HOUSING JUSTICE POST-GRADUATE FELLOWSHIP
Position Type: Legal Fellowships
Commitment: Full-time, two-year fellowships starting in Fall 2024
Experience: Entry Level (0-2 years)
Practice Area: Eviction Defense
Organizational Background: Inner City Law Center (ICLC) is a non-profit, poverty law firm headquartered in Los Angeles’ Skid Row neighborhood. ICLC has been serving the poorest and most vulnerable individuals and families in Los Angeles County since its inception in a Skid Row soup kitchen in 1980. Founded on the basic principle that every human being should always be treated with dignity and respect, ICLC’s staff of more than 125 attorneys, paralegals, tenant organizers, and other professionals provides free legal representation to thousands of homeless and working poor clients.
The Issue: Homelessness and housing instability in Los Angeles County have reached unimaginable proportions. The reasons behind this problem are plenty and range from economic inequalities and a failure of incomes to keep up with rising costs of living, to systemic racism. As a result, more and more Angelenos are facing unlawful evictions at the hands of unscrupulous landlords, ending up in tent cities that are spreading across every corner of the County, being forced to live in unsanitary and hazardous conditions, struggling financially, lacking vital benefits, and living the consequences of racial injustices. The global pandemic further highlighted the disproportionate impact of social and racial injustice on low-income Angelenos and now, as COVID-era tenant protections expire, we are seeing a flood of individuals and families at the cusp of homelessness.
Fellowship Project: ICLC invites current 3Ls and recent law school graduates to join our fight to end homelessness by applying for a Housing Justice Fellowship. Fellows will engage in fast-paced eviction defense litigation with opportunities to work directly with clients and opposing counsel; handle all stages of cases from pleadings to discovery, motions, hearings, settlement, and trial; participate in conversations surrounding housing policy in the County; and work with private law firms providing pro bono representation to ICLC’s clients. Through their work, Fellows will help preserve safe and affordable housing for all Angelenos. Salary for fellows prior to bar admission is $66,560/year. After admission to the California bar, the salary will be $78,000/year.
Qualifications:
- California Bar Membership or plans to take the California bar exam in Spring/Summer 2024,
- Strong writing, research, and analytical skills,
- Bright, good judgment, and works well with clients and team members,
- Self-motivated, organized, and detail-oriented, and
- Demonstrated commitment to tenants’ rights, social justice, or public interest law.
Application Instructions: Interested individuals should send a cover letter, resume, transcript, three references, and writing sample to Vidhya Ragunathan, Director of Pro Bono at ICLC (vragunathan@innercitylaw.org). Subject line: Housing Justice Fellowship. Applications will be accepted on a rolling basis.
Inner City Law Center is committed to having a diverse staff and an equitable and inclusive workplace. To read our full DEI Statement, please click here.
All qualified applicants with criminal histories shall be considered in a manner consistent with the requirements of the Los Angeles Fair Chance Initiative for Hiring.
To keep our staff and clients safe, ICLC requires all staff to be full vaccinated against COVID-19.