Public Interest Opportunities
The following opportunities are available to Seattle University School of Law students. Please note that many opportunities have application deadlines that are fast-approaching! If you have any questions about these opportunities, need guidance or would like to discuss other potential public interest opportunities, please contact the Access to Justice Institute staff. If you need assistance with preparing a resume or cover letter to submit for these public interest opportunities, we encourage you to meet with the Center for Professional Development staff. For other public interest information, be sure to check out the Center for Professional Development’s Public Interest Web site.
Public Interest Log on Symplicity
After completing your public interest/public service work, please fill out the form(s) on Symplicity. Download our Instructions (pdf) if you need help.
Short-Term Volunteer Opportunities
Casa Latina
Volunteer
Open to: All law students
Application Process: Visit: http://www.casa-latina.org/get-involved/volunteer
Application Deadline: 4/28/2010
Contact: Susie Levy, Volunteer Coordinator - susie@casa-latina.org
Casa Latina was founded in 1994 to empower Seattle’s Latino immigrants by providing them educational and economic opportunities, giving people the tools they need to work, live, support their families and contribute to the Seattle community. Its mission is to empower Latino immigrants through educational and economic opportunities. Casa Latina’s vision is that the Latino community participate fully in the economy and democracy of this country. Volunteer opportunities include: - English as a Second Language teacher Participate in Casa Latina’s popular education model by teaching English to adults during our Morning ESL classes at the Day Workers’ Center. - Domestic Workers' Program assistant Help ensure the smooth running of our Domestic Workers' Program. - Day Workers' Center assistant Help ensure the smooth running of this vibrant site! Assist during mornings in the Day Workers’ Center. - Fundraising committee & special events Support Casa Latina through a variety of fundraising efforts. - Annual auction committee Participate in the planning of our 15th Gala Dinner & Auction! Volunteer 5-10 hours a month from March through October to help lead another successful Casa Gala Dinner & Auction. - Comité de Defensa del Trabajador Get involved with the Comité, a program almost completely driven by its volunteers, which works to recoup owed wages . Strategize in partnership with day laborers to organize direct action campaigns and contact employers.
Lawyers Fostering Independence - Pro Bono Legal Guide Project
Volunteer
Open to: All law students
Time Commitment: Time is flexible; approximately 15-25 hours to complete one guide to be done over the course of 1-2 months.
Application Process: Email contact person indicating your interest by Friday, February 26, 2010.
Application Deadline: 4/28/2010
Contact: Diana Singleton, Director, Access to Justice Institute at singletd@seattleu.edu
The Lawyers Fostering Independence (LFI) program, which is housed at the Center for Children and Youth Justice, provides former foster youth with access to pro bono civil legal services. To support pro bono attorneys in their work, LFI is seeking law students to develop brief legal guides on a variety of substantive areas including consumer law, family law and housing law. Students will: 1) locate and compile resources and materials; 2) review and select resource and materials that would be most relevant for the guide; and 3) draft content for the guide. Sarah Lysons, Lawyers Fostering Independence Coordinator, will provide guidance and supervision. These legal guides will be used by pro bono attorneys who are representing former foster youth. This is a great opportunity particularly for students who want to do volunteer work with a flexible schedule!
King County Bar Association Neighborhood Legal Clinics
Clinic Assistant Volunteer
Open to: All law students
Time Commitment: One two-hour shift every six to eight weeks.
Application Process: Email contact below.
Application Deadline: 4/28/2010
Contact: Rebecca Fogarty, NLC Program Manager -RebeccaF@kcba.org
Clinic Assistant volunteers are placed at a legal clinic to greet clients when they arrive, help with client intake, regulate the flow of the clinic’s schedule, answer clinic-related questions, track statistics and assist attorneys and clients with resource materials that may help them further. We have a special need for volunteers who are fluent in Spanish. This position is administrative.
WA Office of Administrative Hearings -Mock Hearing Videos for Pro Se Litigants
Volunteer
Open to: All law students
Time Commitment: 30 hours maximum; plus travel time for 2-3 trips to Olympia for rehearsals and production.
Application Process: Email resume and brief statement describing interest in the project and any previous experience with acting to contact below.
Application Deadline: 4/28/2010
Contact: Diana Singleton, Director, Access to Justice Institute - singletd@seattleu.edu
To improve access to justice, the Office of Administrative Hearings (OAH) intends to produce videos of mock hearings of a child support hearing and an unemployment insurance benefit administrative hearing. These videos are intended to help Pro Se litigants (those representing themselves in a hearing) understand the administrative hearing process. OAH seeks 5 law students to be actors in the videos. Through this volunteer opportunity, students will gain substantive knowledge of the administrative court process and laws concerning child support and unemployment insurance. Students work closely with administrative law judges on this important access to justice initiative and gain a deeper understanding of the barriers that Pro Se litigants face. The production is subject to funding which OAH hopes to secure very soon.
Florida International University’s Carlos A. Costa Immigration & Human Rights Clinic
Spring Break Pro Bono Project: Assisting Haitians Apply for Temporary Protected Status (TPS)
Open to: All law students
Application Process: Email contact below.
Application Deadline: 4/28/2010
Contact: Becky Sharpless, Director, Immigration Clinic, University of Miami School of Law - rsharpless@law.miami.edu or Troy Elder – eldert@fiu.edu
In response to the many requests from law students to help Haitians in Miami apply for TPS during spring break, Miami advocates and law schools have created a centralized way for law students to sign-up to help. Because the aim of the project is to help as many people as possible, students should plan on spending their entire spring break in Miami. Students should arrange to be in Miami for at least part of both weekends of their spring break, as many of the larger TPS drives happen on the weekend. The work may take many forms, including staffing a TPS drive at a community organization or legal services organization or reviewing applications that have already been completed. Students will be expected to be flexible and go to the place where help is needed most. All students will be trained on TPS, including on advanced issues. Students should be prepared to attend a training, which may occur in the evening of the same day of their arrival. Students are expected to find their own housing and to use public transportation if they are not renting cars. Ideas for housing include cheap hotels and hostels or renting a house.
Housing Justice Project - Seattle & Kent
Volunteer
Open to: All students
Application Process: Email contact below.
Application Deadline: 4/28/2010
Contact: Sandi Wandler, Kent HJP Project Manager - (206) 205-8060 or sandiw@kcba.org
Volunteers are needed to assist with client intakes, distribute community resources and provide support to volunteer attorneys for this homelessness prevention program that provides accessible legal services to low-income tenants facing eviction in King County.
Justice Works!
3 Strikes Researcher
Open to: All law students.
Time Commitment: Depends on student availability.
Application Process: Call or email contact below.
Application Deadline: 4/28/2010
Contact: Lea Zengage - lzengage@northwest.net or 206.725.9189
The 3 Strikes Researcher will conduct a comparison of punishments for lower-seriousness crimes in states that impose Life Without Parole under 3-Strikes.
Justice Works!
3 Strikes Mobilization Coordinator
Open to: All law students.
Time Commitment: Depends on student availability.
Application Process: Call or email contact below.
Application Deadline: 4/28/2010
Contact: Lea Zengage - lzengage@northwest.net or 206.725.9189
The coordinator will study the key points/FAQs of 3-Strikes through a briefing/quiz; participate in a training that prepares volunteers to call campaign supporters to ask them to contact legislators or attend events; participate in a training to be a "mobilizer." The coordinator will also help recruit participants in trainings through emails and phone calls; facilitate or co-facilitate at least 3 mobilization events that involve a 1-hour training and a 2-hour phone calling session.
Juvenile Rehabilitation Administration
Volunteer Mentor
Open to: All students at least 20 years old.
Time Commitment: One year commitment.
Application Process: Email contact below.
Application Deadline: 4/28/2010
Contact: Wiley Carter - cacrtewg@dshs.wa.gov
The mentor program matches adults from the community with a youth who is currently serving time in a Washington State juvenile correction facility. Mentors are asked to meet with his/her youth while he/she is at the institution. Once the youth is released the mentor meets with his/her youth weekly. Volunteering in the JRA Mentor Program will take an average of two to four hours a month of your time once the youth has returned to the community. Mentors attend a bi-monthly two hour seminar as well as turn in a monthly contact log. Before a mentor can be matched he/she must attend an initial training, complete an application packet, and consent to a Washington State Patrol background check.
Open Door Legal Services
Student Volunteer
Open to: All law students
Time Commitment: 10 - 20 hrs. per week
Application Process: Email contact below.
Application Deadline: 4/28/2010
Contact: David Mace - dmace@ugm.org
Students will assist homeless and extremely low income clients with legal matters that are barriers to improving their lives such as ID issues, court fines and warrants, public assistance issues, child support and family law issues, and licensing.
Asian-Pacific American Legal Clinic
Student Volunteer
Open to: All students
Application Process: Call or email contact below.
Application Deadline: 4/28/2010
Contact: Jonathan Yeh - 206.251.3535 or jyeh@digital-legal.com
Students are needed to fill clinic administrator roles at the Asian-Pacific American Legal Clinic (part of the King County Bar Association’s Neighborhood Legal Clinics program), which provides free legal advice and consultation sessions with volunteer attorneys in primarily civil issues. The APA Legal Clinic is open to all, but its client base is drawn primarily from the Asian-Pacific American community. The clinic is held each Wednesday from 5:45-7:45 p.m. at the offices of the Asian Counseling and Referral Service located at 3639 Martin Luther King Jr. Way South, Seattle, WA 98144. Students are generally scheduled to volunteer once a month, but schedules are flexible.
Immigrant Detainee Justice Project
Volunteer
Open to: All students.
Time Commitment: 2.5 to 3 hours (excluding travel time) one time, or once a month, or once a week.
Application Process: Email contact below.
Application Deadline: 4/28/2010
Contact: Monika Batra Kashyap, Associate Director, Access to Justice Institute - 206.398.4099 or batram@seattleu.edu
Through the Immigrant Detainee Justice Project, SU law students will attend, observe, and analyze detained court proceedings which take place at the Northwest Detention Center in Tacoma. The purpose of the observation is to provide valuable information about the visiting rotating immigration judges presiding over detainees at the Northwest Detention Center.
Long-Term/Internship Volunteer Opportunities
Homeless Parents Advocacy Project
Volunteer Intern
Open to: All law students
Time Commitment: Time is flexible; students will begin working from late February to mid-April; approximately 5-7 hours per week.
Application Process: Email contacts below.
Application Deadline: 4/28/2010
Contact: Diana Singleton, Director, Access to Justice Institute at singletd@seattleu.edu or Naomi Strand, PILF Action Co-Chair at strandn@seattleu.edu.
Unmanageable child support burdens impact homeless parents’ access to housing, jobs, and financial stability. The Open Door Legal Services (ODLS) based at Seattle’s Union Gospel Mission is looking for volunteer interns to advocate on behalf of homeless parents who need legal assistance with child support issues. Under the supervision of David Mace, ODLS Managing Attorney, teams of students will engage in child support advocacy work including client interviewing and counseling, case investigation, legal research, negotiation, pleading preparation and possible representation in child support hearings. This is great opportunity to gain practical legal skills, learn about administrative law and child support law, and experience working with the homeless community. 1Ls and 2Ls are particularly encouraged to participate!
Solid Ground
Welfare Advocacy Intern
Open to: 2Ls & 3Ls
Time Commitment: At least 4 months.
Application Process: Email cover letter & resume to contact below.
Application Deadline: 4/28/2010
Contact: Evonne Zook - evonnez@solid-ground.org
An Intern in the Family Assistance/Welfare Advocacy Program at Solid Ground has the opportunity to learn advocacy skills first-hand. The program serves a diverse client population of low-income persons, including disabled, recent immigrants, working families with children, and seniors. The student will have direct contact with clients, and be able to follow the administrative hearings process from Intake to the Final Order. Two full-time staff attorneys provide supervision. This position pays $15.00 per hour minimum to $17.00 per hour maximum.
U.S. Department of Labor - Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA)
Volunteer
Open to: All law students
Time Commitment: Between 15-20 hrs/weel
Application Process: Email contact below.
Application Deadline: 4/28/2010
Contact: Vicky Colrman - coleman.victoria@dol.gov
The volunteer will work with investigators in the Whistleblower Protection Program for the Federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA). Volunteers will assist with investigating whistleblower complaints filed in OSHA’s Region X. Activities may include screening new complaints, researching case law, organizing and analyzing evidentiary materials, assisting the investigator in preparing witness interviews, and accompanying an investigator in the field when appropriate and practical. A volunteer ay also assist with settling cases such as assessing back pay and other damages. For more information, visit http://www.osha.gov/dep/oia/whistleblower/index.html
Summer Internships & Fellowships
Northwest Justice Project
2010 Migrant Farm Worker Justice Internship
Open to: All law students
Application Process: Send resume and writing sample to contact below.
Application Deadline: 4/28/2010
Contact: Susan Encherman, Hiring Coordinator - 401 2nd Ave. S., Suite 407, Seattle, WA 98104
The Northwest Justice Project Farmworker Unit seeks summer interns to assist experienced attorneys in providing farm labor camp outreach, community education and legal advice to migrant farm workers. Law student outreach is an essential component in helping workers in their efforts to enforce their labor rights and obtain access to needed services. Farm workers face increased barriers, such as limited language capabilities in both Spanish and English, as many migrant workers now originate in Southern Mexico and Central America, whose residents speak indigenous languages. Spanish language proficiency required. For the Yakima position, fellowship funding may be available through the Laurel Rubin Farmworker Justice Fellowship.
Post-Graduate Fellowships
Access to Justice Institute
Leadership for Justice Post-Gradute Fellowship
Open to: 3Ls
Application Process: Email contact.
Application Deadline: 3/22/2010
Contact: Monika Batra Kashyap - batram@seattleu.edu
The Access to Justice Institute (ATJI) announces the 2010 Leadership For Justice Fellowship. The Leadership For Justice (LFJ) Fellowship strives to build upon the leadership capacity of future lawyers who are committed to social justice by creating opportunities for new lawyers to work on behalf of traditionally underserved populations and causes. The social justice project should be designed in collaboration with a host organization and should involve effective advocacy on behalf of underserved or marginalized individuals or groups, or address issues that are not adequately represented by some aspect of the legal system. The project should also provide the Fellow with the opportunity to exercise leadership and introduce new legal services or significantly expand upon services already provided by the organization. Finally, the project should be designed to include the potential for opportunities for SU law students to do meaningful social justice work. The Fellow will work with ATJI to develop, offer and oversee these student opportunities.
Columbia Law School
Columbia Law School Center for Climate Change Fellowship
Open to: 3Ls & Recent Graduates
Time Commitment: September 2010 - August 2011
Application Process: Submit a cover letter, C.V. and law school transcript to contact below.
Application Deadline: 4/28/2010
Contact: Hannah Chang - hannah.chang@law.columbia.edu
The Fellow will function as Deputy Director of the Center for Climate Change; will supervise various fellows, visiting scholars and interns; will work on a wide variety of research and writing projects; and will help organize conferences, seminars, collaborative publications, and other projects concerning climate mitigation and adaption. Strong academic qualifications and background in environmental law and policy will be expected. The salary will be $60,000 plus benefits. For more information, please visit: http://www.law.columbia.edu/centers/climatechange/About/Fellowship
Vermont Legal Aid, Inc.
Vermont Poverty Law Fellowship
Open to: 3Ls and Recent Graduates
Time Commitment: 2 years, beginning August 2010
Application Process: cover letter detailing the applicant's previous work with low-income clients and/or other relevant experience, resume, three references, and writing sample to contact below.
Application Deadline: 4/28/2010
Contact: Vermont Poverty Law Fellowship, c/o Sandy Burns, Vermont Legal Aid, Inc. - P.O. Box 1367, Burlington, VT 05402
The fellowship will include work on one or more specific projects impacting the lives of low-income Vermonters, as well as the day-to-day delivery of legal services to clients. Areas of specialization include foreclosure, rental housing, immigration, children's rights, public benefits, consumer law, disability rights, as well as other areas of critical legal need. Fellows will work with the Vermont Bar Foundation and the Vermont Bar Association to publicize fellowship activities, contribute to the public awareness of legal services in Vermont, and participate in Vermont Bar Association continuing legal education activities. Salary will be $40,000 in the first year and $41,265 in the second year with excellent fringe benefits. The VPL fellows will be eligible for up to $5,000 per year in student loan forgiveness through the Vermont Bar Foundation. For more information, please visit: http://www.vtbarfoundation.org/grant-programs/poverty-law-fellowship
Erin Shea McCann '07
Equal Justice Works Fellow
Columbia Legal Services