Job Title: Summer Volunteer Law Clerk
Job Responsibilities:
- Interviewing clients and consumers to gather relevant information.
- Providing information on self-advocacy to empower individuals with disabilities.
- Conducting legal research and writing to support ongoing cases and projects.
- Performing legislative analysis and writing to assist in policy development and reform.
- Representing clients at mediation and administrative hearings at various institutions such as school districts, universities, regional centers, and Social Security.
- Assisting individuals with psychiatric disabilities who are incarcerated in psychiatric institutions to ensure enforcement of their federal, state, constitutional, and statutory rights.
- Helping clients file charges of discrimination with the . Office of Civil Rights for the Department of Education, . Department of Housing and Urban Development, and the . Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.
- Assisting in the investigation of serious, systemic, and potentially life-threatening abuse and neglect in state and private facilities serving people with psychiatric and developmental disabilities.
- Conducting trainings on legal matters and engaging in multicultural outreach.
Education and Experience Information:
- Open to students who have completed their 1st, 2nd, or 3rd year of law school.
- The position offers law interns the opportunity to gain experience in various legal tasks and responsibilities outlined above.
Salary Information:
- Although a limited number of paid positions are available, preference is given to work-study and clinical students.
- Attorneys at the organization are willing to assist students in developing grant proposals to support their internship.
Additional Information:
- The organization is a nonprofit public interest law firm established in 1978 under federal mandates to protect the legal, civil, and service rights of persons with disabilities.
- The organization serves individuals with developmental disabilities, psychiatric disabilities, and those with mobility and communication disabilities.
- The organization has been involved in class actions and individual litigation regarding access to community-based healthcare, deinstitutionalization, voluntary mental health treatment, fair housing, and discrimination issues under various acts and laws.
- The organization is actively involved in education and outreach to under-represented communities with disabilities.
- The summer law student internships are typically 10-week positions starting the first business day in June, requiring a commitment of hours per week.
