FALL 2023 CIVIL RIGHTS FELLOWSHIP
The Washington Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights and Urban Affairs welcomes fellowship proposals from law students and law clerks committed to racial justice and interested in civil rights litigation and advocacy. The Committee seeks proposals for fellowships beginning in Fall 2023. (Links to some of the relevant fellowships are provided below).
ABOUT THE WASHINGTON LAWYERS’ COMMITTEE FOR CIVIL RIGHTS AND URBAN AFFAIRS
The Washington Lawyers’ Committee works to create legal, economic and social equity through litigation, client and public education and public policy advocacy. While we fight discrimination against all people, we recognize the central role that current and historic race discrimination plays in sustaining inequity and recognize the critical importance of identifying, exposing, combatting and dismantling the systems that sustain racial oppression.
POSITION DESCRIPTION
We are particularly interested in fellowship projects that center racial justice, have a systemic or broad-based dimension, and incorporate litigation into the theory of change. We welcome proposals addressing any of our issue areas, and have a particular interest in projects that seek to address the following: or that span issue areas, with priority where indicated.
- Challenging the school-to-prison pipeline and reducing the footprint of the criminal legal system in schools
- Challenging discrimination in the criminal legal system for people with mental health disabilities
- Reducing accessibility barriers to public services, including housing, and public accommodations for people with disabilities
HOW TO APPLY
To apply, please submit (1) a resume, (2) unofficial law school transcript, and (3) a 1-to-2-page description of the project that you wish to develop to: wlcjobs@washlaw.org with the subject “Fellowship Application.” See full posting here.
We are reviewing applications on a rolling basis and will give priority to those submitted by June 10.
Fellows are provided robust opportunities to lead their projects, as well as vital supervision and collaboration from Committee litigators who have experience in individual representation, policy advocacy, and impact and class action litigation. We anticipate working collaboratively with any applicant to develop their proposal. In the past several years, we have hosted successful two-year fellows on cutting-edge legal issues, including (1) combating discrimination based on family responsibilities and pregnancy through impact and class-action litigation and policy advocacy before local governments; (2) advocating for criminal justice reforms to prevent incarceration due to poverty; (3) using fair housing litigation and policy advocacy to prevent development that is perpetuating segregation on race and class lines in the District of Columbia; and (4) combatting discriminatory policing through litigation and policy advocacy.
Information about selected fellowships can be found on the following web sites, but we also encourage you to research other fellowship opportunities:
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The Washington Lawyers’ Committee is proud to be an equal opportunity employer, and as an organization committed to diversity and the perspective of all voices, we consider applicants equally of race, gender, gender identity, color, sexual orientation, religion, marital status, disability, political affiliation and national origin. We reasonably accommodate staff members and/or applicants with disabilities, provided they are otherwise able to perform the essential functions of the job.