Equal Justice Works in Memphis: Making a Just City
Just City is accepting proposals from dedicated, energetic third year law students and recent law school graduates to join our pursuit of a smaller, fairer, more humane criminal justice system in Memphis, Tennessee. This competitive two-year fellowship is in conjunction with Equal Justice Works, which is dedicated to creating a just society by mobilizing the next generation of lawyers committed to equal justice.
Why Just City? Mostly because we both want the same thing – justice. So we should be together! Just City exists to advance policies, programs, and solutions in Shelby County (Memphis) and the State of Tennessee that broaden access to justice, strengthen the right to counsel, and mitigate the damage caused to families and neighborhoods as a result of contact with the criminal justice system. Find out more about our work in our recent report, Just 3 Years.
Why Memphis? Memphis is one of the largest metro areas in the southeastern United States and offers low cost of living and plenty of opportunity. Our food, music, and culture is world class, and our equal justice work is, too. Multi-generational poverty, white flight, and economic stagnation have left their mark. The criminal justice system is especially crippling to our recovery and continues to be a drag on our neighborhoods and our economy. But Memphis is a city on the rise and is in need of problem-solvers. We’re taking it on, and we need help!
Fellowship Purpose: Just City is accepting ideas and proposals from third year law students and recent law graduates who are passionate about engaging with people who have been stigmatized and handicapped by our community and its employers because of their involvement with the criminal justice system. Our ideal candidate will help us create a proposal that will advance our expungement work, attack criminal court debt, reinstate driver’s licenses, restore voting and citizenship rights, and support our bail reform, participatory defense, and other advocacy work.
Eligible Applicants: Third year law students and recent law school graduates who have not held a full-time, permanent public interest attorney position, or an experienced private attorney looking to begin a public interest career.
Fellowship Focus: Relief from the collateral consequences of criminal justice system involvement, including clearing criminal records, driver’s license reinstatement advocacy, criminal court debt relief, voting and citizenship rights restoration
Fellowship Term: September 2019 – June 2021 (2 years)
How it Works: Host organizations and candidates work collaboratively to design a new project that serves individuals, groups or issues not adequately represented in our legal system in the United States. Equal Justice Works funds hundreds of fellows each year. Find out more about EJW Fellowships by clicking here.
Timeline:
Partnership Deadline (Just City and candidate match and agree to apply) – August 22, 2018
Application Deadline – September 21, 2018
Interviews with Sponsors begin – December 2018
Interviews continue & are offered on a rolling basis – December 2018- April 2019
Fellowship Begins: September 2019 – Ends: June 2021
Compensation: $50,000 – $60,000 commensurate with experience plus benefits (and awesome t-shirts and swag; office snacks; and lots of coffee!)
Get Started:
Send your resume and a cover letter to Joia, our Program and Community Engagement Coordinator, at joia@justcity.org. In your letter, answer the question, “What are three critical components to criminal justice reform, and why are they important?”
We hope to hear from you soon!
