Term Time Legal Internships, Externship, and Pro Bono Scholar Position for Current Law Students
TakeRoot Justice provides legal, participatory research, and policy support to strengthen the work of grassroots and community-based groups in New York City to dismantle racial, economic and social oppression. TakeRoot employs a unique model of partnership with grassroots and community-based groups. Our partners take the lead in determining the priorities and goals for our work and advance our understanding of justice. This upends the traditional power dynamics between communities and service providers. We believe in a theory of change where short-term and individual successes help build the capacity and power of our partners, who in turn can have longer-term impact on policies, laws and systems that affect their communities. Our work is done in connection with organizing, building power and leadership development.
Application Instructions & Deadlines
We accept applications for term-time legal internship, externship, or Pro Bono Scholar positions from current students throughout the year.
Please note that this information is only relevant to TERM TIME internships. Request of Applications for summer internships are typically posted separately in early Autumn, and applicants must follow the instructions contained in that posting.
Review of applications and offers for positions will be made on a rolling basis. To apply, please e-mail a cover letter and resume, in a single PDF attachment, to the attention of Tedmund Wan at jobs@takerootjustice.org. The subject line of the e-mail should specify that you are seeking a term time position, the type of position(s) you are seeking, and your preferred practice area(s). Cover letters should explain why the applicant is interested in working with TakeRoot and the preferred practice area(s). Candidates with proficiency of a second language –especially Spanish, Haitian Creole, French, East Asian, or South Asian languages – are strongly preferred.
Funding
Unfortunately TakeRoot does not provide funding for term time internship or fellowship at this time. However, TakeRoot would cooperate with an applicant’s effort to receive funding or academic credits.
Practice Areas
Capacity Building for Worker Cooperatives and Community Non-Profits: We support and strengthen worker-owned cooperatives, community- based institutions, grassroots campaigns and local organizing. In addition to providing public policy support and technical support for local campaigns, our practice area advises on a variety of transactional matters, including incorporation, tax exemption, internal governance, contracts, commercial leases, and compliance with corporate, non-profit, employment, tax, and other laws. We often work with the Equitable Neighborhoods practice area.
Equitable Neighborhoods: We work with grassroots groups, neighborhood organizations and community coalitions to help make sure that people of color, immigrants, and other low-income residents who have built our city are not pushed out in the name of “progress.” We work together with our partners and clients to ensure that residents in historically under-resourced areas have stable housing they can afford, places where they can connect and organize, jobs to make a good living, and other opportunities that allow people to thrive. We often work with the Capacity Building and Tenants’ Rights practice areas.
Housing & Tenants’ Rights: We provide direct legal assistance to community groups, their organizers, and their members engaged in tenant organizing. Our practice includes affirmative litigation on behalf of tenant associations, as well as individual anti-eviction litigation. We train community groups and their members on tenants’ rights issues, collaborate with tenant organizers, assist with legislative and/or regulatory advocacy, and lead housing clinics. Types of cases include HP actions for repairs, rent strikes, and 7A proceedings to strip landlords of control of their buildings.
Immigrants’ Rights: We aim to protect individuals from detention and deportation, keep families together, and build power in immigrant communities. We work with our partners to provide legal clinics, KYRs workshops, and strategic advocacy efforts. We provide full representation to partners’ members on a wide range of immigration case types including citizenship, T and U visas, asylum, Special Immigrant Juvenile status, detention defense and much more. We are also involved in efforts to support the development of immigrant community defense networks, challenge harsh immigration laws and enforcement practices, promote language access and combat immigration fraud.
Workers’ Rights: We represent low-wage workers from workers’ centers against employers for failure to pay minimum wage and overtime, tip-stealing, labor trafficking, unlawful discrimination, sexual harassment, retaliation and other violations of the labor laws. We also collaborate with community groups to provide legal support to employees involved in a variety of labor-related organizing efforts.
—————————–
TakeRoot Justice is an equal opportunity employer. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, marital status, age, national origin, ancestry, physical or mental disability, medical condition, pregnancy, genetic information, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, veteran status, or any other status protected under the law.
TakeRoot strongly encourages applications from people with diverse backgrounds, including, but not limited to, women, people of color, immigrants, people with disabilities, LGBTGNCNBQI+ people, people from low income backgrounds, people of all ages, people with personal experience with the criminal justice system, and people with direct and lived experience(s) with the communities we serve. TakeRoot believes that diversity and inclusion are critical to our success, and we seek to recruit, develop and retain the most talented people from a diverse candidate pool.