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The application process for this Fellowship posting has ended.
The Economic Justice Practice Group invites rising third-year law students, judicial clerks, and other recent law school graduates to apply for LDF sponsorship for public interest fellowship projects to begin in 2011. Sponsorship will enable the applicant to submit proposals to the Skadden Fellowship Foundation, Equal Justice Works, and/or similar programs.
For many decades, LDF has been a leader in the fight for economic equality for communities of color. LDF has litigated several groundbreaking Supreme Court decisions involving economic justice, including Shelley v. Kraemer, 334 U.S. 1 (1948) (holding that the enforcement of racially restrictive covenants in housing violated the Equal Protection Clause), Griggs v. Duke Power Co., 401 U.S. 424 (1971) (announcing the disparate impact theory of discrimination under Title VII), and Franks v. Bowman Transportation Co., Inc., 424 U.S. 747 (1976) (holding that retroactive seniority was appropriate relief for victims of employment discrimination). In 2010, LDF’s Economic Justice Practice Group litigated and won a unanimous decision before the Supreme Court in Lewis v. City of Chicago, following oral argument by LDF’s President and Director-Counsel John Payton. The case challenged discrimination against African Americans who applied to be Chicago firefighters.
Today the economic disparities facing African Americans are more acute than ever—black families' median income is only 58% the income of white families, at least a quarter of African American families have no assets at all to turn to in times of economic hardship, and current estimates are that African Americans will have lost between $71 and $92 billion in home wealth due to subprime loans by the end of the current economic crisis. Overturning the continuing barriers to equal economic opportunity is critical to changing these outcomes. Thus, LDF's Economic Justice Practice Group focuses on equal employment rights and fair housing, among other areas, and current cases include: Greater New Orleans Fair Housing Action Center v. HUD (a suit challenging the discriminatory under-funding of post-Katrina home rebuilding grants to African American home-owners); United States v. City of New York (in which LDF is defending the rights of African American and Latino custodial employees under a prior employment discrimination settlement agreement); Holt v. City of Dickson (a suit challenging numerous government agencies' failure to warn an African American family of the toxic contamination in their drinking water); and Thompson v. HUD (a class action lawsuit concerning segregated public housing in Baltimore).
The Economic Justice Practice Group Fellow will work with the Group's attorneys to litigate cases in the federal courts and advocate for federal and state-level policy reforms on issues of economic justice. The Fellow will be required to prepare and submit a proposal under the guidance of LDF staff to seek his/her own funding by preparing and submitting a proposal to relevant fellowship programs. The Fellow’s work may involve any of the issue areas addressed by the Economic Justice Practice Group, but applicants should particularly consider proposals that address harms caused or exacerbated by the recent recession, including employment discrimination based on credit history or unemployment, fair lending, and access to credit. For more information on the Group, please visit our website: http://naacpldf.org/category/economic-justice
Qualifications & Application Process:
Candidates should have a demonstrated commitment to racial justice and addressing racial inequality in education; outstanding research and writing skills; the ability to work both collaboratively and independently; and the capacity for creative thinking. Interested candidates should apply by sending the following materials: (1) a cover letter specifying the candidate’s interest in LDF and any relevant experience; (2) a resume; (3) a list of three references; and (4) a legal writing sample. Applications will be considered on a rolling basis prior to August 26, 2011; however, applicants are encouraged to submit materials as soon as possible, as most relevant fellowships have deadlines in the early fall.
Please e-mail application materials to jobs@naacpldf.org with the subject line “First Name, Last Name - Economic Justice Fellow” and address the cover letter to:
Director of Human Resources
NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, Inc.
99 Hudson Street, Suite 1600
New York, New York 10013
The NAACP Legal Defense Fund is proud to be an Equal Opportunity Employer. We are committed to providing equal employment opportunities to you without regard to race, creed, color, religion, national origin, sex, pregnancy, sexual orientation, marital status, age, veteran status, disability or genetic information.