The Heartland Center for Jobs and Freedom (HCJF) is a nonprofit legal organization that enforces housing and workplace rights for low-wage workers. We believe that working people of all races and backgrounds will have the power and influence to ensure that everyone can live a full life free of abuse, exploitation, and poverty. It is the mission of HCJF to create opportunities for tenants and workers to learn and exercise their rights, realize their collective power, and develop the leadership skills necessary to advocate for a racially and economically just society. HCJF carries out this mission through five major programs: the Right to Counsel (RTC) Program, which handles 600 eviction cases each year; the Safe Homes for All Program, which works to eliminate unhealthy conditions in residential rental housing; the Stable Homes Program, which challenges private business attempts to unlawfully opt out of affordability requirements imposed by the federal government; the Worker Power Project, which protects workers' rights as they organize for unions and fight to regain stolen wages; and the Heartland Leadership and Action Committees, which collaborates with tenants and workers that served as our clients to lead grassroots and democratic mobilizations.
HCJF is seeking post-graduate legal fellows to join our team through project-based funding applications. These fellowships are ideal for candidates interested in public interest law, movement lawyering, and building advocacy and impact litigation that advances economic and housing justice.
Ideally, fellows will work in at least one of our Legal Programs listed below.
* Worker Power Program: Building advocacy programs and impact litigation on behalf of low-wage workers. This work will include developing cases involving wage theft, unlawful termination, and other workplace violations, supporting worker organizing efforts, conducting outreach and know-your-rights education, and helping build strategic litigation designed to improve conditions for low-wage workers broadly.
* Safe Homes Program: Supporting advocacy efforts related to uninhabitable living conditions. This work will include developing impact litigation, class actions, and demand letters to ensure families across Missouri have access to safe and healthy homes.
* Stable Home Program: Contributing to advocacy focused on preserving stable, affordable housing and preventing displacement. This work will include collaborating with partner organizations to develop broader outreach and advocacy strategies that address systemic housing issues affecting low-income tenants.
* Eviction Defense Program: Direct representation of individuals and families facing eviction.
All of our work is grounded in the belief that everyone deserves dignity, that housing is a human right, and that everyone who works deserves a livable wage. We are looking for fellows who are committed to community-centered advocacy, creative lawyering, and using the law as a tool to build power for workers and tenants.
• J.D. or expected to receive a J.D. by the spring of 2027.
• Must take the July 2027 Bar exam and seek admission to the Missouri Bar; or forthose already admitted to the bar in a different state, must be eligible to seekMissouri admission pursuant to SCR 2.110 or 2.111.
• Be committed to working collaboratively and respectfully toward resolvingobstacles and conflicts.
• Self-starter with the ability to manage multiple priorities and work independently.
• Ability to work well under pressure with attention to detail.
• Exceptional research, writing, and oral communication skills.
• Demonstrated ability to conduct complex legal analysis and fact-finding.
• Willingness and ability to occasionally work outside of regular business hours and to travel within Missouri.
• Judicial clerkships, law review or journal experience, and/or experience litigating civil rights and civil liberties cases, desired.
• Familiarity with and/or connection(s) to Missouri.
• Deep commitment to social justice, housing rights, and/or workers’ rights.
• Cultural humility and community-centered adaptability.
• Fluency in Spanish is preferred but not required.
Applicants interested in applying for project-based fellowships and partnering with our organization should contact us to discuss potential projects and proposals. HCJF will work with candidates to craft the application and explain a proposed project. E-mail a cover letter, resume, writing sample, and three professional references to [email protected]. Please put “Legal Fellow” in the subject line of your email. Please list all fellowships you are eligible to apply to, including law school-specific fellowships. Please state in your cover letter where you saw this job posting, HCJF program interest(s), and any potential fellowship project ideas.
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