The Washington Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights and Urban Affairs welcomes fellowship proposals from law students and law clerks committed to racial justice and interested in civil rights litigation and advocacy. The Committee seeks proposals for fellowships in any of our core practice areas, several of which often overlap. These include disability, education, police abuse, prisoners’ rights, workers’ rights, and fair housing. The fellowship would begin in the Fall of 2025.
The Committee works to create economic and social equity through litigation, client and public education and public policy advocacy. While we fight discrimination against all people, we recognize the central role that current and historic race discrimination plays in sustaining inequity and recognize the critical importance of identifying, exposing, combatting and dismantling the systems that sustain racial oppression.
We are particularly interested in fellowship projects that center racial justice, have a systemic or broad-based dimension, and incorporate litigation into the theory of change. As noted, we welcome proposals addressing any of our issue areas; below are some kinds of potential projects that the Committee is currently interested in:
- Challenging the school-to-prison pipeline and reducing the footprint of the criminal legal system in schools
- Challenging the criminal legal system’s treatment of people with mental health disabilities
- Reducing accessibility barriers to public services, including housing, and public accommodations for people with disabilities
- Challenging gentrification through systemic litigation against racial segregation and deplorable housing conditions in D.C.’s housing market
Fellows are provided robust opportunities to lead their projects, as well as vital supervision and collaboration from Committee litigators who have experience in individual representation, policy advocacy, and impact and class action litigation. We anticipate working collaboratively with any applicant to develop their proposal.
To be considered, please submit (1) a resume, (2) unofficial law school transcript, and (3) a 1-to-2-page description of the project that you wish to develop to: [email protected] with the subject “Fellowship Application.” We are reviewing applications on a rolling basis and will give priority to those submitted by July 15.
The Washington Lawyers’ Committee is proud to be an equal opportunity employer, and as an organization committed to diversity and the perspective of all voices, we consider applicants equally of race, gender, gender identity, color, sexual orientation, religion, marital status, disability, political affiliation and national origin. We reasonably accommodate staff members and/or applicants with disabilities, provided they are otherwise able to perform the essential functions of the job.