LEGAL FELLOW

Public Justice is a nonprofit legal advocacy organization that takes on the biggest systemic threats to justice of our time–abusive corporate power and predatory practices, the assault on civil rights, and the destruction of the earth’s sustainability. It connects high impact litigation with strategic communications and the strength of our partnerships to fight these abusive and discriminatory systems and win social and economic justice. We seek to hire a two-year Fellow to start in Fall 2025 who will work with our attorneys on high-impact, cutting-edge litigation and advocacy across a variety of substantive areas.

The Fellowship

This is a two-year Fellowship in which the Fellow will have the opportunity to work on variety of substantive areas encompassed by our legal projects:

The Access to Justice Project seeks to make the civil court system a fair, equitable, and effective tool for those with less power to win just outcomes. Primarily through high-impact litigation, we dismantle the procedural and structural barriers between ordinary people and the civil justice system, such as forced arbitration, limits on collective actions, overly strict standing requirements, and unwarranted court secrecy.

The Debtors’ Prison Project fights to end the criminalization of poverty and shrink the carceral system. Working with allies and impacted communities, we use litigation, advocacy, and education to ensure no one is jailed simply because they can’t pay and to stop governments and for-profit corporations from treating people impacted by the system as a revenue source.

The Students’ Civil Rights Project combines high-impact litigation with other advocacy tools to combat harassment and other forms of discrimination in schools. We strive to create systemic change so all students can learn and thrive, and to secure justice for students who are denied educational opportunities based on their race, national origin, ethnicity, or sex, including sexual orientation, gender identity, and gender expression.

The Environmental Enforcement Project goes to court every day to fight climate change, secure environmental justice, and make polluters pay. We utilize the most powerful tools available to citizens by enforcing our Nation’s environmental laws in state and federal court. Our experienced litigators win precedent-setting cases that result in meaningful, transformative change. We hold polluters accountable by requiring corporations to clean up their act and comply with our Nation’s environmental laws.

The Fellow would work closely with Public Justice’s attorneys who have extensive experience litigating and advocating in their areas of expertise, a network of lawyers who collaborate on Public Justice’s work, other public interest groups, and our communications staff. In addition, the Fellow would be responsible for responding to intake and providing assistance with organization-wide projects as requested. This is an exempt position and will report to a Senior Attorney.

Qualifications

• J.D. degree (by Fall 2025).
• Excellent analytical, legal research, legal writing, and speaking skills.
• Litigation experience (e.g., from internships, clinics, or clerkships).
• Ability to juggle multiple tasks at a time and work in a fast-paced environment.
• Self-motivation and proven ability to work independently and as part of a team.
• Sensitivity to the needs and concerns of, and ability to work well with, individuals and groups from diverse cultures, backgrounds, and orientations.
• Excellent attention to detail and commitment to follow-through.
• Strong organizational skills.
• Healthy sense of outrage and desire to change the world for the better.
• Experience in complex civil litigation is preferred.

We offer a mission-focused work environment and a teamwork approach. We also offer a generous benefits package, including a four-day work week, three weeks of paid vacation, two weeks of sick leave, and two personal days each year, all federal holidays, employer-paid health, dental and vision insurance premiums, and a 401(k) plan.

Salary

Our attorneys are paid on a salary scale based on years out of law school. The starting annual salary for an attorney who has graduated law school in 2025 is $84,500.

Applications

Your application should consist of two electronic files: (1) your cover letter, resume, law school transcript, and references in a single .pdf file; and (2) a writing sample in another .pdf file, comprised of a legal brief or persuasive memo for which you were the primary author (please note the contributions of others). In your cover letter, please specify whether you are applying to work in the Washington, D.C. office or remote.

Please send your application to lawfellow@publicjustice.net. Reference “2025 Two-Year Fellowship” in the subject line. The application deadline is October 21, 2024, at which point applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis until the position is filled.

Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Access

Public Justice is an equal-opportunity employer and values a diverse workplace. We are committed to providing an environment of mutual respect where equitable employment opportunities are available to all applicants. We encourage applications from all qualified individuals without regard to race, color, religion, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity or gender expression, age, national origin, citizenship of immigration status, disability, veteran status, record of arrest or conviction, or any other characteristic protected by applicable law. People of color, lesbian, gay, bisexual, queer, transgender and gender diverse people, women, people with abilities in multiple languages, immigrants, people living with disabilities, veterans, and formerly incarcerated individuals are strongly encouraged to apply. Please visit this link to read our Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Access policy statement: Diversity, Equity, Inclusion & Access.

Public Justice is committed to providing reasonable accommodations to individuals with disabilities. If you require reasonable accommodations during any part of the hiring process, please email lhughes@publicjustice.net.