ATTORNEY FELLOWSHIP SPONSORSHIP

The mission of Community Legal Services, Inc. (CLS) is to fight poverty, challenge
systems that perpetuate injustice, and change lives through cutting-edge advocacy and
exceptional legal representation. For over 50 years, CLS has been committed to working
for justice by serving the legal needs of low-income Philadelphia residents in critical
cases that affect their families, their jobs, their homes, and their incomes. We make a
difference in the lives of poor and at-risk Philadelphians through high impact policy
advocacy, individual representation, strategic use of media and community education.
We work at the City, State and national levels. Many of our lawyers are nationally
recognized experts in their fields. CLS’s combination of direct client services coupled
with broad based impact work is a nationally renowned model. By identifying trends, we
develop policy strategies, engage in systemic and legislative advocacy, and ultimately
work to effectuate sustainable change to the client communities we serve.
CLS seeks to sponsor Attorney Fellows to engage in exciting and innovative work
important to our mission and our clients. The projects will vary depending on time
constraints given the duration of the fellowship and the interests and experience of the
candidate. Depending on the nature of the project, fellows will be placed in one of our 10
legal units: Employment (including wage theft and criminal records expungement),
Energy, Family Advocacy, Health and Independence, Home Ownership and Consumer
Rights, Housing, Language Access Project, Medical-Legal Partnership, SSI Disability, or
the Youth Justice Project. CLS typically seeks to sponsor attorney fellows for the
Skadden Foundation and the Independence Foundation. However, CLS may also opt to
sponsor Attorney Fellows for other fellowships such as Equal Justice Works or law
school-based fellowships depending on the needs of the program and the qualifications of
the candidate.
The ideal Attorney Fellow candidate will possess a demonstrated passion for, interest in,
and commitment to public interest and poverty law, racial justice, and serving lowincome communities and clients; a demonstrated ability to providing the highest quality
legal services to individual clients; excellent legal analysis and research, writing and oral
advocacy skills; an interest in policy and advocacy work; strong networking, relationship
building and communications skills; and demonstrated sound professional and legal
judgment.
CLS is seeking incoming 3Ls, recent graduates or judicial clerks for Attorney Fellowship
sponsorships whose projects will commence in the Fall of 2023. A J.D. from an
accredited law school and willingness to sit for the Pennsylvania State Bar is required.
What to Include in your application:
Please include a cover letter, resume, recent law school transcript, a list of three (3)
professional or academic references and two (2) brief writing samples of 10 pages or less
no later than close of business on Monday, May 30, 2022. Community Legal Services
values a diverse work environment and strongly encourages women, people of color,
people who identify as LGBTQ, people with disabilities, people who have experienced
poverty or homelessness and people who have had prior contact with the juvenile,
criminal, or child welfare systems to apply. CLS invites all applicants to include in
their cover letter a statement about how their unique background and/or
experiences might contribute to the diversity, cultural vitality, and perspective of
our staff and legal services practice. Furthermore, if you have areas of particular
interest or project ideas, we encourage you to state them in your letter.
You can submit your application on CLS’s website online at:
https://clsphiladelphia.applytojob.com/apply/HiEDOCeYiq/Attorney-FellowshipSponsorship-2023
• The deadline to apply for consideration for sponsorship with Skadden
Foundation, EJW or Independence Foundation is Monday, May 30, 2022. No
late applications will be considered for these applications. CLS intends to
conduct interviews for these applicants starting in early June.
• For applicants interested in being considered for only school-based
fellowships, CLS will consider those applications on a rolling basis in
conjunction with the application deadlines of the sponsoring law school.
CLS is an equal opportunity employer. CLS does not discriminate in the selection of
employees on the basis of race, color, religion, gender, sexual orientation, sexual identity,
genetics, age, national origin, disability, or veteran status. In addition to federal law
requirements, CLS complies with all applicable state and local laws governing
nondiscrimination in employment. This policy applies to all terms and conditions of
employment, including recruiting, hiring, placement, promotion, termination, layoff,
recall, transfer, leaves of absence, compensation and training.