The Roderick & Solange MacArthur Justice Center (MJC) invites rising third-year law students and recent graduates to apply for sponsorship for externally funded legal fellowships in three of the organization’s regional offices.  Selected applicants will work together with MJC attorneys to develop and submit proposals for public interest law fellowships, such as the Skadden Fellowship, Equal Justice Works Fellowships, and law school-specific fellowships.  Applicants will have a chance to select their preferred fellowship locations during the application process.

The MacArthur Justice Center Legal Fellow must be passionate about the MJC mission, eager to learn, and interested in participating in MJC-wide efforts, while generally also managing a one or two-year externally supported project of interest to both the Fellow and MJC.

The MJC Legal Fellowship is designed to facilitate learning for recent law school graduates and to support the work of the regional offices. The Legal Fellow must conduct their work under close supervision and direction of the Vice President and Legal Director, an Office Director, Senior Counsel/Supreme Court and Appellate Counsel, or Attorney, including where the Legal Fellow is focused on a particular project. A Legal Fellow is not lead Counsel but may be afforded significant responsibilities such as drafting briefs and presenting argument under close supervision.

About the Roderick & Solange MacArthur Justice Center

The Roderick and Solange MacArthur Justice Center (MJC) is a national, nonprofit civil rights law firm. We advocate for people harmed by America’s oppressive and violent criminal legal system to vindicate their rights, hold people with power accountable, and transform the system. Our advocacy includes cutting-edge litigation across the country, addressing end-to-end issues in the criminal legal system: from police and prosecutorial misconduct to mass incarceration, to the conditions of jails and prisons, to wrongful convictions.  For more information on our work, visit www.macarthurjustice.org.

The criminal legal system disproportionately harms people of color, people from low-income communities, people who were formerly incarcerated, people with disabilities, and LGBTQ+ individuals. We strongly encourage people who identify within these and other communities underrepresented in the legal profession to apply. All applicants must have and be committed to the cultural competence required to work with clients, co-workers, and community partners who come from different backgrounds and experiences.

MJC currently has five offices:  Illinois (Chicago), Louisiana (New Orleans), Missouri (St. Louis), Washington, D.C., and Mississippi (Oxford).  Our Washington, D.C. office houses our Supreme Court and Appellate Project, and is largely focused on appellate work in courts around the country and the U.S. Supreme Court.  Our Illinois, Louisiana, Missouri and Mississippi offices largely focus on district and state court work in and/or near the states in which they are based.  For the 2025 fellowship cycle, our Illinois, Missouri, and Washington D.C. offices are seeking fellows.  Each of these offices generally focuses on the issues identified above, but also focus on the following specific issues areas:

• Illinois: Pretrial justice, challenges to police misconduct and abuse, challenges to solitary confinement and other prison conditions, and parole and post-release deincarceration efforts
• Missouri: Prisoners’ rights, extreme sentencing of youth, parole and community supervision, environmental racism, wrongful convictions
• Washington, D.C.: Prisoners’ rights, policing, excessive sentences, state constitutional protections

In addition, MJC is also seeking one legal fellow to work directly with the Vice President and Legal Director. In addition to all the roles and responsibilities listed below, this fellow will work closely with the Vice President and Legal Director, who serves as a thought leader, manager, and litigator, and work collaboratively across the organization to develop and execute MJC’s legal strategy, working with some of the nation’s most talented legal professionals.  (The high preference is for this fellow to be based in Washington, D.C., but other locations will be considered for exceptional candidates.)

Role & Responsibilities

 Litigation and Project Work: 

Under the direction of an experienced attorney Legal Fellows may, as applicable:

• Develop and implement project of focus for Fellowship;
• Participate in all stages of MJC litigation in trial or appellate courts, including:
• Case development, screening, and/or investigation;
• Client outreach and coalition building;
• Case communications;
• Analyze and manage documents, in the record and/or as part of discovery;
• Engaging in written discovery and taking depositions;
• Legal research, analysis, and brief-writing;
• Trial, hearing, or oral argument preparation and presentation;
• Supporting settlement efforts, where appropriate;
• Collaborating with co-counsel and conducting meet-and-confers with opposing counsel.

 Learning:

• Collaborate with other MJC fellows and staff to share learnings;
• Work with and support interns and law students in the office;
• Participate in meetings and trainings;
• Support office functions, events, and hiring;
• Build and sustain relationships and professional network.

Other Job Duties:

• Attend MJC organization-wide meetings and regular office planning meetings;
• Participate in organization and office-wide trainings.

 Experience & Qualifications

Education:

Bachelor’s Degree and J.D. required

 Skills and Experience:

• Experience in civil rights litigation or criminal legal system reform.
• Ability to conduct complex legal analysis and fact-finding.
• Strong interpersonal skills and ability to work both independently and within a supportive team environment.
• Strong organizational skills, including the ability to follow-through on assignments independently, to manage several projects and deadlines at once, and to be flexible in the event of changing priorities and deadlines;
• Excellent writing, editing, and oral communication skills;
• Very close attention to detail and a commitment to completing tasks quickly and thoroughly;
• Ability to work creatively and effectively as part of a cohesive team to develop new legal initiatives;
• Ability to engage with clients and others in the community;
• Experience using computer systems and databases and willingness to learn internal programs;
• Meticulous record and time-keeping skills; and
• Ability to create a working environment that is inclusive, equitable and welcoming, and a willingness to honor the diverse experiences and perspectives of MJC staff and clients.

 License and Certifications:

Admission to the relevant state bar, or eligibility for admission upon hiring.

 Technology:

• Proficiency with Microsoft Products, including SharePoint, OneDrive, Word, Excel, and Outlook required
• Proficiency with Adobe Pro and case management and trial presentation software, such as Relativity, CaseMap, and Clio preferred

 Travel: 

Limited travel, as required for casework and organization-wide meetings and training.

 Location: 

Most locations are on a hybrid schedule and require some days in office each week. Legal fellows must reside in the geographical location of their office.

 Compensation:

Fellows will be paid according to the following salary scale. If a fellow’s source of funding is less than the scale, MJC will provide a supplement.

MJC Legal Fellowship Pay*, 2024-2025

*Any fellow whose work is supported by a grant requiring compensation greater than the MJC matrix will be paid at the rate determined by the grant agreement with MJC (e.g., $70,000 for fellowships supported by Justice Catalyst.)

 **Relevant experience for MJC fellowships is capped at 2 years post-law school. MJC does not intend to onboard fellows with more than 2 years of post law-school legal experience. However, should one be engaged they will be paid at the 2 years post law-school level, not higher.

TO APPLY:

For priority consideration, all of the following materials should be submitted through MJC’s application portal by July 7, 2024.  We will consider applications on a rolling basis so we encourage applicants to submit their materials as soon as possible. We may be able to expedite our process for candidates who are facing deadlines from other organizations.

• A cover letter describing your interest and experience. Please include any proposed project(s) and/or issues that you may be interested in pursuing funding for work on. Please also list the fellowships you would be interested in applying for, including any law school fellowships and funding for which you are eligible. We encourage applicants to submit separate cover letters if they are applying to more than one MJC office.
• Resume.
• A list of three references.
• Law school transcript (unofficial is fine).
• Writing sample. Please include a cover note explaining the context and any editing done to the sample by others.