Career Development Office Blog

The Federal Legislation & Administrative Clinic is currently accepting applications for a Graduate Teaching Fellow for 2015-17.  The Fellow will be one of two Teaching Fellows/Supervising Attorneys who help supervise students and work with the Director on all aspects of running the clinic.  See below for a description of the Clinic and the Fellowship, and information on how to apply.

The Clinic:

The Clinic trains students (10-12 each semester) to be effective “legislative lawyers” – lawyers who use legal skills to advance public policy through the legislative and executive branches of government.  The Clinic’s core work is our representation of non-profit organizations in their advocacy before Congress and federal departments and agencies. Client organizations and issues are chosen for their capacity to offer Clinic students the best opportunity to get actively involved, on behalf of the clients, in the federal legislative and administrative processes.  Current and recent client organizations are the Women’s Refugee Commission, the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, the National Women’s Law Center, and Families Against Mandatory Minimums.

Student work for clients includes a wide range of activities, such as: analyzing and researching legislative proposals and their potential impact on existing law; preparing advocacy materials; drafting legislative language and explanatory materials; preparing for and participating in meetings with coalition partners and with decision-makers on Capitol Hill and in the executive branch; and advising the client on policy and strategy questions.

The Clinic experience also includes a seminar on Congressional and administrative processes, as well as relevant skills (e.g., written and oral advocacy, collaboration, and negotiation).  In addition, the Clinic runs several intensive written and oral exercises throughout the semester, including a two-week simulation of a Senate committee markup. During the simulation, the students role-play U.S. Senators charged with drafting and marking up legislation to address a pressing national problem.

For more details about the Clinic, see the website.

The Fellowship:

Each Fellow is responsible for supervising five or six J.D. students enrolled in the Clinic—generally, one client “team.”  Supervision of students’ client work includes guiding students on research and analysis, editing and providing feedback on drafts of written work, and preparing students for meetings and advocacy on behalf of the clients.  The Fellows hold weekly one-on-one meetings with each student, meet frequently with the students’ client teams, and are generally available as resources and guides.

The Fellows also help design and teach Clinic seminar classes, work closely with Director on running Clinic exercises and evaluating student performance, provide extensive written and oral feedback on the students’ exercises, and generally collaborate with the Director on the operation of the Clinic.

New Clinic Fellows also enroll in a year-long seminar called Elements of Clinical Pedagogy. The seminar meets monthly and is taught by experienced Georgetown clinical faculty.

The Fellowship provides Fellows an opportunity to prepare for a career in teaching and to enhance their own legislative lawyering skills.  In addition, upon completion of the Fellowship, Fellows receive a Master of Laws in Advocacy.

How to Apply:

To apply for the Fellowship, please submit a resume, law school transcript, writing sample, and cover letter setting forth your interest in the Fellowship by December 1, 2014 for the 2015-17 Fellowship.   Superior writing skills and a strong academic background are required.  Experience in teaching and legislative lawyering is highly desirable.  Candidates should have at least one year of relevant experience beyond the J.D. degree (e.g., clerkship, government/Hill experience, or private/non-profit practice).

Fellows must be admitted to a Bar prior to commencing the Fellowship.  Those Fellows who are not members of the D.C. Bar must apply for admission by waiver upon accepting the Fellowship offer.

Please direct application materials to: Professor Judy Appelbaum, Director, Federal Legislation & Administrative Clinic, Georgetown University Law Center, 600 New Jersey Ave, N.W., Room 340, Washington, D.C. 20001.  Please send an electronic copy of all application materials to the Clinic’s Executive Assistant, Loretta Moss.