Note to first-year students:

Historically the National Association for Law Placement (NALP) set guidelines for schools and employers regarding when law students could receive career counseling and apply for jobs. NALP recently decided to no longer provide such guidelines.

While each school will separately define their own advising policies and timelines, we believe that first-year students deserve time to settle in before they have to think about summer job opportunities and all of the additional time and effort applying and interviewing for summer positions entails. We will begin reviewing first-year applications starting December 1, 2019.

Thank you,
Public Interest Law Project

Summer 2020 Law Clerk Opportunities

The Public Interest Law Project (PILP) currently has law clerk openings for the Summer 2020 term. We focus our litigation practice areas on issues surrounding Affordable Housing and Public Benefits.

PILP advances justice for low income people and communities by building the capacity of legal services organizations through impact litigation, trainings, and publications, and by advocating for low income community groups and individuals.

Since 1996, PILP has provided critical litigation and advocacy support to local legal services and public interest law programs throughout California. Responding to the elimination of federal funding for state and national legal services support centers, PILP was established to ensure that local legal services programs could continue to participate in major litigation and advocacy on behalf of low-income persons.

Through impact litigation and support to our local partners, we promote the development of affordable housing for low-income families, protect access to services and public benefits for lower income persons and persons with disabilities, enforce the rights of homeless individuals and communities displaced by natural disasters, and combat discrimination in government programs.

Law clerks at PILP receive mentoring and training from our housing and public benefits attorneys and gain exposure to the mechanics of litigation while developing a better understanding of the systemic legal barriers facing low-income and other underrepresented communities in California. PILP engages its law students in every phase of complex litigation, working with highly skilled and experienced attorneys. For example, we have involved students in all aspects of preparing an affordable housing/fair housing case for trial, including drafting discovery motions, participating in strategy sessions with co-counsel, and settlement negotiations with opposing counsel. Other law students have researched the legislative history and case law related to various provisions of affordable housing and public benefits laws; drafted portions of trial court and appellate briefs; assisted taking depositions; and drafted procedural and substantive legal memoranda, motions, and stipulations. Law students have also gone into the field, interviewing clients and drafting declarations for submission to the court.

Summer law clerks may be eligible for a stipend if funding is not available from their school or other sources.

Interested candidates should email application materials as word or pdf attachments to lawclerks@pilpca.org.  Please provide a cover letter that includes a brief statement of interest, résumé, and writing sample.

In your cover letter, please also indicate your law school year and any past or current public interest law experience.

If mailing materials, please send them to:
Attn: PILP Summer Law Clerk Program
The Public Interest Law Project
449 15th Street, Suite 301
Oakland, CA  94612