Massachusetts Appleseed Center for Law and Justice (MA Appleseed) is seeking to host a Legal Fellow through the two-year Equal Justice Works Fellowship Program. This position is externally funded by the EJW Program and would begin in Fall 2025; selections for the fellowship are made by the national program and not by MA Appleseed.
MA Appleseed will work with the selected candidate to develop a project proposal and submit a strong application to the Equal Justice Works Fellowship Program. To maximize their chances, interested individuals should reach out to MA Appleseed as soon as possible due to the time required to develop and finalize a project proposal.
MA Appleseed is a non-profit organization driven by a mission to promote equal rights and opportunities for Massachusetts residents by developing and advocating for systemic solutions to social justice issues. For 30 years, our initiatives have created systems-level change that aims to ensure all Massachusetts families and youth can exercise their legal rights, build pathways out of poverty and crisis, and thrive.
We focus on three primary policy areas:
- Access to Justice: Eliminating the many systemic barriers within Massachusetts’ legal systems and various administrative agencies that deny justice to thousands of residents each year, guaranteeing language access, and reforming the courts and administrative tribunals to make them more “user friendly” to people who cannot afford an attorney. We are particularly interested in how technology can be used to achieve these goals.
- Educational Justice: Protecting students’ rights, promoting racial equity, and advocating for policy change to keep all students in class where they are safe, supported, and available for learning, with a particular focus on the disparate impact of school discipline policies on students of color, also known as the “school-to-prison pipeline.”
- Youth Homelessness: Providing policy recommendations, easing systemic barriers, and developing legal resources to help youth experiencing homelessness build safe, stable futures.
Position Summary
MA Appleseed is seeking a candidate interested in developing a project proposal for the Equal Justice Works Fellowship focused on one or more of our policy areas: Access to Justice, Educational Justice, and Youth Homelessness. Please review Our Initiatives on our website to learn more.
The project proposal may include some combination of policy analysis, legal research, know-your-rights trainings, coalition building, community education and outreach, advocacy, and/or pro bono involvement. We encourage creative approaches to addressing systemic inequities through the law and welcome project ideas that build on our previous work and dig into the intersections between policy areas. We are particularly interested in projects that can be piloted in one or more of Massachusetts’ Gateway Cities, such as Lowell, Lawrence, Malden, Springfield, or Worcester.
Examples of potential project ideas include:
- Building statewide support for an alternative vision of school safety that is grounded in student voices, rejects policing/surveillance techniques, and disrupts efforts to criminalize students of color.
- Launching a non-lawyer navigator program to provide one-on-one assistance to unrepresented civil litigants in Massachusetts courts.
- Examining the impact of statewide immigration trends on youth homelessness to identify and address emerging legal needs of newly arrived unaccompanied youth and young adults experiencing homelessness or housing instability.
- Exploring the disenfranchisement of youth experiencing homelessness and foster children through unjust school discipline and developing interventions tailored to these unique populations.
MA Appleseed is open to working with a candidate to develop a fellowship proposal different from any of the above that best meets the interests and needs of both the fellow and MA Appleseed.
This is a hybrid position based out of MA Appleseed’s downtown Boston office, combining in-person and remote days. Please note, fellowship awards are not guarantees of employment with MA Appleseed once the fellowship expires.
Qualifications
- Candidate must meet the requirements for the Equal Justice Works Fellowship Program which include 1) Attends or has attended an Equal Justice Works Member Law School and 2) Be a rising 3rd year law student (JD anticipated by May 2025), recent law school graduate, or experienced attorney seeking to make a career change to public interest work. See more about the requirements here.
- A passion for and commitment to social justice, racial equity, systemic change, community and/or movement lawyering.
- Excellent research, writing, and interpersonal skills.
- Cultural competency to work with and make meaningful connections with residents from diverse backgrounds.
- Fluency in oral and written English; fluency in another language, especially Spanish, Portuguese, Haitian Creole, or Vietnamese, is a plus but not required.
MA Appleseed is an equal opportunity employer and does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, ethnic background, religion, gender, sexual orientation, age, or disability. We are committed to fostering the leadership and elevating the voices of people of color, women, LGBTQ+ people, low-income people, immigrants, young people who were formerly involved in the child welfare system, young people who were formerly involved in the criminal legal system, people with disabilities, and people living in the many intersections of these experiences. We encourage people from these communities and people with experience outside traditional career paths and internships to apply.
Research shows that potential applicants from historically and structurally marginalized groups are more likely to apply to jobs only if they meet 100% of the qualifications. If you are interested in this position, but don’t think you meet every single one of our described qualifications, please don’t let that stop you from applying! No one ever meets 100% of the qualifications and provided you meet the Equal Justice Works Fellowship’s basic eligibility requirements, we look forward to reviewing your application.
To center the safety and well-being of our communities, MA Appleseed requires vaccination against COVID-19 for all employees. Reasonable accommodation based on a qualifying medical exemption or sincerely held religious beliefs are being considered in accordance with applicable law.
Fellowship Timeline
September 10, 2024: Full application due to Equal Justice Works by 11:59 pm ET
October 2024: Fellow alumni review and score applications
November 2024 – April 2025: Select candidates interviewed by sponsors
November 2024 – April 2025: Candidates selected for fellowships on a rolling basis
September 2025: Fellowship begins
Compensation and Benefits
- Equal Justice Works provides $63,500 annually towards this salary.
- Benefits package includes health insurance with employer contribution, unlimited PTO, 401k with up to 3% employer matching contribution, 4-day work week in July and August, and flexible scheduling.
To Apply
Please submit a resume, cover letter, and brief outline of a project proposal to Deborah Silva at deb@massappleseed.org with “2025 Fellowship Application” in the subject line. We are reviewing applications on a rolling basis and will give priority to those submitted by July 21, 2024.
Project proposal outlines should be no more than 3 pages and include:
- What your fellowship project aims to do;
- Who your fellowship project will help;
- Why the project is a good fit for MA Appleseed;
- Why the project is a good fit for the Equal Justice Works fellowship; and
- Anything else you want us to know.
If you need assistance or accommodation due to a disability, please contact us at inquiry@massappleseed.org or at 617-482-8686.
