HOUSING JUSTICE POST-GRADUATE FELLOWSHIP

Position Type: Legal Fellowships

Commitment: Full-time, two-year fellowships starting in Fall 2025

Experience: Entry Level (0-2 years)

Practice Area: Eviction Defense

Organizational Background: Inner City Law Center (ICLC) is a non-profit, poverty law firm headquartered in Los Angeles’ Skid Row neighborhood. ICLC has been serving the poorest and most vulnerable individuals and families in Los Angeles County since its inception in a Skid Row soup kitchen in 1980. Founded on the basic principle that every human being should always be treated with dignity and respect, ICLC’s staff of more than 125 attorneys, paralegals, tenant organizers, and other professionals provides free legal representation to thousands of homeless and working poor clients, including individuals and families who are undocumented.

The Issue: Homelessness and housing instability in Los Angeles County have reached unimaginable proportions. The reasons behind this problem are plenty and range from economic inequalities and a failure of incomes to keep up with rising costs of living, to systemic racism. As a result, more and more Angelenos are facing unlawful evictions at the hands of unscrupulous landlords, ending up in tent cities that are spreading across every corner of the County, being forced to live in unsanitary and hazardous conditions, struggling financially, lacking vital benefits, and living the consequences of racial injustices. The global pandemic further highlighted the disproportionate impact of social and racial injustice on low-income Angelenos. Although many new tenant protections have been enacted since the pandemic, these protections mean little without attorneys to fight evictions in court. The most effective solution to homelessness is to prevent a tenant from losing their rent-controlled apartment in the first place.

Fellowship Project: ICLC invites current 3Ls and recent law school graduates to join our fight to end homelessness by applying for a Housing Justice Fellowship. Fellows will engage in fast-paced eviction defense litigation with opportunities to work directly with clients; handle all stages of cases from pleadings to discovery, motions, hearings, settlement, and trial; participate in community outreach and education efforts; and work with private law firms providing pro bono representation to ICLC’s clients. Fellows will also go through a rigorous training curriculum and receive targeted and in-depth guidance and mentorship throughout their fellowship. Through their work, Fellows will preserve safe and affordable housing for all Angelenos. Salary for fellows prior to bar admission is $68,640/year. Salary after admission to the California bar will be $78,000/year.

Qualifications:

California Bar Membership or plans to take the California bar exam in Spring/Summer 2025,
Strong writing, research, and analytical skills,
Bright, good judgment, and works well with clients and team members,
Self-motivated, organized, and detail-oriented, and
Demonstrated commitment to tenants’ rights, social justice, or public interest law.

Application Instructions: Interested individuals should apply via ICLC’s website at https://innercitylaw.org/apply/. Applications will be accepted on a rolling basis.

Inner City Law Center is committed to having a diverse staff and an equitable and inclusive workplace. To read our full DEI Statement, please click here.

ICLC is an equal opportunity employer and all qualified applicants will receive consideration without regard to their race, religion, ancestry, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, transgender status, age, disability, marital status, or medical condition. All qualified applicants with criminal histories shall be considered in a manner consistent with the requirements of the Los Angeles Fair Chance Initiative for Hiring.

To keep our Staff and Clients safe, ICLC requires all Staff to have received the COVID-19 vaccine.

Inner City Law Center (ICLC)

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HOUSING JUSTICE POST-GRADUATE FELLOWSHIP