FELLOWSHIPS & EMPLOYMENT
NEW! Join the Advancement Project Team
Temporary Staff Attorney Position Available
Staff Attorney—Voter Protection Litigation & Advocacy, Washington DC
Advancement Project
Advancement Project seeks a temporary Staff Attorney to fill a four-month position (January through April 2007). The temporary staff attorney will work on voter protection issues in Advancement Project’s Power and Democracy Program. Advancement Project develops, encourages, pioneers, and widely disseminates ideas and models that support and mobilize a broad national racial justice movement so that universal opportunity and a just democracy are achieved. Through the use of legal and communications strategies as well as power mapping, Advancement Project partners with organized communities of color to accomplish structural change.
Recent elections have exposed persistent structural barriers to full enfranchisement, especially in communities of color. Advancement Project’s Voter Protection Program focuses on community based pre-election activities and solutions to permanently break down these barriers. In the 2006 election cycle, Advancement Project worked in nine states and approximately 40 counties within those states. Using legal and communications expertise in the voter protection arena, Advancement Project was able to identify and correct problems well before Election Day; build and refine the infrastructure needed for effective voter protection in the years to come; and put program teams—well seasoned by years of fighting for fair elections—at the disposal of voter registration projects and local community coalitions.
During 2007, major activities will include: following up on problems identified in 2006; litigating existing and new cases; developing election reform proposals; using public records requests and other investigative tools to gather information about the 2006 election in our priority states and counties; and monitoring and investigating purges of the voter rolls.
The Staff Attorney will use law, community problem-solving, and strategic communications to remove barriers to voter participation and foster structural change toward a racially just democracy. Responsibilities include but are not limited to:
- Litigate, with pro-bono counsel, voting rights lawsuits on behalf of voters and voter registration groups, to challenge state laws, practices, or procedures that disenfranchise voters of color.
- Litigate public records lawsuits to obtain copies of records related to voter registration, provisional ballots, and other election issues.
- Design and conduct investigations of purging of voter rolls, use of provisional ballots, identification requirements, and polling place staffing and preparation.
- Conduct legal and policy research.
- Troubleshoot and provide advice on voter registration and participation barriers.
- Develop model policy reforms, conduct research, and draft analytic materials and talking points on policy reform proposals.
Qualifications:
- JD and member of a state bar
- 5–10 years civil litigation experience, preferably plaintiff-side that includes experience drafting complaints and motions, conducting discovery, taking depositions, and appearing in court for oral arguments and status conferences
- Experience managing junior attorneys and working with co-counsel
- Strong writing, interpersonal, and oral advocacy skills
- Proven commitment to racial justice
- Legislative advocacy experience and fluency in Spanish are pluses
Travel is required. Salary based on experience; benefits included. To Apply: Applicants should send their résumé with a list of references to Glendale Clarkson at gclarkson@advancementproject.org or by fax to (202) 728-9558. Deadline: None given. Position needs to be filled as soon as possible.
Wellstone Fellowship for Social Justice—Health Care Advocacy Work
Deadline: February 2, 2007
A program of FamiliesUSA, the Wellstone Fellowship for Social Justice is designed to foster the advancement of social justice through participation in health care advocacy work that focuses on the unique challenges facing many communities of color. Through this fellowship, FamiliesUSA hopes to expand the pool of talented social justice advocates from underrepresented racial and ethnic minority groups, particularly from the Black/African American, Latino, American Indian, and Asian and Pacific Islander communities. For further details about the fellowship, visit: http://foundationcenter.org/pnd/rfp/
rfp_print.jhtml?id=165900014.
Workers’ Rights Advocate, Fall Church VA
Virginia Justice Center for Farm and Immigrant Workers
The Virginia Justice Center (VJC) for Farm and Immigrant Workers seeks a bilingual (English/Spanish) Workers’ Rights Advocate to join in the effort to help immigrant workers find justice and fair treatment in the workplace. The VJC is a statewide program of the nonprofit Legal Aid Justice Center providing legal assistance to low-income immigrant workers throughout Virginia. Both attorney and non-attorney candidates will be considered. Responsibilities include but are not limited to:
- Conduct formal outreach and workshops to advise day laborers and other low-wage immigrant workers of their legal rights and other workplace issues.
- Support grassroots organizing efforts that assist day laborers and low-wage immigrant workers to effectively advocate for themselves.
- Create Spanish-language outreach materials for low-wage immigrant workers on workplace rights and other topics of interest.
- Create and build relationships with government officials, residents, businesses, and low-wage workers to ameliorate tensions and promote dialogue in the areas surrounding day labor gathering sites.
- Mobilize and build partnerships with community-based organizations to push for legislation and policies that recognize the positive contributions of our immigrant communities.
- Assist in the development of a media strategy and press materials for policy initiatives, public awareness efforts, and community events.
Qualifications:
- Experience working with low-wage immigrant workers and diverse populations
- Demonstrated commitment to workplace and social justice
- Strong community organizing and workshop facilitation skills
- Strong writing skills as well as experience designing educational materials for low-level literacy populations
- Ability to handle contentious situations with sensitivity
- Effective communication skills
- Ability to balance variety of responsibilities
- Healthy sense of humor
- Spanish fluency required
Salary depends on experience. Benefits include generous vacation, excellent family health insurance, dedicated co-workers, and a great work environment. The Legal Aid Center is an Equal Opportunity Employer. To Apply: Send cover letter, résumé, as well as the names and daytime phone numbers of three references (via email accepted only if hardcopy follows) to: Laura Stack, Managing Attorney, ATTN: Workers’ Rights Advocate Position, Virginia Justice Center, 6066 Leesburg Pike, Suite 520, Falls Church, VA, 22041 or to: laura@justice4all.org.
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