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Post-Graduate Legal Fellowship

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Post-Graduate Legal Fellowship:

Ayuda hosts bilingual post-graduate legal fellows to work with our legal services program. Ayuda encourages applicants for post-graduate fellowship funding to submit applications to Ayuda to act as their host organization. Start and end dates are flexible. Candidates must commit to working a minimum of three months. Ideal candidates will commit to working six months to a year. Individuals interested in pursuing a fellowship with Ayuda should contact the Legal Director, Megan Turngren. Those interested in applying for national fellowships such as the EJW and Skadden Fellowships each fall should watch this page for postings annually in May and June about how to pursue opportunities with Ayuda for those fellowships.

2022 Public Interest Fellowship Cycle

Ayuda seeks applicants to apply for national public interest fellowships to join Ayuda’s legal team in the fall of 2022. Applicants should be 2022 law graduates or individuals finishing judicial clerkships in the summer of 2022.

Ayuda seeks applicants interested in projects consistent with Ayuda’s mission to provide legal services to low-income immigrants in MD, DC, and VA in the areas of immigration law, family law for domestic violence/sexual assault/stalking/human trafficking survivors, and/or consumer law focused on preventing and responding to immigration legal services fraud and other forms of fraud targeting low-income immigrants.

For this fellowship cycle, we are particularly interested in applicants who propose a fellowship consistent with their own interests and Ayuda’s services, which are described on our website and through our impact reports available here.

 

CLICK HERE to learn more about our 2022 fellowship opportunities and pointers to guide you in your application.

How to Apply

Please apply with resume, cover letter, and informal law school transcript (online printout is fine) sent via email to: [email protected]. Your cover letter should include a description of the project you wish to propose, and it should include a strong statement of why you are the right person for that project.

Qualifications

  • Anticipated graduation from an ABA-accredited law school by spring 2022.
  • Anticipated bar exam by summer 2022 and admission by fall 2022.
  • Opportunity limited to 2022 law graduates or those completing clerkships in summer 2022.
  • Bilingual skills in a language relevant to Ayuda’s client community required. Common languages spoken by Ayuda’s legal clients include: Spanish, French, Amharic, Tagalog, indigenous languages spoken in Central America, Urdu, and Arabic.
  • Experience providing legal services through a law school clinic and/or externship or internship experiences strongly preferred.
  • Excellent oral and written communication skills.
  • Ability to work independently and as part of a diverse, multidisciplinary team.
  • Experience working in areas and with populations directly tied to the project proposed strongly preferred.
  • Demonstrated commitment to social, racial and economic justice.
  • Applicants with direct lived experiences similar to those of Ayuda’s clients and/or the intended target population for the proposed project are strongly encouraged to apply.

Examples of Post-Graduate Funding Received by Current and Former Ayuda Fellows

 

  • Equal Justice Works Fellowship
  • Skadden Fellowship
  • American University Washington College of Law JD Distinguished Fellowship
  • Yale Law School Arthur Liman Public Interest Fellowship
  • Michigan Law Bridge Fellowship
  • University of Miami School of Law Legal Corps Fellowship

2022 Fellowship Areas of Interest

Expanding Project END: The fellow will, if funded, expand Project END into Maryland and expand the types of civil remedies Ayuda pursues on behalf of fraud victims. Ayuda’s Project END is a direct legal services project aimed at remedying the harm caused by immigration legal services fraud and other fraudulent schemes targeting low-income immigrants. Project END provides advice, counsel, and representation to victims in civil, criminal, and immigration proceedings. Unscrupulous actors routinely prey on immigrants who need immigration legal services and may not be aware that the person they are working with is not qualified to provide legal services or advice. The fraudulent work of these actors, who include lawyers, non-lawyers often known as “notarios,” individuals claiming to be lawyers, bail bond companies, and other scammers, may lead to devastating consequences including financial ruin, ineligibility for immigration status, deportation, and permanent family separation. The fellow’s work would include submitting complaints to local, state, and national law enforcement agencies to identify and take action against businesses or individuals who defraud immigrant consumers, obtaining restitution for our clients through demand letters or civil and criminal procedures, and representation of clients in their immigration matters. The fellow will also assist with outreach to immigrant communities in Maryland to warn of the dangers of immigration legal services fraud and to uncover fraud taking place. Project END welcomes applicants with a proposal for outreach to immigrant communities that speak a language other than Spanish.

Pro Bono Clinic to Representation Pipeline: The fellow will, if funded, work with Ayuda’s pro bono program to expand Ayuda’s reach among non-Spanish speaking immigrant communities with a particular focus on expanding the reach of Ayuda’s pro bono immigration consultation clinics and taking on clients who come in through Ayuda’s pro bono consultation clinics for in-house immigration representation by the fellow as well as holistic screenings and connection with other critical services, including but not limited to public benefits, Ayuda’s social services program, and other civil legal aid providers.