Justice Fellowship

Alliance for Justice is a national alliance of more than 130 organizations dedicated to advancing justice and democracy. For nearly 40 years we have been leaders in the fight for a more equitable society on behalf of a broad constituency of environmental, consumer, civil and women’s rights, LGTBQ, immigrant, disability, and other groups. Alliance for Justice is premised on the belief that all Americans have the right to secure justice in the courts and to have their voices heard when government makes decisions that affect their lives.

Job Purpose

Alliance for Justice is offering a twelve-month public interest fellowship to support the recently launched Building the Bench (BtB) initiative. The BtB program is designed to develop a pool of highly qualified federal judicial nominees to put forward for the next administration, as well as lead a complementary and coordinated campaign to highlight the importance of filling vacancies. The Fellow will as play a key role in working with the Director, Special Justice Initiatives as well as the Directors of Communications, Outreach, and Justice Programs to raise awareness about the importance of a career on the federal bench with communities of color, including Native American, African American, Hawaiian and Pacific Islander, Latino/Latina, and Asian American communities; as well as people with disabilities. Those recently completing law programs or fellowships are encouraged to apply.

Duties and Responsibilities

• Support development of a pipeline of judicial candidates;
• Conduct research analyzing prospective nominees’ records with a focus on immigration, voting rights, criminal justice, and other issues that affect specific constituencies;
• Assist with organizing and implementing campaigns around Building the Bench, with a focus on engaging particular constituencies (communities of color and people with disabilities), grasstop leaders, and national and state-based organizations;
• Identify and engage national and state-based legal experts, attorneys, and grasstops leaders to strengthen AFJ’s research capacity, identify public spokespeople, and further engage their communities in Building the Bench;
• Work with communications and outreach teams to draft talking points, blog posts, web content, and educational materials such as fact sheets about Building the Bench;
• Attend coalition meetings and represent AFJ at other events as needed;
• Perform other duties as necessary.   

Qualifications

• Excellent research, writing, and oral communications skills;
• Ability to analyze and clearly explain concepts of law and public policy;
• A demonstrated interest in law, social justice, and/or the federal judiciary.
• Recent experience in advocacy, campaign, and/or political work;
• Experience with outreach, political, and/or community organizing especially with communities of color;
• Demonstrated ability to communicate effectively with a broad range of audiences via phone, email, and in person;
• Creative thinker and writer;
• JD Degree or equivalent education preferred.