Do you want Legal Aid Chicago to host your Skadden or EJW Fellowship application? In the fall of 2024 will you be a 3L, recent law grad, or judicial clerk? If so, consider applying for one of these post-graduate fellowships with us as the host organization.

About Legal Aid Chicago

For over 50 years, Legal Aid Chicago has provided free civil legal assistance to people living in poverty in metropolitan Chicago. Each year our attorneys, volunteers, and staff help resolve civil legal problems, including domestic violence, consumer fraud, and unfair evictions. Legal Aid Chicago was founded on the philosophy that all individuals are entitled to quality civil legal representation, regardless of their income. We work to ensure that poverty is not an impediment to justice by dismantling the legal barriers that perpetuate inequality. Learn more about our work at www.legalaidchicago.org. 

Application Process

Interested candidates should submit the following:

• Your resume and a cover letter. In your cover letter, please highlight your interest and experience in civil legal services and our client communities, and describe any ideas you may have for a fellowship proposal (note, however, that it is not necessary to have a proposal at this stage of the process)
• A brief legal writing sample (2-4 pages)
• Your law school transcript
• Contact information for two professional references
• Legal Aid Chicago welcomes applications from candidates in any of the areas where Legal Aid Chicago practices. 

These materials should be sent no later than Tuesday, July 16, 2024.

Please note that Legal Aid Chicago may decide to sponsor more than one individual for each Fellowship opportunity and that Fellowship awards are not guarantees of employment with Legal Aid Chicago once the fellowship expires.

Legal Aid Chicago is also interested in other fellowship opportunities. If you are interested in applying for a different fellowship with our organization as the host organization, please follow the steps above and indicate the additional fellowship(s) for which you would like to be considered. 

Applicants should have the following:

• Experience with, or demonstrated commitment to, civil legal services
• Excellent research, writing, and court advocacy skills
• Strong communication and interpersonal skills, as well as the ability to work collaboratively in an interdisciplinary setting (we greatly value oral proficiency in languages other than English)
• Personal or professional experience with, or other demonstrated commitment to, our client communities, including people living in poverty (which we encourage applicants to share in their cover letter)

Applicants must have the following:

• An Illinois law license or the ability to become licensed in Illinois, or
• At least two years of completed law school credit at an ABA accredited school

Legal Aid Chicago is firmly committed to creating a diverse workplace and are proud to provide equal employment opportunities to all applicants and therefore do not discriminate on the basis of creed, color, national origin, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, age, religion, marital or parental status, alienage, disability, political affiliation or belief, military or military discharge status, or ex-offender status. Applicants who have experiences with our client communities are encouraged to apply.