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The Bronx Defenders Legal Fellowship – Impact Litigation
Bronx, United States
Overview:
Founded in 1997, The Bronx Defenders is a public defender nonprofit that has developed a nationally recognized model of representation called holistic defense, which provides people with teams of lawyers, social workers, and advocates to defend them zealously in court as well as to address the underlying drivers and enmeshed penalties of legal system involvement.
Since opening our doors, we have grown into an organization of more than 400 staff members defending nearly 20,000 New Yorkers each year in criminal, family, civil, and immigration proceedings who face incarceration, family separation, eviction, and deportation, among other devastating consequences.
Today we are reimagining the role of public defense even further, using community organizing and engagement, legislative advocacy, and impact litigation to partner with the communities we represent to bring about long-lasting systemic change.
We also share our model and lessons learned with current and future public defenders, run legal clinics at NYC law schools, and train public defenders throughout the country on how to move to a holistic model of representation.
The Bronx Defenders Legal Fellowship
To work as Bronx Defenders Legal Fellows, candidates will develop project proposals for law-school specific fellowships, to do legal work in our Impact Litigation Practice. The Fellowship would begin in the Fall of 2025 and run for one or two years, depending on the terms of the funder. Examples of successful fellowship proposals from prior years include:
Impact Litigation Practice
The Impact Litigation Practice (ILP) is a collaborative civil rights division of BxD that uses affirmative litigation strategies to advance and strengthen the rights of the people we represent. ILP works closely with direct services staff to identify widespread injustices affecting the people we represent and leverage legal tools—from demand letters to class action lawsuits—to redress and end those injustices. ILP’s work addresses a variety civil rights issues, including but not limited to racial and economic inequity, immigrant rights, LGBTQ rights, and fundamental freedoms. ILP’s approach to civil rights litigation—from the cases we choose to work on to the change we advance—is guided by engagement with the communities we work with and lessons learned in our direct services representation.
Qualifications:
Applicants must demonstrate:
If hired, applicants must:
This is an in-person position.
If selected for a fellowship and sponsorship with The Bronx Defenders, we will supplement the fellowship compensation to ensure a salary consistent with our attorney salary scale, which starts at $83,504. Full-time employees are also eligible for a comprehensive benefits package including but not limited to medical, dental and vision coverage; a 403(b) plan with employer contribution; a generous vacation, sick leave, and parental leave policy.
Approximately 70% of The Bronx Defenders' staff, including attorneys and non-attorneys, are represented by UAW Local 2325 - Association of Legal Aid Attorneys (AFL-CIO). This position is within the bargaining unit.
This position is exempt. By law, non-exempt employees are compensated hourly based on their annual rate and therefore are entitled to over-time, whereas exempt employees are not.
The Bronx Defenders is an equal opportunity employer and is cultivating an anti-oppressive workplace that embraces staff with a diversity of backgrounds, identities and experiences. We acknowledge the ways in which systemic oppression and injustice can undermine access to professional opportunities and are committed to conducting hiring and promotion processes that are equitable and accessible to those commonly excluded from the workforce. We do not discriminate against and in fact specifically encourage applicants from marginalized communities to apply, including those who identify as Black, Indigenous, people of color, queer, transgender, gender non-conforming, disabled, neurodivergent and those directly impacted by criminal, civil, family and immigration legal systems. We value lived as well as professional experience and particularly welcome applications from the Bronx community that we work with.
The Bronx Defenders (BxD) – an innovative, progressive, holistic indigent defense office in the South Bronx – invites third-year law students and recent law school graduates to work with us as Legal Fellows in our Impact Litigation Practice.
Founded in 1997, The Bronx Defenders is a public defender nonprofit that has developed a nationally recognized model of representation called holistic defense, which provides people with teams of lawyers, social workers, and advocates to defend them zealously in court as well as to address the underlying drivers and enmeshed penalties of legal system involvement.
Since opening our doors, we have grown into an organization of more than 400 staff members defending nearly 20,000 New Yorkers each year in criminal, family, civil, and immigration proceedings who face incarceration, family separation, eviction, and deportation, among other devastating consequences.
Today we are reimagining the role of public defense even further, using community organizing and engagement, legislative advocacy, and impact litigation to partner with the communities we represent to bring about long-lasting systemic change.
We also share our model and lessons learned with current and future public defenders, run legal clinics at NYC law schools, and train public defenders throughout the country on how to move to a holistic model of representation.
The Bronx Defenders Legal Fellowship
To work as Bronx Defenders Legal Fellows, candidates will develop project proposals for law-school specific fellowships, to do legal work in our Impact Litigation Practice. The Fellowship would begin in the Fall of 2025 and run for one or two years, depending on the terms of the funder. Examples of successful fellowship proposals from prior years include:
- Developing a program to help people litigate in small claims court if they suffered injuries or other damages in encounters with the police (Skadden Fellowship)
- Ending New York’s practice of suspending the driver’s licenses of individuals who cannot afford to pay traffic tickets through direct representation, litigation, and legislative advocacy (Equal Justice Works Fellowship)
- Registering New Yorkers under parole supervision to vote and enforcing the new parole enfranchisement law through litigation, education, and advocacy while working towards universal suffrage through legislative advocacy (Equal Justice Works Fellowship)
- Providing direct representation to individuals experiencing employment discrimination due to criminal convictions by offering assistance in obtaining Certificates of Rehabilitation as well as educating employers and community groups about the employment rights of formerly incarcerated people (Skadden Fellowship)
Impact Litigation Practice
The Impact Litigation Practice (ILP) is a collaborative civil rights division of BxD that uses affirmative litigation strategies to advance and strengthen the rights of the people we represent. ILP works closely with direct services staff to identify widespread injustices affecting the people we represent and leverage legal tools—from demand letters to class action lawsuits—to redress and end those injustices. ILP’s work addresses a variety civil rights issues, including but not limited to racial and economic inequity, immigrant rights, LGBTQ rights, and fundamental freedoms. ILP’s approach to civil rights litigation—from the cases we choose to work on to the change we advance—is guided by engagement with the communities we work with and lessons learned in our direct services representation.
To be eligible, upon hire, applicants must be:
- Recent law school graduate
- Eligible for school-based fellowship funding for at least one year
- Admitted to the New York bar or actively pursuing admission to the New York bar and able to practice under supervision as a law graduate
Applicants must demonstrate:
- Commitment to directly defending people ensnared in criminal, family, immigration, and civil legal systems
- Commitment to challenging systemic injustice and carceral systems with fierce advocacy; strategically challenging authority in defense of the people we represent
- Experience working in and with racially and ethnically marginalized communities of color targeted by systemic injustice
- Ability to effectively and respectfully communicate, collaborate and connect with people from various backgrounds and experiences
- Ability to work independently as well as collaboratively with an interdisciplinary team of lawyers and non-lawyers
- Strong research, writing, and courtroom advocacy skills
- Strong legal analytical skills and the capacity to employ non-legal resources to support the people we represent
- Ability to effectively multitask, maintain order and meet deadlines in a fast-paced, high-stakes environment
- Meticulous attention to detail
- Ability to think critically and creatively, finding innovative solutions to unique obstacles
- Ability to receive constructive feedback, demonstrate introspection, and shift behavior accordingly
- Ability to exercise good judgment, discretion, and confidentiality around sensitive issues
If hired, applicants must:
- Have taken the New York State Bar Examination
- Have submitted materials for Pro Hac Vice admission or waiver
This is an in-person position.
If selected for a fellowship and sponsorship with The Bronx Defenders, we will supplement the fellowship compensation to ensure a salary consistent with our attorney salary scale, which starts at $83,504. Full-time employees are also eligible for a comprehensive benefits package including but not limited to medical, dental and vision coverage; a 403(b) plan with employer contribution; a generous vacation, sick leave, and parental leave policy.
Approximately 70% of The Bronx Defenders' staff, including attorneys and non-attorneys, are represented by UAW Local 2325 - Association of Legal Aid Attorneys (AFL-CIO). This position is within the bargaining unit.
This position is exempt. By law, non-exempt employees are compensated hourly based on their annual rate and therefore are entitled to over-time, whereas exempt employees are not.
To apply, please click APPLY TO THIS JOB ONLINE and upload your resume and cover letter in one document. Include in your cover letter why you want to do this work at our office, what practice area(s) you would like to join, as well as provide a brief description of your fellowship project idea or issues facing the people Bronx Defenders represents that you would like to address through a legal fellowship. Applications without a cover letter will not be considered. The start date for this position is Fall 2025.
The Bronx Defenders is an equal opportunity employer and is cultivating an anti-oppressive workplace that embraces staff with a diversity of backgrounds, identities and experiences. We acknowledge the ways in which systemic oppression and injustice can undermine access to professional opportunities and are committed to conducting hiring and promotion processes that are equitable and accessible to those commonly excluded from the workforce. We do not discriminate against and in fact specifically encourage applicants from marginalized communities to apply, including those who identify as Black, Indigenous, people of color, queer, transgender, gender non-conforming, disabled, neurodivergent and those directly impacted by criminal, civil, family and immigration legal systems. We value lived as well as professional experience and particularly welcome applications from the Bronx community that we work with.
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