Hello CLDC network,

Please pass around to your networks: We are currently accepting spring law applications for the 2019 Spring term.

Also, we will begin accepting summer law clerk positions as of Nov. 1st. Applications must be in by March 15th! Our summer law clerk program is something we are very proud of. We love to mentor future lawyers and inspire them to carry the torch forward and use their lawyer brains for movement work. We also benefit from their support on our exciting cases, and their legal research which helps us develop legal strategies of the future.

Spring Semesters: During the academic year, the CLDC offers a variety of pro bono clerkship opportunities. The number of hours required varies depending upon the clerk and our schedules. Clerks provide research and litigation assistance to the CLDC on an assortment of government and police misconduct cases, protestor defense cases, and timely topical and legislative research topics.

Due to our staff size, we are able to supervise only 2-3 clerks per semester. We are willing to consider long distance/electronic clerkships for students attending law schools other than the University of Oregon, but we prefer working with students locally in Eugene, Oregon.

Summer Program: Legal interns perform 200 hours of legal research and/or program work regarding a plethora of civil liberties issues. Law Clerks often “shadow” Lauren Regan (founder, staff attorney and director of CLDC) wherever she goes, including Court appearances, action camps, trainings and protests, as well as depositions and other litigation based events. You will receive a very hands-on experience at activist legal support. Past interns worked on police misconduct litigation, mass-protest defense in multiple states including Climate Justice, environmental, animal rights, immigration and labor movement work, anti-SLAPP defense work, anti-spying and security culture work, and much much more. We will also continue developing and updating our brief bank databases for attorneys, websites, activist toolkits and presentations. Attorney Lauren Regan will supervise this intern position.

We strongly encourage applicants to secure funding through their schools, the National Lawyers Guild (NLG), or other public interest funding sources as we cannot guarantee any funding at this time. We willingly cooperate in any way possible to assist students to secure fellowships, stipends, or private grants that are able to fund their summer work with the CLDC. We are also more than happy to assist clerks attempting to secure academic or other credit through their schools as well.

We require all summer clerks to work from our Eugene, Oregon office. Diverse applicants with activist backgrounds are strongly encouraged to apply.

Deadlines

Spring clerks should submit their materials by December 1st
Spring term begins on approximately January 15th

Summer clerks should submit their materials by March 15th.
Summer term begins on approximately June 15th

Candidates will be contacted within 2 weeks of the application deadline to schedule telephone or in-person interviews.

How to Apply:

Please provide us with the following materials—electronic format is fine:

  • Cover letter illustrating your public interest background or desires, when you want to commence your internship with us, and any other special needs or considerations we should know about in evaluating your application.
  • Your current resume
  • 2 references, including at least 1 that can attest to your public interest or activist experience
  • You will be required to submit our volunteer application for security screening and confidentiality purposes after you have been interviewed
  • Please specify which term you are applying for in your cover letter

Email above materials to info [at] cldc.org. Feel free to email with any concerns or questions.

Please spread around to the law students in your life!