The Jerome N. Frank Legal Services Organization 2015 Paid Summer Fellowships at Yale Law School
The Jerome N. Frank Legal Services Organization of Yale Law School (LSO) invites applications for its 2015 Summer Fellowship program. Applications will be accepted immediately and reviewed on a rolling basis.
LSO is the main organization at Yale Law School providing legal representation to individuals and organizations in need of legal assistance but unable to afford private attorneys. During the academic year, law students work closely with clinical faculty members to represent clients in a wide range of litigation and non-litigation matters, helping to fill a critical need in legal services delivery for poor and marginalized communities in Connecticut.
LSO seeks to hire 20-25 Summer Fellows to work with clinical faculty in order to continue this client representation. These are paid positions, with a salary of $6,720 for 12 weeks of full-time work ($14/hour). The Fellowship will run from May 19 to August 28, with some flexibility as to start and end dates. Part-time work or full-time work for a portion of the Fellowship period may also be possible.
Summer Fellows can expect to have a range of challenging and rewarding lawyering experiences during the course of their time at LSO, including client interviewing and counseling; factual development of cases; researching and writing legal memoranda; drafting of contracts and other legal instruments; interacting with opposing counsel, government actors, and community stakeholders; and negotiation and alternative dispute resolution.
In several of the clinics, students will make court appearances to argue motions or present evidence. Fellows will work under the direct supervision of clinical faculty members and supervising attorneys, and will have significant responsibility for each case or project on which they work. In addition, faculty members will host a weekly series of presentations and discussions for the Fellows on the work of the clinics, public interest lawyering, and other topics of interest.
LSO clinics perform a wide range of exciting work, including litigation in state and federal court and before administrative agencies, transactional work on behalf of community organizations, and policy and legislative advocacy at the local, state, and federal levels. For 2015, LSO seeks Summer Fellows for the following clinics:
- Sol and Lillian Goldman Family Advocacy for Children and Youth Clinic
- Ludwig Community and Economic Development Clinic
- Criminal Justice Clinic
- Immigration Legal Services
- Landlord Tenant Legal Services
- Legal Services for Immigrant Communities
- Mortgage Foreclosure Litigation
- Veterans Legal Services Clinic
- Worker and Immigrant Rights Advocacy Clinic
Students who are eligible for summer funding from their own sources and who need an early decision on their LSO application to qualify for outside support are encouraged to advise LSO of their situation and to request expedited review of their candidacy.
Interested students should email a cover letter specifying the clinic(s) in which they have an interest, a resume, writing sample, transcript, and contact information for two references via email. (Transcripts, if not available, can be sent after the initial application.) The final deadline to submit application materials is February 15, 2015. Early applications are encouraged.
For more information on the work of each of these clinics, please visit the website.