Summer Law Clerk Program - 2024

BayLegal invites law students with a strong interest in social justice advocacy and public interest  to apply to our full-time summer program. The positions are based in one of BayLegal’s six regional county offices: Napa, Richmond (Contra Costa), Oakland (Alameda), San Francisco, Redwood City (San Mateo) and San Jose (Santa Clara) and may involve travel as necessary to best serve our low-income clients.

Duties and Responsibilities: 

• Work in close collaboration with BayLegal substantive experts and legal teams;
• Learn and advocate for the diverse legal needs of communities affected by systemic and structural inequities in one or more of the counties we serve to reduce homelessness, enhance stability, and address social injustice;
• Under the supervision of staff attorneys, law clerks may engage in our work in several ways including:
  • Writing briefs and other legal memoranda; Participating in outreach and education;
  • Assisting self-represented litigants in our legal information clinics;
  • Representing clients at administrative hearings and state court hearings; and/or participating in broader impact litigation; and
  • Engaging in other tasks and projects that further BayLegal's operations as a non-profit.
• Specialize in learning and assisting clients in one of BayLegal’s legal substantive areas (see below) and issue spot for inter-related legal barriers and remedies to increase client’s long-term stability.

• Humility in working with colleagues and clients across the spectrum of diversity, which includes race, ethnicity, gender identity, sexual orientation, socio-economic status, immigrant status, religious identity, physical and mental disabilities, and/or limited English proficiency.
• Commitment to complying with all California Rules of Professional Conduct, BayLegal funding requirements, and firm standards, policies, and practices.
• Current proficiency, and ability to improve proficiency, in technological equipment, hardware and software necessary to perform duties of the position.
• Willing to be on-site at BayLegal office or advocacy site at least three days per week and as needed to serve clients.
• Must have received or be willing to receive the COVID-19 vaccination by date of hire to be considered. Proof of vaccination required (self-certification).
• Currently enrolled in law school.
• Completion of 2nd year, including evidence, at time internship begins preferred.
• Students who speak Spanish, Cantonese, Russian, Vietnamese, or other Southeast Asian languages, are encouraged to apply.

HYBRID WORK OPTION: BayLegal is committed to the health and safety of our staff, clients, and community.  Being accessible to our client communities and reducing barriers for them to access our services is integral to our mission and commitment as a direct services community-based law firm.  BayLegal employees are expected to work on-site and in-person at a BayLegal office or  community-based advocacy site at least three (3) days per week and may work remotely from home on a part-time basis.  Employees are expected to reside in California and at a distance allowing them to commute to their physical BayLegal base location, and to other service delivery locations as needed, during the standard work week.

Compensation and Benefits: We offer a diverse, family friendly environment, and compensation based on competitive public interest salaries along with medical and dental benefits, paid holidays, and sick leave. Compensation is based on experience and competitive public interest salaries. Compensation is $25 per  hour.

Applications: BayLegal thrives on our diversity, and we are proud to be an equal opportunity employer.  We are committed to building a culturally diverse workplace and strongly encourage women, LGBTQIA+ (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans, Queer, Intersex, Asexual) and QTBIPOC (Queer, Trans, Black, Indigenous, and People of Color) individuals, veterans, individuals who have been impacted by the criminal justice system, persons with disabilities, and persons from other underrepresented groups to apply.  We are committed to equal employment opportunity and providing reasonable accommodations to qualified candidates and employees pursuant to applicable law.  We value and encourage diversity and solicit applications from all qualified applicants without regard to race, color, gender, sex, age, religion, creed, national origin, ancestry, citizenship, marital status, sexual orientation, physical or mental disability, medical condition, military and veteran status, gender identity or expression, genetic information, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state, or local law. If you require a reasonable accommodation as part of the application process, please contact BayLegal’s Human Resources Manager at: (510) 250-5225.

Hiring timeline:

• BayLegal will accept applications beginning January 19, 2024
• Interviews will begin on a rolling basis on January 26, 2024
• Offers will be extended to qualifying candidates on a rolling basis

How to Apply: Please submit (1) cover letter including response to the question below, and identifying your top three substantive practice areas and location preference (no page limit), (2) resume, (3) references, (4) writing sample through BayLegal’s career application portal.

As part of your cover letter, please address the following:
BayLegal’s clients are low-income and very low-income members of our communities. They include LGBTQIA+ (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans, Queer, Intersex, Asexual) and QTBIPOC (Queer, Trans, Black, Indigenous, and People of Color) individuals, the working poor, seniors, people who are limited English proficient, veterans, persons with disabilities, survivors of abuse and exploitation, individuals impacted by the criminal justice system, and people who are experiencing or at risk of homelessness, and persons from other underrepresented groups. To ensure our organization is best serving these populations, BayLegal strives to promote an evolving set of behaviors and attitudes amongst our staff, as well as policies that enable us to work effectively across cultures, with clients, with our coworkers, and with the community. We see this as a commitment to enhance the provision of our services to all clients; to raise the level of positive client outcomes; and to create an inclusive and respectful workplace in which differences are acknowledged and valued.

How do you think your experiences, professional or otherwise, prepared you to serve our diverse client base effectively, work effectively with colleagues from different backgrounds than your own, and to contribute to our commitment to humility, inclusion, and diversity? Feel free to think broadly about your response to this question, applying various aspects of your life and personal experiences.
 

REQUIRED - Please carefully review the description of available legal practice area placements below and reference your top three practice areas in your cover letter. Be aware of the physical office location of the positions before making your decision:

Consumer Protection (Oakland, Richmond, San Francisco) – Assist with advocacy and litigation to address economic and financial problems affecting low-income consumers, who are particularly vulnerable to high-cost credit, predatory loans, credit reporting errors, problems with employment and housing background reports, predatory for-profit schools, and unfair business models such as credit repair organizations and foreclosure rescue scams. This practice area provides an opportunity to assist with client interviews and learn to issue-spot legal problems, draft legal pleadings, and conduct legal research and writing. Certified law students are encouraged to appear in court.

Economic Justice (EJ) (Oakland, San Francisco) - Learn about Medi-Cal, Medicare, Healthy Families, CalWORKs, General Assistance, CalFresh, Supplemental Security Income (SSI), Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) and general health access issues. Participate in direct individual representation and ongoing impact litigation - cases often intersect with civil rights, language access, and domestic violence. This practice area provides an opportunity to work with clients to identify their eligibility for life changing safety-net public benefits, gather and build evidence, prepare briefs, assist with negotiations, and possibly represent the client at an administrative hearing.

Family Law for Survivors of Domestic Violence (Oakland, Richmond, Redwood City, San Francisco, or San Jose): - Participate in our comprehensive legal representation of low-income survivors of domestic violence. This practice area provides an opportunity to provide litigation assistance in a full range of family law matters, including divorce, child custody and visitation, child and spousal support, and restraining orders.

Housing Preservation (Napa, Richmond, San Francisco or San Jose) - Work on homelessness prevention, file fair housing administrative complaints (HUD & DFEH) to address housing discrimination issues, preserve affordable housing, and fight illegal evictions.  This practice area provides an opportunity to build up cases from interview, preparation of legal pleadings and discovery and potentially assist with a full civil litigation case over a short amount of time (including possible jury trial).

Immigration Advocacy for Survivors of Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault (San Jose) – Help provide comprehensive legal services to low-income immigrant survivors of inter-personal violence. Assist with VAWA Self-Petitions and U Visa Non-Immigrant Petitions - which provides immigration relief and access to critical safety net public benefits for survivors who are either immediate family members of abusive U.S. Citizens or Legal Permanent Residents, or who cooperate with the investigation and/or prosecution of the crimes perpetrated against them. Learn how to assess eligibility, prepare immigration pleadings, and work directly with immigrant survivors.

Individualized Legal Support Services (ILSS) (San Francisco) - This practice area provides an opportunity to help eliminate legal barriers to employment and self-sufficiency, such as suspended driver’s licenses, employment rights regarding criminal background checks, housing habitability, and consumer credit issues.

Reentry (Oakland) – Help low-income individuals seeking to overcome a criminal conviction or arrest history and reestablish themselves within our communities face multiple civil barriers, including in housing, occupational licensing, access to public benefits, and consumer debt. This practice area provides an opportunity to help provide wrap-around legal services for these clients by assisting with criminal record remedies, driver’s license restoration, direct representation in a wide array of civil legal practice areas, and by participating in ongoing impact litigation.

Youth Justice Team (YJT) (Oakland) - This practice provides opportunities to assist with civil legal advocacy for youth, including foster care entry and benefits, guardianships, education advocacy to break school-to-prison pipeline, immigration, restraining orders, family law, public benefits, and SSI.