Legal Fellow

Muslim Advocates•Washington, DC

6d•$75,000 - $95,000•Remote

About The Position

Muslim Advocates (MA)—a national legal-advocacy, social-justice, and educational organization—seeks applications from talented and motivated new attorneys wishing to join our growing legal team for a two-year placement as a legal fellow. MA's movement-centered mission works with and for diverse Muslim and historically marginalized communities to build community power, fight systemic oppression, and demand shared wellbeing. We work in coalition with grassroots and community-based partners to dismantle discriminatory systems, including systems of state surveillance, mass incarceration, detention and deportation, and family regulation. We also work to defend movements from targeted state repression related to their principled dissent. Recognizing the limitations of any singular strategy, we use a combination of public education, policy work, systemic-change litigation, direct legal services, and technical assistance to movement leaders and community-based partners. Fellows will gain legal experience through their work on cases across all areas of our work and by being fully integrated into MA’s legal teams. The fellow will receive ongoing support and mentorship from MA’s staff attorneys and will be supervised by the legal director.

Requirements

A recent graduate from an accredited law school (0-3 years out of law school)
Strong legal research and writing skills
Strong oral and written communication skills
Firm commitment to social justice as demonstrated through course-work, clinical studies in law school, and/or lived experiences
Interest in MA’s mission and thematic areas of focus, e.g., immigration detention-and-deportation system, students’ rights under the First Amendment and under Title VI of the Civil Rights Acts of 1964, prisoners’ rights and carceral abolition, weaponization of national security frameworks, low-wage workers’ rights, etc.
Interest in movement-, community-, and client-centered lawyering approaches
Sound professional judgment, critical-thinking skills, and self-motivation
Ability to receive and implement feedback effectively
Sense of humor
Candidates should have a J.D. from an accredited university, be admitted in good standing to the bar of any state and/or the District of Columbia or in the process of obtaining admission, be fluent in oral and written English, and be willing and able to travel as the demands of the position require.

Responsibilities

Support litigation and advocacy work, including but not limited to: conducting legal research; helping to develop and draft pleadings, motions, briefs, and other advocacy materials as appropriate, including Know Your Rights (KYR) guidance
Help MA develop and expand its relationships with grassroots and organizational partners and related, shared advocacy
Participate in ongoing advocacy coalitions
Support the legal team in screening and following up on intakes
Other legal-advocacy tasks as identified and assigned by the legal team in line with MA’s expanding litigation docket