Cornell University, Law School

Position ID:Cornell-Law School-TAF [#18417]
Position Title: Tenants Advocacy Fellow
Position Location:Ithaca, New York 14850, United States [map] sort by distance
Subject Area: Law
Appl Deadline:2021/04/30 11:59PMhelp popup** finished (2021/04/05, finished 2021/05/25, listed until 2021/04/30)
Position Description:    

*** this position has been closed and new applications are no longer accepted. ***

The Tenants Advocacy Fellowship was established in early 2021 through a generous grant from Enterprise Community Partners Foundation. The fellowship provides funding for a recent law school graduate, from an ABA accredited law school, who shows exceptional commitment to the field of public interest law and, if applicable, a dedication to housing justice. The fellowship is designed to provide an opportunity for one New York barred attorney to gain substantive experience in housing and racial justice through direct legal services that will improve the lives of low-income residents in Ithaca facing eviction, homelessness, or displacement.

Project Scope: The fellow will work exclusively in housing and racial justice. The project components include policy work, community-lawyering advocacy and direct legal assistance for low-to-moderate income Ithacans facing eviction, homelessness, or displacement. The fellow will mentor law students working on brief advice and full-scope housing cases for tenants locally. The fellow will be responsible for handling at least 10 eviction defense full-scope cases over the course of the year. The fellow will also have the opportunity to collaborate with law students on research and policy papers directly related to housing and racial justice. Other aspects of the fellowship include: serving as a liaison to the New York State Permanent Commission on Access to Justice's Housing Subcommittee convened by the Office of Court Administration, the 6th Judicial District and local county judges; attending Anti-Displacement Learning Network weekly meetings; collaborating with local service providers who assist tenants, including but not limited to the Human Services Coalition, Legal Assistance of Western New York, and the Ithaca Tenants Union; collaborating with students and the Tenants Legal Hotline leadership team to push out content on the website and connect with other online resources; and conducting outreach to the local courts about tenant resources.

Salary: This is a one-year fellowship. The fellow will receive an annual salary of $53,760, plus benefits. Once the fellowship has commenced, the fellow may apply for loan repayment assistance through Cornell Law School's Public Interest Low Income Protection Plan, a separately-funded program. The fellow will be paid through Cornell payroll and will need to satisfy those hiring requirements.

Eligibility: Applicants may be third-year law students or recent graduates from an ABA accredited law school. The applicant must either be a New York State licensed attorney or plan to sit for the July 2021 New York State bar exam. The Law School especially welcomes applications from individuals whose background and experience will contribute to the diversity of the Law School community.

Responsibilities: The selected fellow may choose to work a hybrid schedule, with part of the work taking place remotely (pending university approval if working outside New York State) and part of the work taking place in person. The fellow must be available and willing to return to Ithaca for any and all court appearances in-person for housing cases. The fellow would be responsible for attending all Tenants Advocacy Practicum classes, working closely with the Practicum Professor to develop and support the curriculum, and supervising all Tenants Legal Hotline cases, in conjunction with pro bono attorneys, with students during winter and summer break in the year of the fellowship. The selected fellow must also be willing to allow Cornell to publicize the fellowship. Please note that the New York Convenience of employer guidelines require New York State individual tax reporting and withholdings for this position. Additional individual state income tax filings may also be required if working outside New York State.

Selection Process: Applicants will be interviewed and selected by a Fellowship Committee. Criteria the Fellowship Committee will use to evaluate applicants will include, but not be limited to, the following: The candidate's demonstrated or stated commitment to public-interest law generally, and specifically to housing and racial justice work. The candidate's professional, volunteer and/or subject matter expertise in substantive housing law in New York State, indicating that the candidate possesses the relevant skills and initiative to make the fellowship a success. Candidates with New York State Bar licensure and experience supervising or mentoring students are preferred.

To Apply: Please submit the following documents by Friday, April 30, 2021. Applications submitted after this date will not be considered unless previously approved by the Assistant Dean for Public Service, Akua Akyea.
  1. Application Cover Sheet: This page must include the following: 
  • Your full name
  • Your law school
  • Your year of graduation from law school
  • Your current mailing address
  • Your phone number
  • Your email address
  • Your Date of NYS Bar Admission (if applicable)
2. Your Resume

3. Statement of Interest: Please submit a statement of interest for this one-year fellowship. The statement should include the following:
  • A thematic or focused essay (of no more than 5 double spaced pages) describing the applicant’s specific commitment to public service and how the applicant came to focus on the particular area of housing justice and/or racial justice work; the applicant’s past experiences and work activity in the public interest broadly construed; the applicant’s aspirations for future public interest work (with a focus on housing justice/racial justice as appropriate) and the ways in which the Fellowship will help to achieve those goals. As this is the inaugural class of this fellowship please share your ideas on expanding and sustaining the work of the Tenants Legal Hotline, including through access to justice in technology, policy initiatives and/or legislation, and/or affirmative litigation. Note: The application should not restate the applicant’s resume. Please use this opportunity to help the selection committee understand why you have focused on a housing and/or racial justice as a particular area of public interest work, how your law school career or other experiences have affected your choices, and what you hope to learn through this fellowship.
  • Statement of other fellowships or public interest positions for which the applicant has applied, including the status of those applications, plans if the applicant does not receive fellowship funding or offers of employment, and, if the applicant has not sought other fellowships or public interest positions, a brief statement of the reasons. Note: While applications for this fellowship are pending, applicants are required to provide updated information to the Office of Public Service about the status of applications to other fellowships and job applications. 
4. Writing Sample: Please submit a writing sample of no more than 10 pages. The applicant should submit a writing sample that indicates a comfort with legal writing and analysis, as opposed to a journal article that would potentially be more focused on sociological, theoretical, economic, etc.

5. Two recommendation letters from people familiar with your work; one from a law professor, and one from a former public-interest employer. The letters may be submitted directly to Michaela Azemi at ma688@cornell.edu. Electronic signatures are acceptable.

6. Law school transcript (an unofficial transcript is sufficient)
Feel free to contact the Director of Pro Bono Services and Externships, Michaela Azemi, ma688@cornell.edu, with any questions or concerns.

Founded in 1887, Cornell Law School is a top-tier law school, currently ranked 13th by U.S. News & World Report. We offer a 3-year JD program for about 200 students per class, a one-year LLM program for about 90 students from countries throughout the world, and a doctoral (JSD) program for about 2-3 new students per year. Cornell Law School has 41 tenured and tenure-track faculty, including 20 with chaired faculty positions; and 15 clinical professors in the legal research and writing program and in clinics at the local, national, and international level. Our faculty is consistently ranked among the top in the country for scholarly productivity and influence, and has preeminence in many areas, including quantitative and qualitative empirical legal studies, international and comparative law, and robust doctrinal scholarship in core fields. Our school is committed to being recognized as the leader among law schools at combining inspiring theoretical, doctrinal, and experiential teaching with cutting-edge scholarship in a supportive, intellectually rich community, so that our graduates can achieve excellence in all facets of the legal profession.

Cornell University is an innovative Ivy League university and a great place to work. Our inclusive community of scholars, students and staff impart an uncommon sense of larger purpose and contribute creative ideas to further the university's mission of teaching, discovery and engagement. Located in Ithaca, NY, Cornell's far-flung global presence includes the medical college's campuses on the Upper east Side of Manhattan and Doha, Qatar, as well as the new Cornell Tech campus to be built on Roosevelt Island in the heart of New York City. We offer a rich array of services, programs and benefits to help employees advance in their career and enhance the quality of personal life, including: employee wellness, workshops, childcare and adoption assistance, parental leave, flexible work options.



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      Pay Ranges:

      The hiring rate of pay for the successful candidate will be determined considering the following criteria:

      • Prior relevant work or industry experience.
      • Education level to the extent education is relevant to the position.
      • Academic Discipline (faculty pay ranges reflects 9-month annual salary)
      • Unique applicable skills.


      Application Materials Required:
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      Cornell Law School
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