Externally Funded Legal Fellow 2027-2028

Local Progress•,

3d•Remote

About The Position

Local Progress Impact Lab is seeking an externally-funded Legal Fellow for the 2027–2028 cycle. Local Progress and the Local Progress Impact Lab (together known as LP and the Impact Lab) work collectively to advance a racial and economic justice agenda through all levels of government. Local Progress (LP) is a movement with nearly 1,800 local elected officials advancing a racial and economic justice agenda through all levels of local government. The Local Progress Impact Lab (the Impact Lab) brings together local leaders, partners, and experts to build the knowledge, skills, and leadership needed to advance racial and economic justice at the local level. Working as part of a national Legal & Policy team, the Legal Fellow will support growth of legal and policy resources for members on a broad array of issues, as well as the in-depth work of the organization on climate justice, affordability, local government revenue generation, and opposing surveillance technology and data centers. The Legal Fellow will also provide research support to elected officials in a variety of geographies (LP has state-based staff in CA, CO, MI, MN, NC, NY, PA, and TX, and members in nearly every state). This is an exciting, term-limited opportunity for recent law school graduates who are eager to build the legal and policy capacity of the Local Progress network, which is comprised of elected officials serving in cities, counties, and on school boards, as well as closely collaborate with these members in working hand-in-hand with impacted communities to win and defend transformational local policy on some of the most pressing issues facing communities today. The Legal Fellow will provide timely resources, strategy, and collaboration to Local Progress members on the forefront of these efforts and will require digging in on questions facing our members day-to-day; for example, on preemption, drafting ordinances, etc. The Legal Fellow will work under the supervision of the Deputy Legal Director, as well as closely with the remainder of the Legal and Policy team.

Requirements

A juris doctor degree required by start of fellowship 2027
Excellent analytical skills for legal and policy research
Strong attention to detail
Ability to work independently
Ability to balance multiple projects, anticipate obstacles, and identify ways to navigate said challenges
Skilled in legal research tools like Westlaw and LexisNexis
Comfort and skill in written and verbal communication
Motivated by and has the ability to dive into new issue areas–specifically, the ability to quickly get up to speed on key policy considerations and relevant research and write clear summaries describing and synthesizing the state-of-play
Awareness of and ability to address issues of power, race, class, gender, and other forms of privilege within the internal dynamics and culture of a workplace
Mission alignment and a passion, excitement, and eagerness to engage in the substance of LP’s work
A demonstrated commitment to social, racial, and economic justice and a deep interest in local policy, politics, and government

Nice To Haves

Familiarity or experience with progressive policy campaigns
Familiarity or experience with organizing, working with organizers, or movement lawyering
Lived experience navigating the issues that the Impact Lab works on (for example, with wage theft, housing insecurity and discrimination, environmental racism, etc.)
Familiarity or experience with legislative processes

Responsibilities

Support growth of legal and policy resources for members on a broad array of issues.
Support in-depth work of the organization on climate justice, affordability, local government revenue generation, and opposing surveillance technology and data centers.
Provide research support to elected officials in a variety of geographies.
Build the legal and policy capacity of the Local Progress network.
Collaborate with members in working hand-in-hand with impacted communities to win and defend transformational local policy.
Provide timely resources, strategy, and collaboration to Local Progress members.
Dig into questions facing members day-to-day, such as preemption and drafting ordinances.