Department: Law Legal Clinic
Salary/Grade: RES/

Job Summary:

The Community Justice and Civil Rights Clinic is a movement/community lawyering clinic, where students work with racial/social justice movement organizations on policy and litigation strategies aimed at redressing mass imprisonment and police abuse. The Clinic exposes students to multiple strategies for social change and the theory and realities of movement lawyering. Clinic students gain litigation skills and learn the basics of legislative lawyering. At the end of a typical semester each student will have 1) developed community based know your rights materials; 2) completed a significant litigation-based task (i.e. taken/defended a deposition, drafted and filed a motion in federal court, participated in a federal hearing, settlement conferences and/or completed discovery related tasks; and 3) drafted regulations, ordinances and/or policy based advocacy materials and participated in law maker briefings.

During this past year, the CJCR clinic has worked with a coalition of civil rights attorneys to file a lawsuit against the Chicago Police Department alleging that it violated the rights of protesters during the Summer 2020 uprisings, negotiated a settlement that will release 1,000 people from the Illinois Department of Corrections, and provided legal and policy support to Black and brown led grass roots collectives working to create alternatives to the police.

DEI Statement

Northwestern Pritzker Law prides itself on its active and diverse community, which brings together a passionate and talented group of students, staff, and faculty. The Law School endeavors to take principled action towards ensuring that we live up to our responsibility-and our institutional values-to create a diverse, equitable, and inclusive community for all constituents. Law School leadership commits to working tirelessly to ensure every member feels valued, all students can study and train to be successful in their careers, all staff members can develop personally and professionally, and where our faculty can both teach and support our students and produce top quality research and scholarship.

Specific Responsibilities:

Instruction

* Supervise student projects and cases

* Share responsibility for designing and teaching weekly class sessions

* Assist the professor with identifying guest speakers and readings for the seminar component of the Community Justice and Civil Rights Clinic

* Assist with supervision of student work, including participating in weekly team meetings and providing feedback on student projects

Direct Client Representation

* Working on existing cases and projects

* Conduct client intakes and bond screenings

* Interview clients and develop case theory and fact investigation plans

* Conduct fact investigations, including identifying and interviewing lay and expert witnesses and obtaining documents from government agencies through FOIA

* Conduct legal research and keep abreast of changing civil rights laws and policies

* Draft and file motions, briefs, memoranda of law, and other pleadings

* Participate in court hearings and evidentiary proceedings

* Managing client policy projects, including developing work plans, conducting policy research and working with policy makers.

* Manage case and project deadlines and maintain client contact information, case information, files, and correspondences

Outreach/Public Engagement

* Identify additional community/movement lawyering needs/opportunities aligned with the fellow's interest and expertise

* Increasing the clinic's litigation and policy capacity

* Cultivate and manage relationships with national and local social and racial justice movement stakeholders

* Attend meetings and serve as the CJCR's liaison with national and local legal service providers, community organizations, and advocacy groups

* Conduct and organize trainings, presentations, and other events providing information to partners and promoting the work of the CJCR

Miscellaneous

Performs other duties as assigned.

Minimum Qualifications:

* J.D.

* 2-3 years of litigation experience (and/or a federal clerkship)

Minimum Competencies: (Skills, knowledge, and abilities.)

* Interest in or experience with clinical teaching and supervision

* A passion for racial justice and movement lawyering

* Strong strategic thinking and organizational skills and the ability to multitask, and work with creativity, good humor, and rigor.

* Excellent oral and written communication skills

* Excellent project management skills - ability to identify priorities and manage multiple tasks and deadlines

* Strong academic record or other indicia of high-performance ability

* Strong verbal and written communication skills in both legal and community contexts;

* Excellent legal and policy research skills

* Strong strategic thinking and organizational skills and the ability to multitask, and work with creativity, good humor and rigor;

* Interest in or experience with clinical teaching and supervision

Preferred Qualifications:

* Illinois law license

* Experience living in and/or working with and for Black and brown communities, including people who have been directly impacted by the criminal legal system

Preferred Competencies: (Skills, knowledge, and abilities)

* Excellent legal and policy research skills

* Strong verbal and written communication skills in both legal and community contexts

Benefits:
At Northwestern, we are proud to provide meaningful, competitive, high-quality health care plans, retirement benefits, tuition discounts and more! Visit us at to learn more.

Work-Life and Wellness:
Northwestern offers comprehensive programs and services to help you and your family navigate life's challenges and opportunities, and adopt and maintain healthy lifestyles.
We support flexible work arrangements where possible and programs to help you locate and pay for quality, affordable childcare and senior/adult care. Visit us at to learn more.

Professional Growth & Development:
Northwestern supports employee career development in all circumstances whether your workspace is on campus or at home. If you're interested in developing your professional potential or continuing your formal education, we offer a variety of tools and resources. Visit us at to learn more.

Northwestern strongly recommends COVID-19 vaccinations and boosters for people who can obtain them as a critical tool for minimizing severe illness. More information can be found on the webpage.

The Northwestern campus sits on the traditional homelands of the people of the Council of Three Fires, the Ojibwe, Potawatomi, and Odawa as well as the Menominee, Miami and Ho-Chunk nations. We acknowledge and honor the original people of the land upon which Northwestern University stands, and the Native people who remain on this land today.

Northwestern University is an Equal Opportunity, Affirmative Action Employer of all protected classes, including veterans and individuals with disabilities. Women, racial and ethnic minorities, individuals with disabilities, and veterans are encouraged to apply. Click for information on EEO is the Law.

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