NLSLA Post-Law School Fellowship Grant

The NLSLA Post-Law School Fellowship offers opportunities for law graduates to engage in impactful legal work in Los Angeles. Focused on social change, the fellowship encourages projects that address systemic issues while providing direct legal services to underserved communities. Ideal candidates will propose initiatives in areas like education, health equity, and workers' rights, particularly those affecting vulnerable populations. NLSLA emphasizes collaboration and innovative solutions to enhance access to justice and improve lives in the region.

Post-Law School Fellowship Opportunities
Neighborhood Legal Services of Los Angeles County (NLSLA) partners with law school graduates who view the law as a powerful tool for social change. We accept fellowship proposals on a rolling basis and are especially interested in working with students who are looking to combine direct legal services with systemic advocacy to make a meaningful impact in the lives of people living in poverty across Los Angeles County.
We have a long history of hosting post-graduate students through national fellowship programs like Skadden and Equal Justice Works, as well as fellowships at individual law schools. For 2023-2024, we are especially interested in projects focusing on education, healthcare and health equity, and racial and economic justice.

Eligibility

CLEAN SLATE INITIATIVESFamily Maintenance & Reunification ProjectSupporting formerly incarcerated individuals on a path toward familial reconnectionThe NLSLA Clean Slate Initiatives team is seeking proposals from students who wish to examine the intersection of criminal records and family maintenance/reunification. Proposals should identify the familial harms experienced by this population, including how records can interfere with a parent or relative’s ability to visit and/or reside with minor children.Mitigating the Burden of SentencingPromoting successful reentry of individuals on court-ordered supervisionThe team is seeking proposals from students who are interested in developing a project that addresses the reentry legal needs of persons currently on probation, parole, or other forms of court-ordered supervision. Proposals should identify the specific barriers to successful reentry faced by this population and how court-ordered supervision terms can negatively impact a person’s ability to access housing, employment/income, and other resources.WORKERS’ RIGHTS AND PUBLIC BENEFITSLow-Wage Immigrant Workers’ Rights ProjectThe NLSLA Workers’ Rights team is seeking proposals from rising 3L students who wish to address discrimination, harassment, and wage theft by building awareness, connecting low-wage, immigrant workers to workplace rights and benefits, and implementing worker-driven strategies to address these systemic workplace harms. Selected candidates will work to reach workers in marginalized communities that are disproportionately impacted by immigration-related workplace discrimination, including but not limited to, workers in immigrant-dominated sectors, immigrants, workers with limited English proficiency, and survivors of trafficking (with a potential emphasis on the API community).Access to Public Benefits ProjectThe team is seeking proposals from students who are interested in developing a project related to access to public benefits for vulnerable populations in Los Angeles, including people who are unhoused, immigrants, domestic violence survivors, people with disabilities, limited English speakers and people of color.A project may consider the integration of public benefits access into solutions to the housing and homelessness crisis, strategies to reach and enroll immigrants who historically are underenrolled in public assistance, and ways to utilize technology and the new statewide benefits eligibility website and case management system (CalSAWs) to improve benefits access and retention.L.A. COUNTY SELF-HELP CENTER OPPORTUNITIESA Self-Help fellowship could include the design, development, and implementation of a technology related project. NLSLA is looking for ways to use Microsoft 365 Office Suite (Power Automate, Microsoft Forms, Microsoft Outlook, Microsoft Excel, etc.) to automate and speed up administrative tasks, and the delivery of services to litigants.A project might include: 1. setting up processes that automate the completion of documents that will be filed with the court; 2. the creation of an MS Form to gather information from litigants and a Powerautomate flow to send notifications or the information provided by litigants to staff and/or volunteers; or 3. create easy to understand educational videos for the public.