NALSWD Blog

Position requires 3-5 years of litigation experience, preferably in disability rights/civil rights. See listing below…

POSITION ANNOUNCEMENT
Staff Attorney, Education Advocacy Program

Position: The Disability Rights Legal Center seeks a Full Time Staff Attorney to work in its Education Advocacy

Program with an energetic and talented team of lawyers, advocates and students. The Staff Attorney will be responsible for a full litigation docket, including both impact and individual cases.

Under the supervision of DRLC management, and with the direct supervision of the Legal Director, the Staff Attorney will be responsible for all aspects of a litigation and appellate caseload in disability rights and special education. The Attorney will have primary responsibility for her or his own caseload and will have the opportunity to supervise law students and work closely with co-counsel from major law firms and public interest organizations. The Attorney will also participate in outreach and training efforts of DRLC, supervise students through the DRLC’s externship program, and other duties as assigned furthering the mission of the DRLC.

Requirements: J.D. and admission to California Bar, or temporary eligibility to practice law as a registered legal services attorney pursuant to Cal. Rule of Court 964 with the intention of taking the California Bar. Three to five years of litigation experience, preferably in disability rights, civil rights, special education or complex federal litigation.
Public interest, impact, or class action litigation experience is also preferred. Superior academic credentials. Experience with disability issues preferred. Spanish or ASL a plus. Some travel within California required.

Please do not apply unless you meet these requirements.

Salary/Benefits: Salary depends on experience. Benefits include health, dental and vision insurance, life and long term disability insurance, 401K, AFLAC eligibility, three weeks of vacation, and twelve sick days per year. DRLC also observes all Loyola Law School staff holidays which typically include 14-17 days per year. Parking and state bar dues are paid for all attorneys. Legal training opportunities are provided.

Application: Open until filled. Send resume, cover letter, writing sample and three references via e-mail to DRLC’s Litigation Assistant, Angelica DeLira, at:
angelica.delira@lls.edu

Please state in the subject line: Application for EAP Staff Attorney Position

DRLC values a diverse workplace and welcomes applications from candidates with diverse backgrounds.

This year’s IMPACT Career Fair, sponsored by the Arizona University Rogers College of Law and the Georgetown University Law Center, will be held on August 13th in Arlington, Virginia. This is the only career fair specifically geared toward law students and recent grads with disabilities. To sign up, visit  http://www.law.arizona.edu/career/Impact/welcome.cfm. The deadline for students/graduates is July 11th.

The Department of Labor has announced a vacancy for a two-year clerkship appointment with their Employment Compensation Appeals Board.  The board is the final reviewing authority for all workmen’s compensation cases in the federal government.  See the letter below from DOL for details.

08 April 2010

Dear Sir/Madam:

Please notify your Third Year law school students, graduating this spring, and intending to take the Bar this summer, that the Employees’ Compensation Appeals Board (ECAB), an appellate, adjudicatory board of the United States Department of Labor, intends to hire three Law Clerks with a projected start-work date of 01 November 2010.  The ECAB, located at the Frances Perkins Building in Washington, D.C., was created in 1946 by statute to hear appeals taken from determinations and awards under the Federal Employees’ Compensation Act with respect to claims of federal employees injured in the course of their employment.  The ECAB mission is to hear and decide cases on appeal from decisions of the Office of Workers’ Compensation Programs (OWCP) in an impartial and expeditious manner.  The decisions of the Board are made in accordance with its statutory mandate, based on a thorough review of the case record as compiled by OWCP.

ECAB has final authority to determine the liability of the Federal government with respect to the disability or death of employees injured in the scope of their employment.  There is no further administrative or judicial appeal of ECAB decisions.

The Law Clerk position is a two-year appointment at the GS-11, Step 1 level.  The salary is $62,467 to include locality pay.  The primary responsibilities of the Law Clerk position are to review and analyze case records and arguments, conduct legal research, draft decisions and orders, and respond to motions.

To qualify for the position, an applicant must be at the time of hire a law school graduate (J.D. or LL.B.) who possesses superior legal writing skills and meets one of the following criteria:

• Academic standing in the top one-third of his/her law school graduating class;
• Law review;
• Special honors for academic excellence in law school;
• Winning of a moot court competition or membership on the moot court team;
• Full-time or continuous participation in a legal aid program; or
• Significant summer law clerk experience.

Interested applicants should submit a resume (noting their GPA, general class rank, and bar admission status), and a current writing sample that demonstrates their legal research, analysis and writing skills to the following address:

U.S. Department of Labor

Adjudicatory Boards

Mail Stop: S-5220 (ATTN: Administrative Officer)

200 Constitution Ave., N.W.

Washington, DC   20210-0001

Applications must be received NO LATER THAN 01 July.  References and a law school transcript may be requested at a later date.  Armed services veterans who wish to claim veterans’ preference must also indicate the type of preference they are claiming and submit a copy of a Form DD-214 (“Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active Duty”) verifying their period of service. For further information concerning the eligibility requirements for veterans’ preference, visit the U.S. Office of Personnel Management web page at http://www.opm.gov/veterans/ jobs.asp.

Your assistance in circulating this information to qualified candidates seeking an outstanding legal opportunity in administrative law is greatly appreciated.

For those in the Bay Area, the ABA Commission on Mental and Physical Disability Law will be having its annual reception on August 9th in San Francisco. Here are the details from the invitation sent out on the Commission’s listserve, the Disability Discussion  Docket (to join the list, visit http://www.abanet.org/disability):

❖❖❖❖❖❖❖❖❖❖

ABA Commission on Mental and Physical Disability Law

You are cordially invited to attend the ABA Commission’s 2010 Annual Meeting Reception for Lawyers with Disabilities, sponsored by Walmart. There, the Commission will present the Paul G. Hearne ward for Disability Rights to Disability Rights Legal Center. The Commission will also distribute its Goal III certificates to those entities that have shown a noteworthy commitment to include people with disabilities in their organizations, leadership positions, programs, and activities. Award co-sponsored by the Starbucks Coffee Company.

Monday, August 09 2010

6:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m.

Moscone Center West 3rd Floor, Room 3020

To request special accommodations, to RSVP, or for more information, please contact Michael Stratton at (202) 662-1571 or strattonm@staff.abanet.org

For those in the K.C. area,  a job fair for diverse law students and recent law grads is coming up shortly. See below.

Heartland Diversity Legal Job Fair

Three blind students sitting for the bar in Maryland, Timothy Elder, Anne Blackfield, and Michael Witver, are suing the NCBE in a Baltimore Federal court after being told they cannot use the specialized software provided for them during law school exams on the multi-state portion of the bar exam.  This case is strikingly similar to a lawsuit brought by our former president (and tireless NALSWD supporter!) Stephanie Enyart, who sued the NCBE in California and won a preliminary injunction granting her accommodations.

For more info about the Maryland case: http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/blind_law_grads_sue_over_denied_use_of_screen-access_software_on_multistate

For more info about Stephanie’s case: http://www.dralegal.org/cases/education_testing/enyart_v_NCBE.php

Best of luck in your fight, Tim, Anne and Michael, from all of us at NALSWD! And best of luck to Stephanie, who is sitting for the bar in July!

On June 24th, there will be a free 75 minute webinar offering advice for job seekers with disabilities. The event will feature discussion and tips from HR personnel, vocational rehab counselors, and employment coaches. Details below…