Criminal Defense Practice Fellowship Proposal Invitation - Fall 2026 - New York, NY

The Legal Aid Society, the nation's oldest and largest social justice legal services organization is seeking dedicated, passionate Fellows in the Criminal Defense Practice. To learn more about how our attorneys and legal professionals enhance family and community stability and security please visit our website at https://www.legalaidnyc.org/what-we-do/ . Criteria for eligibility is listed below.

The Criminal Defense Practice runs from its dynamic advocacy of clients in court to its presence and partnership in communities. As the primary public defender in New York City, staff zealously and tirelessly work to protect the rights of the most marginalized and disenfranchised in society. Yet our scope, as the country's oldest and largest public defender, goes beyond any single case or client. Our community engagement, impact litigation, and broader advocacy consistently strive for increased fairness and humanity in the criminal legal system and seeks to reduce the devastating and permanent consequences of system involvement for our clients.

Through the work of our law reform units-the Special Litigation Unit and the Prisoners' Rights Project-we bring impact litigation and conduct advocacy to advance systemic change. Through the work of our trial and post-conviction units,-Digital Forensics Unit (DFU) and DNA-our DFU staff apply the latest advances to challenge the government and secure evidence essential to the defense of our clients, and our DNA Unit staff assist trial attorneys in challenging forensic DNA and other pattern evidence that the government relies on for prosecutions. Through the work of our Immigrant Justice Team, we fight against the criminalization of immigrants and empower our clients to make informed choices. And through the practice's collaboration with the LGBTQ+ Unit, we fight injustice against transgender, gender non-conforming, non-binary, and intersex New Yorkers involved in the criminal legal system.

For 2026, we are seeking proposals for the Criminal Defense Practice's law reform units, the practice's postconviction units, the Immigrant Justice Team, and/or the LGBTQ+ Law and Policy Unit by June 30, 2025. Areas of interest for proposals include, but are not limited to:

• Combatting federal and local efforts to blur criminal and civil immigration law enforcement, surveil and gather data through local law enforcement, and collaborate and share information for immigration purposes in violation of sanctuary city laws (SLU, Immigration Justice Team, and DFU)
• Assist DNA Unit attorneys to present trial defenses centered on the uncertainties and limitations in forensic evidence - e.g., related contributors to a DNA mixture - while developing a strategic litigation approach to increase defense access to this as Brady material (SLU and DNA Unit)
• Support challenges to the marginalization of people with psychiatric disabilities impacted by the criminal legal system, including developing strategies to tackle systemic deficiencies in the availability of mental health services, community-based services, and housing, for individuals with psychiatric disabilities who are entering the criminal legal system, are presently involved in the legal system, or are leaving incarceration. (SLU)
• Improving outcomes for transgender people in NY's criminal legal system, from policing to incarceration (SLU/PRP and LGBTQ+ Unit)
• Protection from brutality in state prisons (PRP)
• Parole litigation and other advocacy for reforms regarding release from prison (Post-conviction)
• Litigating racial justice in post-conviction work (Post-conviction)

ESSENTIAL DUTIES/RESPONSIBILITIES

The fellow will play an integral role in the work of The Legal Aid Society. The fellow's specific responsibilities will depend upon the project but may include:

• Bringing impact litigation and conducting related policy advocacy in their law reform unit
• Active participation in their law reform unit's impact litigation and advocacy agenda
• Bringing litigation and conducting advocacy in their post-conviction unit
• Active participation in their post-conviction unit's litigation and advocacy agenda

QUALIFICATIONS

Required qualifications:

• 3L law students, judicial law clerks, and other recent law graduates eligible for fellowship funding
• Excellent oral and written communication skills
• Excellent legal research, analysis and listening skills
• Ability to effectively navigate client/community concerns and communicate legal issues
• Ability to manage time and multiple tasks and deadlines
• Demonstrated commitment to low-income BIPOC communities

Preferred qualifications:

• Proficiency in languages other than English is desirable, but not required

Applicants will be notified via email about whether they have/have not been selected for an interview.

SALARY AND BENEFITS

The salary range represents a good faith estimate of the range we expect to pay for this role. The actual salary offered may vary depending on many factors, including but not limited to job-related knowledge, skills, and experience, as well as collectively bargained salary steps for unionized roles.

Salary Range: $83,844

The Legal Aid Society offers a generous benefits package including health insurance, paid vacation, disability, and life insurance, and more. Click here to read more about benefits.

Higher Education and Loan Forgiveness

The Legal Aid Society is a qualified employer for the purposes of the Public Service Loan Forgiveness. This position allows an employee to take advantage of PSLF and other State and Federal loan forgiveness programs. Additionally, employees who are New York residents may be eligible for assistance from New York state to assist with loan repayments, depending on years of practice. To learn more, click the links below.

studentaid.gov

hesc.ny.gov/loan-forgiveness-programs

WORK AUTHORIZATION

All applicants must be legally authorized to work in the United States for any employer without sponsorship for a work visa or permit. We are currently unable to sponsor employment visas or permits. (However, for citizens of Canada and Mexico, LAS will provide a letter documenting employment status that is needed to obtain a TN visa.)

HOW TO APPLY

The fellowship proposal should include a description of the legal project, designed by the applicant for partnership with The Legal Aid Society. The proposal should be 2 - 3 pages in length, describe the need for the project, how the project's goals will further the public interest, and how they will be accomplished within the fellowship year(s). Please include a proposed timeline for the fellowship year. Fellowship applicants will be required to comply with all rules and deadlines.

All applications must be completed online via the career portal. We do not accept emailed applications. Submit the following documents as a combined PDF:

• Cover letter
• Resume
• Fellowship Proposal
• Unofficial Transcript

For technical difficulties or questions regarding this posting, please email jobpostquestions@legal-aid.org.

EQUAL EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY

As an Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) Employer, The Legal Aid Society prohibits discriminatory employment actions against and treatment of its employees and applicants for employment based on actual or perceived race or color, size (including bone structure, body size, height, shape, and weight), religion or creed, alienage or citizenship status, sex (including pregnancy), national origin, age, sexual orientation, gender identity (one's internal deeply-held sense of one's gender which may be the same or different from one's sex assigned at birth); gender expression (the representation of gender as expressed through, for example, one's name, choice of pronouns, clothing, haircut, behavior, voice, or body characteristics; gender expression may not conform to traditional gender-based stereotypes assigned to specific gender identities), disability, marital status, relationship and family structure (including domestic partnerships, polyamorous families and individuals, chosen family, platonic co-parents, and multigenerational families), genetic information or predisposing genetic characteristics, military status, domestic violence victim status, arrest or pre-employment conviction record, credit history, unemployment status, caregiver status, salary history, or any other characteristic protected by law.

OUR COMMITMENT TO DIVERSITY, EQUITY, AND INCLUSION

The Legal Aid Society is committed to a work culture of zealous advocacy, respect, diversity and inclusion, client-oriented defense, access to justice and excellent representation. We are dedicated to building a strong professional relationship with each of our clients (people), to understanding their diverse circumstances, and to meeting their needs. Our ability to achieve these goals depends on the efforts of all of us and our ability to build strong relationships with our colleagues. Every member of our community is expected to continuously learn about the dynamic, evolving, and emerging field of knowledge of identity, bias, and systemic forms of oppression and participate in productive efforts to dismantling bias in all forms.