2024 PAID SUMMER FELLOWSHIP IN HOUSING LAW - LEGAL SERVICES OF THE HUDSON VALLEY
www.lshv.org
Job Type: 2024 Paid Summer Fellowship in Housing Law - Legal Services of the Hudson Valley - All Offices
Schedule Type: Full-time Summer
Date Posted: 10-20-2023
About Us
For more than 50 years, Legal Services of the Hudson Valley (LSHV) has been providing free, high-quality legal counsel in civil matters when basic human needs are at stake, including eviction and foreclosure prevention, domestic violence, disability, elder law, healthcare, consumer fraud and more. Our services support almost 600,000 poor and low-income families and individuals who cannot afford an attorney in our seven-county service area. With the gap separating those who can and cannot afford legal representation widening each day, we work to ensure that everyone has equal access to justice, regardless of their ability to pay. As the only provider of comprehensive civil legal services in the lower and mid-Hudson Valley (Westchester, Putnam, Dutchess, Rockland, Orange, Ulster and Sullivan), LSHV is proud to have handled nearly 13,000 cases impacting over 30,000 household members including over 10,000 children last year. LSHV is made up of ten offices, and a dedicated and highly skilled staff of attorneys, paralegals, and administrative professionals.
Legal Services of Hudson Valley is dedicated to building a highly skilled workforce that reflects the diverse communities we serve and where everyone feels empowered to bring their authentic selves to work. We are committed to racial justice and promoting equity for all, and we continuously review and strengthen our processes and practices to empower our staff, clients and the communities we serve. Respect is a cornerstone of relationships among our staff. Our affinity groups are self-directed and provide a space for members to support one another and their shared vision. We encourage applications from people of all identities.
Fellowship Description
In the Hudson Valley, thousands of poor and vulnerable tenants face eviction without legal representation. The outcomes for unrepresented litigants often are dire. LSHV attorneys strive to fill the access to justice gap by providing legal advice as well as direct representation to tenants in housing court and administrative proceedings, with a focus on preserving affordable housing. We strive to improve the reach, quality, and effectiveness of eviction and homelessness prevention through legal representation.
As part of our mission to help bridge the housing justice gap, we are delighted to announce the continuation of our recently established LSHV Summer Fellowship in Housing Law.
Ten law student fellows will receive training, mentorship, support, and skill development in housing law practice and engage in non-litigation and courtroom advocacy to maintain the basic human and legal right to live in habitable housing. Fellows also will lend support to LSHV’s efforts to challenge landlord intimidation and harassment.
Details
- 10 fellowships will be awarded in February 2024
- 10-week summer fellowship; 35 hours per work week (5-day week, Mon – Fri)
- $8,000 summer stipend with 5 days paid time off (PTO)
- Fellows will be placed in LSHV offices throughout our service area, including White Plains, Yonkers, Mount Vernon, Peekskill, Poughkeepsie, New Windsor, Goshen, Nanuet, Monticello, and Kingston.
- Fellows will be loaned laptops during the fellowship period for conducting LSHV business.
- Housing, transportation, work-related, and other fellowship expenses will be the law student's responsibility. LSHV will provide office parking where applicable.
- At the conclusion of the Fellowship, the recipient may be required to provide feedback concerning their experience, the substance of which may be reproduced in full or in part in LSHV materials.
Eligibility
- Open to law students enrolled in a U.S. law school who will have completed two years of law school by May 2024 (rising 3L) or are graduating in 2024.
- Must not have previously received an LSHV Summer Fellowship.
- Must be able to work several days per week in-person in the office where placed (our offices are hybrid), subject to disability-related reasonable accommodations.
- Ability to travel to the office where placed and other locations, such as courts, as needed.
Deadline
- All materials must be submitted by Friday, December 1, 2023 at 11:59 pm (ET)
- Applications submitted after the deadline will not be considered.
Required Submissions
Applications will be evaluated based upon review of the following:
- Unofficial Law School Transcript
- Current Resume
- One legal writing sample on any topic
- Statement of Interest (typed, double-spaced)
Describe your commitment to public interest law and/or direct legal services, and what you hope to gain from LSHV’s summer fellowship program.
You may include information such as personal experience, prior jobs, volunteer experience or internships and what you learned from them, as well as future career plans and professional goals. (750-word max)
Please apply by following the link.
Legal Services of Hudson Valley is a proud equal opportunity employer. People of all races, color, religion, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, age, disability, and veteran status, are strongly encouraged to apply. |