Externally Funded Fellowship 2027-2029 – Digital Justice Initiative

Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law; Washington (District of Columbia); On-site; USD 68,000 - 84,000; Part time

Benefits offered by this job

Healthcare coverage (medical, dental &

Parental leave

403(b) with employer match

Disability insurance

Cell phone stipend

Job summary

The Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law seeks a Fellow to advance digital justice work at the intersection of civil rights, technology, and privacy. The fellowship supports co-counseled litigation, policy advocacy, and community education.

Based in Washington, DC, this term position offers exposure to high‑impact projects, collaboration with national partners, and opportunities to develop legal strategies on surveillance pricing or generative AI discrimination.

Qualifications

• JD or anticipated JD by May 2027.
• Strong and demonstrated commitment to civil rights and racial justice.
• Creative approach to civil rights work and initiative during project development.
• Prior experience working with or ties to low‑income communities of color.
• Computer science or other tech background preferred.
• Excellent research, writing, and analytical skills demonstrated through samples and experience.
• Ability to work cooperatively with diverse clients and community organizations.
• Effective written and oral communication skills in legal and non‑legal settings.

Responsibilities

• Conducting fact research on the technology or relevant practices.
• Engaging with communities, scholars, practitioners, and organizations to shape litigation and advocacy.
• Build a case challenging discriminatory practices.
• If applicable, participate in implementing strategies during the fellowship term.

Skills

Civil rights

Research/writing

Collaboration

Tech background

Education

JD or anticipated JD by May 2027

Job description

The Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law is one of the nation’s leading national racial justice legal organizations. Formed in 1963 at the request of President John F. Kennedy, the Lawyers’ Committee uses legal advocacy to achieve racial justice, fighting inside and outside the courts to ensure that Black people and other people of color have the voice, opportunity, and power to make the promises of our democracy real.

The Lawyers’ Committee has litigation, public policy, and advocacy programs in the substantive areas of Voting Rights, Election Protection, Digital Justice, Economic Justice, Criminal Justice, Economic Opportunities, and Fair Housing. The organization advances its mission as the premier organization marshaling the resources of the private bar alongside our own talented staff, with over 1 million pro bono hours billed to our cases and matters over the past decade.

Job Title: Fellow

Location: Washington, DC

Job Type: Term

Union Affiliation: Union

Accountable to: Director, Digital Justice Initiative

About the Role:

The Digital Justice Initiative works at the intersection of racial justice, technology, and privacy. Exploitative data practices, discriminatory algorithms, invasions of privacy, disinformation, and online hate disproportionately target and harm communities of color, especially Black Americans, immigrants, women of color, and LGBTQ people of color. Everyone should be entitled to the equal enjoyment of the internet’s goods and services without fear of discrimination or reprisal.

Our fellows become involved with substantive legal activities, which involve co-counseled litigation with prominent law firms, including client contact, case investigation, discovery, negotiations, amicus briefs, appeals, and trial practice. Non-litigation activities include legal services to community development groups, legislative and public policy advocacy, and public education on important civil rights matters.

The Lawyers' Committee is willing to consider proposals that align with our equities but may not be expressly identified in a specific posting.

Fellowship Overview:

This project could focus on one of two main areas: surveillance pricing or generative AI. Surveillance pricing practices raise serious data privacy and discrimination concerns, while also functioning as a tool to maximize what people pay for goods and services. Surveillance pricing incentivizes invasive data practices and collection and exploitation of troves of sensitive information about people and also creates room for discrimination. On the generative AI front, we have an interest in exploring discrimination in generative AI tools, as much of the focus on algorithmic bias has centered on automated decision‑making systems.

What You’ll be Doing:

• Conducting fact research on the technology or relevant practices.
• Engaging with communities, scholars, practitioners, and organizations to shape litigation and advocacy.
• Build a case challenging discriminatory practices.

To the extent the fellow develops any strategy that can be fully or partially implemented during the term of the fellowship, they may participate in putting it into effect.

Minimum Requirements and Competencies:

Proposal Requirements:

• JD or anticipated JD by May 2027
• A strong and demonstrated commitment to civil rights and racial justice.
• Creative approach to civil rights work and ability to take initiative during the project development and implementation stage.
• Prior experience working with or ties to low‑income communities of color.
• Computer science or other tech background preferred.
• Excellent research, writing, and analytical skills as demonstrated through writing samples, internship and clinical experience, and academic records.
• Ability to work cooperatively on a variety of projects with all Lawyers' Committee staff and to develop and maintain positive relationships with diverse clients and community organizations.
• Effective written and oral communication skills in both legal and non‑legal settings.

Salary and Benefits:

The Fellow will be paid by applying for outside fellowship funding. Fellowships will only commence if outside funding is granted. If fellowship funding is lower than The Lawyers’ Committee salary scale, The Lawyers’ Committee will pay the fellows an additional amount to bring them up to the appropriate salary. The salary for an attorney receiving their JD in 2027 is $76,000.

Benefits:

The Lawyers' Committee offers a comprehensive benefits package which includes healthcare coverage (medical, dental & vision), parental leave, 403(b) contribution with employer match contributions, voluntary short- and long-term disability and an employer paid monthly cell phone stipend.

Reasonable Accommodation:

The Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law is committed to providing reasonable accommodations to qualified individuals with disabilities in accordance with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and applicable state and local laws. If you require an accommodation during the application or interview process, please contact Human Resources [e-mail].

Commitment to Diversity and Inclusion:

The Lawyers’ Committee embraces diversity and inclusion in our workplace. We strongly encourage candidates of color and candidates from underrepresented communities to apply. The Lawyers’ Committee does not discriminate on the basis of actual or perceived race, religion, color, national origin, ancestry, disability, medical condition, marital status, sex, age, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, family responsibility, personal appearance, genetic information, matriculation, political affiliation, or any other status protected under law.

This position is part of a bargaining unit represented by the Nonprofit Professional Employees Union. Employment terms, including wages and benefits, are subject to collective bargaining agreements.

The expected salary for this role will be: $76,000.