FELLOWSHIP OPPORTUNITIES

Philadelphia Legal Assistance Center, Inc. (PLA) sponsors eligible law students for the  Skadden, Independence Foundation or Equal Justice Works fellowship programs.

Created in January 1996 and primarily funded by the Legal Services Corporation, PLA provides free civil legal services to poor Philadelphians and migrant agricultural workers throughout Pennsylvania. The work is professionally challenging and uniquely fulfilling for those wishing to pursue a career of public interest law on behalf of low income individuals.

PLA attorneys are expected to handle a high volume of individual cases in an aggressive manner. We emphasize the use of creative strategies including community-based lawyering to resolve legal problems. In fact, all of our past fellows developed and implemented community-based lawyering projects that complemented the casework of PLA’s substantive units of practice. PLA’s substantive areas of expertise and practice include: consumer-housing, family, and public benefits. The consumer-housing unit specializes in mortgage foreclosure defense, predatory lending, bankruptcy and consumer law. The family law unit provides representation in custody, support and domestic violence matters. Welfare issues, including foodstamps and cash entitlements, unemployment compensation matters and Supplemental Security Income (SSI) cases are handled by the public benefits unit.

PLA’s migrant program, the Pennsylvania Farmworker Project (PFP), represents seasonal and migrant farmworkers throughout the state in employment and housing related matters. We welcome any project that would enhance the current work of any of our substantive units.

The next application deadline is July 1, 2012 for 2012-13 fellowship cycle.
All applicants must submit the following information, with at least the first two items in the initial application:

•Cover letter describing applicant's interest and career goals;
•Complete resume;
•Three references, including written letters of reference;
•Two legal writing samples; and
•Law school transcript.

Please send your application to fellowships@philalegal.org as soon as possible but no later than July 1, 2012.

PLA serves a diverse community of clients and seeks a staff representative of the community we serve. Applications are particularly welcome from minority, women, and physically challenged law graduates.