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Careers at Public Justice

Careers at Public Justice

Public Justice offers a mission-focused work environment, a teamwork and community-oriented approach, and a competitive compensation package. We provide excellent benefits, including at least three weeks of paid vacation, four-day work week, two weeks of sick leave, two personal days each year, all federal and some local holidays, employer-paid health, dental and vision insurance premiums, and a 401(k) plan.

Open Positions

2025 Summer Law Clerks

2025 SUMMER LAW CLERKS with focus on Access to Justice Project, Debtors’ Prison Project, Environmental Enforcement Project, or Students’ Civil Rights Project WASHINGTON, D.C., OAKLAND, CA, or REMOTE


July 2024

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Who We Are

Public Justice is a nonprofit legal advocacy organization that takes on the biggest systemic threats to justice of our time—abusive corporate power and predatory practices, the assault on civil rights, and the destruction of the Earth’s sustainability. It connects high impact litigation with strategic communications and the strength of our partnerships to fight these abusive and discriminatory systems and win social and economic justice.

What We Are Looking For

Public Justice seeks to hire four law clerks for Summer 2025, one in each of our four project areas. While each law clerk will focus on a single project area, they may work in other project areas as need and opportunity arise. Our four project areas are:

• The Access to Justice Project seeks to make the civil court system a fair, equitable, and effective tool for those with less power to win just outcomes. Primarily through high-impact litigation, we dismantle the procedural and structural barriers between ordinary people and the civil justice system, such as forced arbitration, limits on collective actions, overly strict standing requirements, and unwarranted court secrecy.

• The Debtors’ Prison Project fights to end the criminalization of poverty and shrink the carceral system. Working with allies and impacted communities, we use litigation, advocacy, and education to ensure no one is jailed simply because they can’t pay and to stop governments and for-profit corporations from treating people impacted by the system as a revenue source.

• The Students’ Civil Rights Project combines high-impact litigation with other advocacy tools to combat harassment and other forms of discrimination in schools. We strive to create systemic change so all students can learn and thrive, and to secure justice for students who are denied educational opportunities based on their race, national origin, ethnicity, or sex, including sexual orientation, gender identity, and gender expression.

• The Environmental Enforcement Project goes to court every day to fight climate change, secure environmental justice, and make polluters pay. We utilize the most powerful tools available to citizens by enforcing our Nation’s environmental laws in state and federal court. Our

experienced litigators win precedent-setting cases that result in meaningful, transformative change. We hold polluters accountable by requiring corporations to clean up their act and comply with our Nation’s environmental laws.

Law Clerks are welcome to work in-person in either Public Justice’s headquarters in Washington, D.C., or its Oakland, California, office, subject to pandemic conditions and vaccination status. Law clerks may also work remotely, subject to some limitations. All law clerks may assist attorneys in both of Public Justice’s offices, as well as remote attorneys throughout the country.

Public Justice’s law clerks research and develop new cases in conjunction with our attorneys, law fellows, and cooperating counsel. They also assist attorneys in ongoing litigation. Our law clerks are involved in legal research and writing, case review, and brainstorming on theories and approaches designed to ensure that justice is achieved.

Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Access

Public Justice is an equal-opportunity employer and values a diverse workplace. We are committed to providing an environment of mutual respect where equitable employment opportunities are available to all applicants. We encourage applications from all qualified individuals without regard to race, color, religion, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity or gender expression, age, national origin, citizenship of immigration status, disability, veteran status, record of arrest or conviction, or any other characteristic protected by applicable law. People of color, lesbian, gay, bisexual, queer, transgender and gender diverse people, women, people with abilities in multiple languages, immigrants, people living with disabilities, veterans, and formerly incarcerated individuals are strongly encouraged to apply. Please visit this link to read our Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Access policy statement: Diversity, Equity, Inclusion & Access.

Public Justice is committed to providing reasonable accommodations to individuals with disabilities. If you require reasonable accommodations during any part of the hiring process, please email lhughes@publicjustice.net.

How to Apply

We encourage students to seek and use outside sources funding or stipends, and we will help students secure that funding. Where necessary, Public Justice will provide supplemental funding equivalent to the minimum wage. Applicants must have completed their second year of law school by Summer 2025. We do not accept applications from first-year students.

Please submit your application to lawfellow@publicjustice.net no later than August 22, 2024. Reference the project for which you are applying in your subject line, and specify in your cover letter whether you are applying to work in the Washington, D.C., office, the Oakland office, or remotely. If you seek to work remotely, please state whether you anticipate being able to secure funding and from what state you anticipate working. You must submit multiple applications in order to apply for more than one position. Applications should consist of two electronic files: (1) your cover letter, resume, transcript, and contact information for two references in a single .pdf file; and (2) a writing sample in another .pdf file. In addition, Public Justice considers applications via the Equal Justice Works Career Fair and certain law schools’ OCI programs; applicants participating in those programs should follow those applicable deadlines and submission procedures and need not also submit an application to the “lawfellow” email address.

For more information on Public Justice, please visit our website at www.publicjustice.net.

Spring 2025 Legal Externs

SPRING 2025 LEGAL EXTERNS with focus on Access to Justice Project, Debtors’ Prison Project, Environmental Enforcement Project, or Students’ Civil Rights Project WASHINGTON DC or REMOTE


September 2024

Download a PDF of this posting


Who We Are

Public Justice is a nonprofit legal advocacy organization that takes on the biggest systemic threats to justice of our time—abusive corporate power and predatory practices, the assault on civil rights, and the destruction of the Earth’s sustainability. It connects high impact litigation with strategic communications and the strength of our partnerships to fight these abusive and discriminatory systems and win social and economic justice.

What We Are Looking For

Public Justice seeks to hire four legal externs for the Spring 2025 semester, one in each of our four project areas. While each extern will focus on a single project area, they may work in other project areas as need and opportunity arise. Our four project areas are:

  • The Access to Justice Project seeks to make the civil court system a fair, equitable, and effective tool for those with less power to win just outcomes. Primarily through high-impact litigation, we dismantle the procedural and structural barriers between ordinary people and the civil justice system, such as forced arbitration, limits on collective actions, overly strict standing requirements, and unwarranted court secrecy.
  • The Debtors’ Prison Project fights to end the criminalization of poverty and shrink the carceral system. Working with allies and impacted communities, we use litigation, advocacy, and education to ensure no one is jailed simply because they can’t pay and to stop governments and for-profit corporations from treating people impacted by the system as a revenue source.
  • The Students’ Civil Rights Project combines high-impact litigation with other advocacy tools to combat harassment and other forms of discrimination in schools. We strive to create systemic change so all students can learn and thrive, and to secure justice for students who are denied educational opportunities based on their race, national origin, ethnicity, or sex, including sexual orientation, gender identity, and gender expression.
  • The Environmental Enforcement Project goes to court every day to fight climate change, secure environmental justice, and make polluters pay. We utilize the most powerful tools available to citizens by enforcing our Nation’s environmental laws in state and federal court. Our experienced litigators win precedent-setting cases that result in meaningful, transformative change. We hold polluters accountable by requiring corporations to clean up their act and comply with our Nation’s environmental laws.

The externs are welcome to work in-person at Public Justice’s headquarters in Washington, D.C., subject to pandemic conditions and vaccination status. The externs may also work remotely. All externs may assist attorneys in both of Public Justice’s offices, as well as remote attorneys throughout the country.

Public Justice’s law externs research and develop new cases in conjunction with our attorneys, law fellows, and cooperating counsel. They also assist attorneys in ongoing litigation. Our law externs are involved in legal research and writing, case review, and brainstorming on theories and approaches designed to ensure that justice is achieved.

Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Access

Public Justice is an equal-opportunity employer and values a diverse workplace. We are committed to providing an environment of mutual respect where equitable employment opportunities are available to all applicants. We encourage applications from all qualified individuals without regard to race, color, religion, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity or gender expression, age, national origin, citizenship of immigration status, disability, veteran status, record of arrest or conviction, or any other characteristic protected by applicable law. People of color, lesbian, gay, bisexual, queer, transgender and gender diverse people, women, people with abilities in multiple languages, immigrants, people living with disabilities, veterans, and formerly incarcerated individuals are strongly encouraged to apply. Please visit this link to read our Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Access policy statement: Diversity, Equity, Inclusion & Access.

Public Justice is committed to providing reasonable accommodations to individuals with disabilities. If you require reasonable accommodations during any part of the hiring process, please email lhughes@publicjustice.net.

How to Apply

These positions are open to those who can secure academic credit for their work with Public Justice. We will help students secure academic credit from their schools. Applicants must be second- or third-year law students, and 3Ls are preferred. We do not accept applications from first-year or undergraduate students.

Please submit your application to lawfellow@publicjustice.net no later than October 11, 2024. Reference the project for which you are applying in your subject line and specify in your cover letter whether you are applying to work in the Washington, D.C., office or remotely. You must submit multiple applications in order to apply to more than one project. Applications should consist of two electronic files: (1) your cover letter, resume, transcript, and contact information for two references in a single .pdf file; and (2) a writing sample in another .pdf file.

For more information on Public Justice, please visit our website at www.publicjustice.net.

Fall 2025 Legal Fellowship

TWO-YEAR LEGAL FELLOWSHIP STARTING FALL 2025 WASHINGTON, D.C., or REMOTE


September 2024

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Public Justice is a nonprofit legal advocacy organization that takes on the biggest systemic threats to justice of our time–abusive corporate power and predatory practices, the assault on civil rights, and the destruction of the earth’s sustainability. It connects high impact litigation with strategic communications and the strength of our partnerships to fight these abusive and discriminatory systems and win social and economic justice. We seek to hire a two-year Fellow to start in Fall 2025 who will work with our attorneys on high-impact, cutting-edge litigation and advocacy across a variety of substantive areas.

The Fellowship

This is a two-year Fellowship in which the Fellow will have the opportunity to work on variety of substantive areas encompassed by our legal projects:

The Access to Justice Project seeks to make the civil court system a fair, equitable, and effective tool for those with less power to win just outcomes. Primarily through high-impact litigation, we dismantle the procedural and structural barriers between ordinary people and the civil justice system, such as forced arbitration, limits on collective actions, overly strict standing requirements, and unwarranted court secrecy.

The Debtors’ Prison Project fights to end the criminalization of poverty and shrink the carceral system. Working with allies and impacted communities, we use litigation, advocacy, and education to ensure no one is jailed simply because they can’t pay and to stop governments and for-profit corporations from treating people impacted by the system as a revenue source.

The Students’ Civil Rights Project combines high-impact litigation with other advocacy tools to combat harassment and other forms of discrimination in schools. We strive to create systemic change so all students can learn and thrive, and to secure justice for students who are denied educational opportunities based on their race, national origin, ethnicity, or sex, including sexual orientation, gender identity, and gender expression.

The Environmental Enforcement Project goes to court every day to fight climate change, secure environmental justice, and make polluters pay. We utilize the most powerful tools available to citizens by enforcing our Nation’s environmental laws in state and federal court. Our experienced litigators win precedent-setting cases that result in meaningful, transformative change. We hold polluters accountable by requiring corporations to clean up their act and comply with our Nation’s environmental laws.

The Fellow would work closely with Public Justice’s attorneys who have extensive experience litigating and advocating in their areas of expertise, a network of lawyers who collaborate on Public Justice’s work, other public interest groups, and our communications staff. In addition, the Fellow would be responsible for responding to intake and providing assistance with organization-wide projects as requested. This is an exempt position and will report to a Senior Attorney.

Qualifications

  • J.D. degree (by Fall 2025).
  • Excellent analytical, legal research, legal writing, and speaking skills.
  • Litigation experience (e.g., from internships, clinics, or clerkships).
  • Ability to juggle multiple tasks at a time and work in a fast-paced environment.
  • Self-motivation and proven ability to work independently and as part of a team.
  • Sensitivity to the needs and concerns of, and ability to work well with, individuals and groups from diverse cultures, backgrounds, and orientations.
  • Excellent attention to detail and commitment to follow-through.
  • Strong organizational skills.
  • Healthy sense of outrage and desire to change the world for the better.
  • Experience in complex civil litigation is preferred.

We offer a mission-focused work environment and a teamwork approach. We also offer a generous benefits package, including a four-day work week, three weeks of paid vacation, two weeks of sick leave, and two personal days each year, all federal holidays, employer-paid health, dental and vision insurance premiums, and a 401(k) plan.

Salary

Our attorneys are paid on a salary scale based on years out of law school. The starting annual salary for an attorney who has graduated law school in 2025 is $84,500.

Applications

Your application should consist of two electronic files: (1) your cover letter, resume, law school transcript, and references in a single .pdf file; and (2) a writing sample in another .pdf file, comprised of a legal brief or persuasive memo for which you were the primary author (please note the contributions of others). In your cover letter, please specify whether you are applying to work in the Washington, D.C. office or remote.

Please send your application to lawfellow@publicjustice.net. Reference “2025 Two-Year Fellowship” in the subject line. The application deadline is October 21, 2024, at which point applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis until the position is filled.

Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Access

Public Justice is an equal-opportunity employer and values a diverse workplace. We are committed to providing an environment of mutual respect where equitable employment opportunities are available to all applicants. We encourage applications from all qualified individuals without regard to race, color, religion, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity or gender expression, age, national origin, citizenship of immigration status, disability, veteran status, record of arrest or conviction, or any other characteristic protected by applicable law. People of color, lesbian, gay, bisexual, queer, transgender and gender diverse people, women, people with abilities in multiple languages, immigrants, people

living with disabilities, veterans, and formerly incarcerated individuals are strongly encouraged to apply. Please visit this link to read our Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Access policy statement: Diversity, Equity, Inclusion & Access.

Public Justice is committed to providing reasonable accommodations to individuals with disabilities. If you require reasonable accommodations during any part of the hiring process, please email lhughes@publicjustice.net.

Public Justice is an equal opportunity employer. We value and promote diversity. Applications are invited regardless of race, gender, gender identity or expression, national origin, sexual orientation, age or disability.

Click here to view our Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion policy. 

If you are a qualified individual with a disability and need assistance submitting your application for employment online or need any accommodations, please email LHughes@publicjustice.net. If you are selected for an interview, you will receive additional information regarding how to request an accommodation for the interview process.

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