter suppression laws, including as standalone litigation and in cooperation with larger challenges to voter suppression bills
RESPONSIBILITIES
- Conduct legal research and analysis and develop theories to support new litigation projects
- Draft legal memoranda, pleadings, affidavits, motions, and briefs
- Interview witnesses and potential clients
- Participate in discovery and trial practice
- Draft and edit public education and non-litigation advocacy materials
- Provide support and assistance to ACLU affiliates and cooperating attorneys
- Help manage summer legal internship program and supervise student interns
- Engage in special projects and other duties as assigned
- Center principles of equity, inclusion, and belonging in all work, embedding the values in program development, policy application, and organizational practices and processes
- Demonstrate a commitment to the mission of the ACLU
- Demonstrate a commitment to diversity within the office using a personal approach that values all individuals and respects differences in regards to race, ethnicity, age, gender identity and expression, sexual orientation, religion, disability and socio-economic circumstance
- Demonstrate a commitment to work collaboratively and respectfully toward resolving obstacles and/or conflicts
EXPERIENCE & QUALIFICATIONS
- Expected to receive a J.D. by the spring of 2023, or have a J.D. but without work in private practice (most fellowships only consider candidates who have not practiced, or have only had a clerkship or previous fellowship)
- Demonstrated commitment to public interest law and civil liberties
- Willingness to work closely with the Disability Rights Program through the funding application process
- Excellent research, writing, and verbal communication skills
- Demonstrated ability to conduct complex legal analysis and fact-finding
- Excellent interpersonal skills and a proven ability to work independently as well as within a team
- Self-motivated with the ability to take initiative, manage a variety of tasks and see projects through to completion
COMPENSATION
The ACLU has a litigator scale that determines pay for attorneys in our Legal Department. The range of salaries are the following, based on year of law school graduation (please consult the hiring manager for specific salary details, based on individual circumstances):
- 0-2 years since law school graduation: $76,320- $87,787
- 3-5 years since law school graduation: $93,493-$104,553
- 6-10 years since law school graduation: $107,690- $121,206
- 11-15 years since law school graduation: $124,843-$140,511
- 16-20 years since law school graduation: $144,72
The salary will be subject to a locality adjustment (according to a specific city and state), if an authorization is granted to work outside of the location listed in this posting. Note that most of the salaries listed on our job postings reflect New York, NY salaries, where our National offices are headquartered.
For more information click "LINK TO ORIGINAL" below.