Legal Services NYC (LSNYC) fights poverty and seeks racial, social and economic justice for low-income New Yorkers. For over 50 years, we have challenged systemic injustices that trap people in poverty and provided legal services that help our clients meet basic needs for housing, income and economic security, family and immigration stability, education, and health care.
LSNYC is the largest civil legal services provider in the country; our staff of more than 600 people in neighborhood-based offices and outreach sites across all five boroughs helps hundreds of thousands of New Yorkers annually. We partner with scores of community-based and client-run organizations, elected officials, public agencies, pro bono lawyers, and the courts to maximize our effectiveness. Our work fights discrimination and helps to achieve equity for all low-income New Yorkers.
LSNYC employees have numerous opportunities for growth and professional development, including access to our internal Justice Learning Center, which provides opportunities to earn free CLEs and gain experience as a trainer. Further, LSNYC prides itself on its Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Belonging (DEIB) efforts and aims to create a work environment where everyone can bring their full selves to the work.
All non-managerial staff at LSNYC are part of one union and enjoy a generous benefits and compensation package, including exceptional healthcare, dental insurance, a vision plan, 21 vacation days per year (increasing to 28 days after the first year), 18 sick days per year, and a Loan Repayment Assistance Program. LSNYC staff can work remotely up to 50% of the time, job duties permitting.
2024 FALL FELLOWSHIPS
Manhattan Legal Services (MLS) is seeking law students to sponsor for post-graduate legal fellowships such as Skadden and law school funded fellowships to commence in fall 2024. MLS is a part of Legal Services NYC, the largest provider of free civil legal services for low-income people in the country. We are an anti-racist, anti-poverty social justice law office, dedicated to providing high quality legal services in the areas of housing, family law, public benefits, economic justice, education, immigration and disability rights, with special units serving particular vulnerable populations. We are committed to working in partnership with community-based organizations in the low-income communities we serve to address the causes of poverty and systemic oppression.
MLS seeks proposals to provide direct legal services as well as to address systemic causes of social, racial and economic injustice. We are open to any proposal, but some ideas for fellowship proposals include:
• Proposals designed to reintegrate veterans, in particular BIPOC veterans, into civilian life and assist veterans with income and housing security. Projects can include direct representation, community education and outreach, clinic work, and impact policy work in civil legal areas that affect veterans in New York City. These issues include, but not limited to, housing, immigration, social security benefits, veteran benefits. public benefits, and family law. Services will be provided in a culturally sensitive manner for veterans who are often an insular population.
• Proposals designed to advance racial justice, combat systemic and institutional racism, and address barriers to race equity encountered by MLS’s BIPOC clients. Projects may address these issues across one or more practice areas, including disability advocacy, economic justice, family law, government benefits, housing, HIV/LGBTQ advocacy, immigration, and veterans’ advocacy. Ideally, proposals will identify opportunities to foster collaboration between units on racial justice issues and to support our organizational mission of providing free legal services to low-income people through the lens of race equity. Projects may include affirmative litigation, research and investigation designed to advance and/or support such affirmative litigation, community education/outreach, and internal trainings for staff members.
• Proposals designed to address barriers preventing marginalized student groups from obtaining special education services and the significantly disproportionate number of BIPOC students in disciplinary proceedings. The proposal may also seek to address the unmet needs of diverse students (BIPOC, LEP and LGBTQ+) for culturally sensitive mental health services and counseling to avoid disciplinary proceedings. Additionally, a key component of proposals will be collaborations with community groups on educational policy issues such as funding, the segregation of NYC schools and the presence of police in the schools.
• Proposals designed to address the racial wealth gap through the preservation and transfer of generational wealth. Projects can include direct representation, community education and outreach, and policy work in areas such as estate planning, supplemental needs trusts (SNTs), Housing Development Fund Corporation (HDFC) co-ops (a form of affordable, long-term cooperative housing for low-to-moderate income earners), and succession rights in affordable housing.
We are looking for applicants with a demonstrated passion for social justice and a commitment to working with low-income communities and communities of color to advance equity. Qualified students and recent law graduates are invited to submit a resume, cover letter, and brief project proposal no later than June 16, 2023. Please send a brief proposal, cover letter, and resume by email to mlsfellowship@lsnyc.org.
Legal Services NYC is an equal opportunity employer. People of color, women, people with disabilities, people over 40, and gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender people are strongly encouraged to apply.
