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EJS will review applications on a rolling basis; the review process will close by February 28, 2024.
Equal Justice Society is seeking new attorneys and 3L students (graduating in 2024) committed to racial and social justice to apply for the 2024-2025 Judge Constance Baker Motley Civil Rights Fellowship.
Named after the first African American woman to serve on the federal bench, the Fellowship is made possible through a generous gift by Elizabeth J. Cabraser. Elizabeth funded the 2001 conference that led to the founding of EJS, a national civil rights organization based in Oakland, California. EJS established the Fellowship in 2006 to nurture a new generation of movement lawyers to work with communities to dismantle structural and institutional racism and transform anti-discrimination law and policy. “Liz’s incredible generosity means that EJS can play an even greater role to fight the growing forces that are stripping away our civil rights, democracy, and humanity,” said EJS President Lisa Holder.
Equal Justice Society’s Mission and Work
Equal Justice Society (“EJS”) is transforming the nation’s consciousness on race through law, social science, and the arts. As heirs of the innovative legal and political strategists of Brown v. Board of Education like the late Judge Constance Baker Motley, EJS fights race discrimination by collaborating with social scientists and legal scholars to broaden understanding of what discrimination is and how it manifests in the present day.
EJS expands conceptions and narratives of discrimination to include implicit and systemic bias by leveraging social science, structural analysis, and lived experience. EJS’s advocacy focuses on school discipline and ending the school to prison pipeline, equity in higher education, race conscious remedies to health, economic, environmental, and criminal system inequality, and truth and reparations frameworks to remedy centuries of anti-Black discrimination.
Qualifications
The Fellowship period is for one year from September 2024 to September 2025 with some flexibility in start and end dates. EJS currently has a hybrid work structure with some staff working primarily remotely and some working both remotely and in EJS’s office in Oakland one to three days a week.
Requirements:
- Demonstrated commitment to civil rights and advancing systemic racial and social justice
- Attorney applicants must have 0-2 years experience and be licensed and in good standing, preferably with the California State Bar
- 3L applicants must have earned their J.D. from an accredited law school in 2024 by the start of the Fellowship period
- Strong legal research (utilizing Westlaw) analytical and writing skills
- Strong oral presentation skills
- Ability to work with individual and organizational clients as partners and drivers in their cases/projects
- Must be team-oriented and able to work well in groups and coalitions
- Willingness and ability to work well from a remote setting and to attend in-person meetings periodically as needed
- Willingness to learn and develop skills required for effective advocacy to promote and enforce civil rights
- Strong skills or aptitude in use of Microsoft Office Programs, Excel and PowerPoint
Preferred qualifications:
- Litigation experience
- Legislative or policy advocacy experience, preferably in California
- Experience as a trainer
- Community-based or movement advocacy experience
- Experience or familiarity with truth and reparations; K-12 or higher education equity; or economic, health or environmental justice work
Duties
Under the supervision of the Legal Director, the fellow will play a significant role in EJS’s litigation and policy advocacy and community education. Duties include:
- Active participation in case and project strategy, planning, and implementation with colleagues, clients, cocounsel, and community partners
- Drafting legal memos, pleadings, discovery documents, and briefs
- Legal research and fact investigation
- Assist in organizing a statewide reparations coalition and in preparing the legal defense strategy to counter attacks on reparations legislation
- Potentially drafting policy, legislative and community education documents
- Potential courtroom or other hearing appearances
- Facilitating or leading a share of internal and case/project meetings with colleagues, cocounsel/partners, and clients
- Providing/assisting with presentations, trainings and conferences
- Representing EJS at public events or convenings
- Supporting some EJS legal team and development team grant reporting and administrative work
Compensation
The annual salary range is $70,000 – 75,000; EJS’s benefits package includes medical and dental insurance coverage and possible loan repayment assistance.
Application Instructions
Please email a (1) cover letter, (2) resume, (3) writing sample (a legal memorandum that is preferably no more than 10 pages in length for which you are the primary author), and (4) a list of three references that includes past supervisors of your work to jobs@equaljusticesociety.org with “Motley Fellowship Application” in the subject line. EJS will review applications on a rolling basis; the review process will close by February 28, 2024.
EJS is an equal opportunity employer and strongly encourages applications from all qualified individuals. People with lived expertise in communities affected by our work are strongly encouraged to apply. We value the unique experiences, strengths, and perspectives that the applicant will bring to this position. We look at each applicant’s full experience and consider each applicant. We encourage people from all backgrounds and experiences to apply.
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