The Harvard Legal Aid Bureau Seeks Law Students as Summer Fellows for 2015
The Harvard Legal Aid Bureau seeks to hire approximately 17 law students to serve as Summer Fellows for 2015. Summer Fellows will be the primary case handlers on approximately 10-15 cases at a time in the areas of housing, family, government benefits and wage and hour litigation. They interact directly with clients, opposing parties, witnesses and government agencies; engage in extensive factual and legal investigation; draft motions and briefs; research legal issues; conduct discovery; and appear and argue in court. Rising 3Ls and 2Ls may apply, though rising 3Ls and rising 2Ls who have taken an evidence or trial advocacy course are preferred.
HLAB Summer Fellows are supervised by HLAB’s Clinical Instructors, practicing attorneys with years of trial and supervision experience, and students will be trained in all the relevant areas of the law. HLAB Summer Fellows generally experience a broad range of litigation and legal experience in as many as four primary practice areas. In the Family Law practice, HLAB represents victims of domestic violence in restraining order hearings, divorces, paternity, visitation, child support, and custody disputes. In the Housing Law practice, HLAB represents individual clients who are being evicted from public, subsidized, and private housing, and also works with tenant unions and other progressive organizations to ensure the availability of affordable housing in the Greater Boston area.
In the Government Benefits practice, HLAB represents clients at hearings to obtain or retain their Supplemental Security Income and Social Security Disability Insurance benefits or unemployment benefits.
Finally, in the Fair Wage practice, HLAB allows students to work on affirmative lawsuits addressing violations of state and federal labor laws. We ask student to choose a primary concentration in the area of housing or family law. Most Summer Fellows working at HLAB do so full-time, although we are willing to discuss alternative arrangements with students facing extenuating circumstances. Due to funding restrictions, HLAB is unable to pay its Summer Fellows.
The Harvard Legal Aid Bureau was founded in 1913 to provide free legal services for low-income people in the Greater Boston community. As the nation’s oldest student-run legal services organization, the Harvard Legal Aid Bureau aspires to be an engine for progressive change and social justice. To learn even more about the Harvard Legal Aid Bureau, visit the website.
Applications will be accepted on a rolling basis until all positions are filled. Please send (1) a resume, (2) a cover letter, (3) a law school transcript, and (4) two references to: Chad Baker, Executive Director.