Fellowships

 
 

 

Position Title: Post-Graduate Fellowship Sponsorship

Location: Lynn, Lawrence and/or Lowell Massachusetts

Company: Northeast Legal Aid, Inc.

Overview

Northeast Legal Aid invites third year law students and recent law school graduates to propose innovative fellowship projects for submission to Equal Justice Works, Skadden, and/or similar programs to begin in the Fall. Proposals should relate to:

  • One or more of the practice areas housed at Northeast Legal Aid. For example, NLA practices law in the follow areas: Housing (eviction defense, homelessness prevention, subsidized housing, foreclosure prevention, emergency shelter), Public Benefits of all kinds, Elder Law, Family Law (focus on survivors of domestic violence), Immigration, Consumer Protection, Employment and Housing Discrimination, Wage and Hour matters, Criminal Records matters and Racial Justice issues.

  • One or more of the under-represented practices at Northeast Legal Aid. Though NLA does some advocacy in these areas, we recognize a need to do more.  For example, under-represented practices at NLA include: Consumer Debt Defense, Consumer Fraud; Lemon Law; Bankruptcy; Immigration; Housing Security Deposit violations; Housing Conditions; Employment especially wage and hour cases; Guardianship of Children; Criminal Record Sealing; Mortgage Servicer Abuses; Impact of Arrests, Criminal Fines and Incarceration on Poverty; Housing Affordability/Accessibility especially for chronically homeless singles; and Privacy Rights of the Poor and Elderly. A practice NLA is eager to establish is a Medical Legal Partnership with a local Community Health Center focused on solving health harming legal problems.

  • One or more underserved populations. Though NLA represents the full diversity of residents of northeastern Massachusetts, we recognize that some populations may be underserved or isolated from services. For example, underserved populations in northeastern Massachusetts include: Military Veterans, Older Survivors of Domestic Violence, Victims of Human Trafficking, and members of the LGBTQ community.

Candidates must create their own proposal and be open to proposal modification in order to be consistent with the needs of the communities we serve and NLA's goal to offer unrestricted access to civil legal services to all low-income and elderly residents of northeastern Massachusetts.

Qualifications

Applicants should have:

  • Experience with or demonstrated commitment to civil legal services.

  • Dedication to working with and on behalf of members of low-income and elderly communities.

  • Excellent research, writing and court advocacy skills. Strong communication and interpersonal skills, as well as, the ability to work collaboratively in an interdisciplinary setting.

  • Spanish and Khmer speaking candidates are encouraged to apply.

Applicants MUST have:

  • JD and be admitted to practice law in Massachusetts or the willingness and ability to become licensed in Massachusetts, or

  • Be a third year law student or recent law school graduate from an ABA accredited law school.

Application Process

To apply, submit electronically a resume and cover letter, describing your fellowship proposal to Corine Reardon, Program Administrator, at creardon@nla-ma.org. Please put “Fellowship” in the subject line of the email. 

Interviews will be granted on a rolling basis and will take place at Northeast Legal Aid.

The Northeast Legal Aid is an equal opportunity employer and encourages candidates with disabilities, women, persons of color, members of the LGBTQ community, veterans and others who represent distinct linguistic or cultural communities to apply.

Please contact George Weber, Executive Director, via email at gweber@nla-ma.org with any questions regarding the fellowship application process.