2025 Legal Fellow
TLDEF seeks applications for sponsorship of an organized, adaptive, and motivated Legal Fellow to join its growing Legal Program. The fellowship is a one or two year position that combines furthering TLDEF’s legal work and mission with learning the skills necessary for successful impact litigation and legal advocacy. The Legal Fellow should be: passionate about transgender legal advocacy; committed to centering the needs of TLDEF’s transgender clients and stakeholders; intellectually curious; collegial; and familiar with and respectful of gender diversity.
Primary Responsibilities
- Participate in all phases of impact litigation as they arise in relevant cases during a fellowship year, including development and investigation, administrative matters, pleadings, motion practice, discovery, trials, appeals, and settlement negotiations.
- Participate in all aspects of amicus briefing, including research, writing, and working with clients and pro bono partners.
- Address intakes and participate in the investigation of new cases.
- Assist the Transgender Health Project with research, drafting demand letters and negotiation documents, and advocacy materials.
- Monitor federal and state legislation and rulemaking pertinent to potential litigation or advocacy.
- Draft legal and policy resources for a range of audiences, including “Know Your Rights” content, template legal documents, legal memos, and advocacy materials.
Additional Duties
- Assist the development, communications, and public education teams with their development of presentations, written materials, and other content.
- Assist the Legal Program and support staff with developing and implementing new IT and administrative systems.
- Other duties as assigned.
- Excellent legal research, writing, and analysis skills.
- Ability to conceptualize and implement a fellowship project that addresses an unmet legal need and aligns with TLDEF's mission and expertise.
- Demonstrated interest in and commitment to issues impacting transgender, gender nonconforming, and nonbinary people.
- Familiarity with the fundamental anti-discrimination and transgender rights statutes and legal precedents, including but not limited to federal statutory and constitutional guarantees.
- Willingness to be part of a diverse movement with multiple leaders, and to represent and amplify the voices of communities that cross lines of gender identity and expression, race, class, ability, and immigration status.
- Ability to think critically about intersectional and systemic issues, including but not limited to transphobia, racism, classism, ableism, and xenophobia.
- Strong relationship-building skills with the ability to effectively partner with diverse stakeholders.
- Commitment to remain positive, maintain discretion, and resolve conflict from a place of integrity, humility, and compassion.
- Ability to set priorities and juggle multiple deadlines.
- Proficient in Microsoft applications, legal research tools, and Internet research.
- Ability to work evenings and weekends as needed.
- Fluency or proficiency in Spanish is a plus, but not required.
Projected Salary: $81,952.58. (Please note, Legal Fellows are responsible for sourcing their own financial compensation from a fellowship program)
For detailed information about our salary philosophy, offered benefits, and the terms of collective bargaining agreement, please visit our website.
Apply here: https://tldef.bamboohr.com/careers/68
Application Requirements
Only applications that are submitted through BambooHR will be considered. Please include the following:
- A resume
- Cover letter outlining the proposal that candidates seek to develop and the funders to whom they intend to present it.
- A writing sample of no more than ten pages.
Timeline
Applications will be accepted on a rolling basis. Applicants should be sure to leave enough time to develop their proposal before it needs to be presented to their potential funders, a process that typically takes several weeks. TLDEF will contact those applicants whose proposals it seeks to proceed on and anticipates it will do so by late July, 2024. The anticipated start date will be in the Fall of 2025.
Union
This position is union-eligible. TLDEF’s collective bargaining unit is affiliated with UAW Local 2325.
Hiring at TLDEF
TLDEF acknowledges that applicants from groups that have been historically marginalized are less likely to apply for positions unless they feel that they meet 100% of a job description’s qualifications. We understand that the ideal candidate might not completely meet the criteria listed in our job descriptions or be equally proficient in each area. If your background and skills are a close match for an open position, you are strongly encouraged to apply; we especially encourage potential applicants who are impacted by TLDEF’s work to submit their application.
TLDEF is an equal opportunity employer. Black people, Indigenous people, people of color (BIPOC); lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, and intersex people; women; immigrants; people with disabilities, including those living with HIV; formerly incarcerated people; and people with lived experiences of poverty are all strongly encouraged to apply.