Washington Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights and Urban Affairs

Washington, DC

This is the 2023 fellowship description for this mentor organization. This fellowship position has been filled.

The Washington Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights and Urban Affairs was established in 1968 to address issues of racial discrimination and entrenched poverty. Since then, the Committee has successfully litigated thousands of civil rights cases and advocated for public policy changes on behalf of individuals and groups in the areas of fair housing, equal employment opportunity, public accommodations, immigrant rights, disability rights, public education, prisoners’ rights, and more. The pro bono contributions of lawyers and law firms allows the Committee’s staff to extend the reach of its impact for individuals and communities who experience violations of their civil rights in the Washington, D.C. region and across the country. The Washington Lawyers’ Committee’s active litigation docket includes individual cases and class actions, as well as other larger law reform cases.

Workers' Rights is one of the Washington Lawyers' Committee's largest issue areas and it includes both systemic litigation and direct services to low wage workers who seek advice regarding a wide range of employment issues (including discrimination claims, wage theft claims, unemployment and workers’ compensation benefits, and other employment-related rights) at one of our monthly workers’ rights clinics. Fellows would be able to work at all levels of employment assistance for clients, both at clinics and also as part of litigation docket.

The Peggy Browning Fellow will be involved in aspects of new and ongoing workers' rights litigation in the Committee's actice docket, including client intakes, fact development, research memoranda, and other related litigation tasks. The Fellow will also assist workers at our Workers Rights Clinics by providing follow up and quality control on demand letters seeking upaid wages and redress from discrimination. The Fellow will help the Committee staff trace patterns of workplace issues that are coming through the clinic and which need to be addressed through litigation.

For the summer of 2023, WLC's fellowship position includes 3 days of in-person work at WLC offices (Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday) and 2 days of remote work (Monday, Friday) per week.

The total ten-week stipend for this fellowship will be $7,000.

Address cover letter to:

Joanna Wasik, Supervising Counsel
Washington Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights and Urban Affairs
700 14th Street NW, Suite 400
Washington, DC 20005