Legal Fellow

Job Description

Job Description

We are Texas lawyers and advocates for Texas communities, boldly serving the movement for equality and justice in and out of the courts. We envision a Texas where all communities thrive with dignity and justice, and without fear.

TCRP believes that legal advocacy and litigation are critical tools to protect and advance the civil rights of everyone in Texas, particularly our State’s most vulnerable populations, and to effect positive and lasting change to law and policy. We believe that by serving the rising social justice movement in Texas with excellent legal representation and bold strategies, we can respond to the needs of the communities we serve. Learn more at www.txcivilrights.org.

Every year, the Texas Civil Rights Project sponsors multiple legal fellows across our three programs (Beyond Borders, Criminal Legal, and Voting Rights) and in all of our three offices across the state (Austin, Houston, and Rio Grande Valley). These fellows are recent law school graduates or judicial clerks who obtain external funding to work with us, usually on a specific project for a predetermined period of time, usually 1 or 2 years. Opportunities for external funding are extremely diverse, including law firms, law schools, government agencies, advocacy organizations, and private foundations of all sizes. Over the last few years, fellows working at TCRP have been awarded fellowship funding from the following sources, among others :

• Equal Justice Works
• Justice Catalyst
• Open Society Foundations
• Kloiber Foundation
• Yale Law School
• Columbia Law School
• University of Texas School of Law

Fellowship applicants are usually required to seek sponsorship approval from a host organization (like TCRP) before applying for fellowship funding. While we are sensitive to time constraints, our process for approving a potential fellow for sponsorship at TCRP is extensive, including application reviews within the organization, interviews, review of past work product and references, and a thorough evaluation of the applicant’s proposed project. This process ensures we only sponsor fellowship applicants who have developed a project proposal that significantly advances our mission of seeking justice for Texas communities, but it also means that we are only able to sponsor a small number of the qualified applicants seeking to work with us. Limiting the number of fellows that we sponsor also allows us to work closely with applicants to develop a strong proposal for funding and to ensure that we have the resources to properly manage and train fellows once they get here.

Because this process takes time, fellowship applicants are encouraged to apply for sponsorship at least 60 days in advance of any funding application deadline. If circumstances prevent an applicant from complying with this timeline, we encourage the applicant to contact our Fellowship Coordinator to discuss the situation.

Because of the widely varying application deadlines for fellowship funding, TCRP accepts applications from fellowship applicants throughout the year. Major fellowship funders (e.g. Equal Justice Works) usually have early fall deadlines, while many smaller funders (e.g., law schools) have deadlines in early spring.

To be eligible for a fellowship at TCRP, an applicant must meet the following basic criteria :

If you will be able to meet these criteria and wish to complete your fellowship at TCRP, please submit the following sponsorship application materials :

1. Cover letter indicating :

2. Detailed resume

3. Writing sample of no more than 10 pages, preferably related to the subject matter of your proposed project idea.

4. A list of at least 3 references with at least 2 of these being professional references.

TCRP values a diverse workforce and an inclusive culture — women, people of color, individuals with disabilities, veterans, and people from other underrepresented communities are strongly encouraged to apply for this position.

We do not discriminate on the basis of race, ethnicity, national origin, age, creed, religion, physical ability, gender, gender identity or expression, pregnancy, sexual orientation, previous incarceration, veteran status, union membership or activism, or any other characteristic protected by local, state or federal law.