The Social Justice Legal Foundation, a nonprofit civil-rights litigation group, seeks applicants 0–2 years out of law school for its 2025 Impact Litigation Fellowship. The Impact Litigation Fellowship is a fully funded two-year fellowship focused on training recent law school graduates in the nuts and bolts of strategic social justice litigation—from investigation and filing through summary judgment and trial, and every discovery dispute and oral argument in between. Fellowships are full-time, hybrid positions based in Los Angeles, California. Salary starts at $86,000 commensurate with litigation or clerkship experience and increases by $4,000 after admission to the bar. The Foundation provides a bar exam stipend, relocation assistance, a generous paid time-off policy, comprehensive healthcare benefits, retirement benefits with employer match, and professional development funds.

Why This Fellowship:

The Impact Litigation Fellowship offers young attorneys the chance to gain litigation skills by working on meaningful social justice cases on a tight-knit team.

Since its founding in 2021, The Social Justice Legal Foundation has developed systemic-impact cases and the public-interest bench to litigate them. With a small and mighty team of first-rate litigators, the Foundation takes complex, novel cases in areas ripe for strategic litigation on behalf of and alongside marginalized and excluded communities. The Foundation’s active cases challenge conditions of immigration detention, punitive fines and fees, the criminalization of poverty, and violations of the civil rights and liberties of incarcerated people. Although litigation is our tool of choice, we understand that lasting change comes from the work of advocates, organizers, and educators, and we rely on their expertise and work to deepen our community relationships and ensure that our work meets the needs of the communities we serve.

Our Impact Litigation Fellows are critical to the Foundation’s work: In their second year, our Fellows do the work of mid-level law firm associates, including managing client communications, leading meet-and-confer calls, arguing discovery motions, working with experts, and taking depositions. Fellows reach this stage through a challenging and intentional model that combines formal training; iterative review and feedback; and hands-on experience with clients, co-counsel, and courts. At its core, the Impact Litigation Fellowship advances the Foundation’s mission to build a pipeline of tenacious public-interest litigators capable of litigating against the most powerful corporate and governmental interests in the country. Past fellows have gone on to clerk for judges, litigate at large nonprofit organizations and civil-rights law firms, and teach at law school clinics.

Qualifications:

J.D. degree by start date
If not currently licensed to practice in a state, candidate must agree to take the California bar exam before their start date. In limited circumstances, SJLF may permit a fellow to take another state’s bar exam and register as a legal aid attorney in California.
A demonstrated commitment to using the law to work in service of others or to advance social change
Excellent research, analysis, and writing skills

Ideal candidates will also have a genuine belief in litigation as a valuable tool to advance rights and the law, a drive to develop litigation skills quickly, and a desire to work in an engaging and collaborative environment.

Applications should include:

A cover letter explaining your interest in the fellowship, describing any relevant life or work experience, and articulating how litigation can be or has been a tool for social change
A resume
Two letters of recommendation (preferably one should be from an employer or clinical instructor)
An official or unofficial law school transcript
One or two writing samples, at least one of which should include legal analysis. We welcome a second non-legal writing sample. (We strongly encourage applicants to submit writing samples that reflect solely their own work. If you are unable to do so, please explain the contributions of others to the writing.)

SJLF anticipates hiring two Impact Litigation Fellows to start their fellowships in the fall of 2025. All applications must be submitted to fellowship@socialjusticelaw.org by November 1, 2024.

Applications will be reviewed by SJLF staff and Board members. Select applicants will be invited for short remote interviews, and final-stage applicants will be invited to interview remotely or in-person at our Los Angeles office. For invited applicants willing and able to travel to Los Angeles, SJLF will cover the cost of travel. We expect to make hiring decisions by mid-December 2024.

Commitment to Accessibility, Equity & Inclusion:

We are a young organization committed to learning and growth, and we firmly believe in creating an equitable and inclusive culture. We strongly encourage applications from all qualified individuals without regard to race, color, religion, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, age, national origin, marital status, citizenship, disability, veteran status, record of arrest or conviction, or any other characteristic protected by applicable law. We especially welcome qualified applicants from system-impacted backgrounds or backgrounds underrepresented in the law.

SJLF is committed to providing reasonable accommodation to individuals with disabilities. If you are a qualified individual with a disability and need assistance applying, please email fellowship@socialjusticelaw.org. If you are selected for an interview, you will receive additional information regarding how to request an accommodation for the interview process.

Social Justice Legal Foundation

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