Rural Summer Legal Corps
Rural communities in the U.S. and its territories face a shortage of lawyers, with a large population of the country being forced to travel hundreds of miles to find legal assistance. Participate in Rural Summer Legal Corps (RSLC) and help address the access-to justice-crisis for people living in rural areas.
Each summer, Equal Justice Works partners with the Legal Services Corporation (LSC) to support dedicated law students who want to serve rural communities, as part of the Rural Summer Legal Corps. This year, 45 Student Fellows will spend eight to ten weeks at LSC-funded civil legal aid organizations developing valuable skills and gaining hands-on experience by:
- providing direct legal services such as client and witness interviews, legal research, and writing
- engaging in community outreach and education including fact sheet distribution, strategic partnership development, and presentations
- building capacity at their host organization through resource development and training sessions
Student Fellows tackle a number of results-driven community projects including responding to disaster-related legal issues; addressing affordable housing and evictions; and providing legal aid to victims of domestic violence.
The application for the 2023 Rural Summer Legal Corps is now open!
Disaster Resilience Program
Explore your passion for equal justice by providing legal support to underserved communities in California, Louisiana, and New Mexico as they work to rebuild their lives and prepare for the next disaster.
Disasters, including the COVID-19 pandemic, devastate lower-income communities, creating new poverty and further entrenching inequality. As a law student, you have an opportunity this summer to play a critical role in improving disaster preparedness and recovery by working alongside an Equal Justice Works Fellow in our Disaster Resilience Program.
The need for legal services is especially critical for parts of the country hard hit by the pandemic and prone to natural disasters such as hurricanes, flooding, and wildfires. Our Disaster Resilience Program mobilizes full-time lawyers (Equal Justice Works Fellows) to provide free civil legal aid in disaster-prone areas to ensure vital legal services are accessible to rebuild lives, stabilize communities, and create resilience. As a current law student, you have an opportunity to support an Equal Justice Works Fellow as a Student Fellow.
If you are a 1L or 2L law student, apply to the Equal Justice Works Disaster Resilience Program to be a Student Fellow this summer and work alongside a current Equal Justice Works Fellow at their host organization (virtually and/or hybrid; see host site preferences and accommodations) to help communities navigate legal issues before, during, and after disasters. This is an eight- to ten-week position available to thirteen law students during the summer of 2023. Upon completion, Student Fellows will receive a $7,000 stipend.
Through the program, Student Fellows will have the opportunity to:
- Provide civil legal services
- Engage in community education and advocacy efforts to increase disaster preparedness and awareness of legal rights
- Build capacity at the legal services organization where you work
- Participate in trainings in disaster law prior to the start of the program in May
- Join networking opportunities with other Equal Justice Works Fellows and Student Fellows
The Disaster Resilience Program is currently funded by the American Red Cross, Bigglesworth Family Foundation, California Community Foundation Wildfire Relief Fund, Carnegie Corporation of New York, the Center for Disaster Philanthropy and the California Wildfires Recovery, W.K. Kellogg Foundation, and individual contributions.
The application for the 2023 Disaster Resilience Program is now open!