We are hiring a Director for the Food Law and Policy Clinic.  The Food Law and Policy Clinic will be a new clinic at UCLA that will be aimed at both student development and creating on the ground impacts.  The clinic’s programmatic mission will be to facilitate sufficient access to socially, economically, and environmentally sustainable food and to improve food environments particularly for low income populations and marginalized communities.  The Clinic will train students to focus on developing lawyering skills, creative problem solving, professional responsibility, and an understanding of local government law and food law and policy issues.  

The position of Clinical Director requires a talented and enthusiastic individual with significant legal practice experience.  The Clinical Director will be primarily expected to teach, develop, and manage a Food Law and Policy Clinic.  In addition, the Clinical Director will work with faculty and administrators to develop and implement other food law and policy related experiential opportunities for students.  The Clinical Director may also be asked to assist with other parts of the experiential curriculum, including teaching in the first-year Introduction to the Client Relationship course and supervising students in externships, field placements, and other pro bono activities, as needed.  The Clinical Director will manage clinic development for the Resnick Program, including client outreach and project fundraising.  As needed, the Clinical Director will act as a case manager for clinical program, serving as the attorney of record, and managing selected matters, including at times when the law school is not in session.  

The Clinical Director will have responsibility for working with administrators and faculty to develop and manage a variety of experiential and public interest projects that ensure students receive high-quality educational experiences.  In particular, the Clinical Director will be responsible for developing the curriculum for and teaching the Food Law and Policy Clinic, including a weekly clinic seminar.  The seminar will provide students basic skills and information necessary for successful participation in clinic projects (including interviewing skills, navigating professional responsibility issues, fact-finding, and issue identification); provide students with an overview of the local food law and policy field, and provide students an opportunity to develop presentation and public speaking skills.  The Clinical Director will also supervise students in their execution of client projects, assign students to projects, oversee the progress of their work, and provide regular feedback.  Student skill development is a central goal of the clinic, and it will be the Clinical Director’s responsibility to ensure skill development without compromising client services.  The Clinical Director will have the primary responsibility, with assistance from the Resnick Program, for client development and project selection for the Food Law and Policy Clinic.

The Clinical Director will also assist with development and management of a network of pro bono attorneys who will provide services to food-related small businesses and non-profits with business and transactional needs that fall outside the scope of the clinic’s activities.  The network will operate independently of the clinic, but, in collaboration with UCLA Law’s other experiential programs, the Clinical Director will assist with attorney recruitment, community outreach, and client intake and referrals.  The Clinical Director will work under the general direction of Executive Director of the Resnick Program, and will report to both the Executive Director of the Resnick Program and the Assistant Dean for Clinical Education, Experiential Learning, and Public Service. 

Required Qualifications

• Juris Doctorate from an ABA-accredited law school.
• Bar admission (if candidate is admitted in a state other than California, must be willing to sit for the California bar exam at the first possible sitting after being hired).
• Excellent analytical and writing skills and demonstrated success in advocacy and client management.
• A demonstrated record of excellence in project management, including project development, implementation, and development of administrative procedures such as recordkeeping and reporting.
• A demonstrated record of excellence with supervision of employees (or students in a teaching context), particularly with delegation of work, oversight of work quality, and provision of feedback.
• An existing network of contacts to facilitate client development or a demonstrated record of ability to develop such a network.
• A strong interest in food law and policy and a commitment to the Resnick Program mission and the clinic mission.

Recommended Qualifications 

• 4+ years’ experience with policy advocacy in food policy, public health, community development, and/or environmental policy.
• An interest in legal scholarship and a record of publication of scholarly work.
• Fundraising experience.
• 2+ years’ teaching experience.

The salary and level of appointment will be commensurate with qualifications and experience.  This is a full-time, academic, non-tenure track position.  This appointment is subject to the rules and regulations of the Regents of the University of California, which are mostly embodied in The UCLA CALL and the University of California Academic Personnel Manual. (See https://www.apo.ucla.edu/policies/the-call; and http://www.ucop.edu/acadpersonnel/apm/welcome.html.)  UCLA School of Law seeks candidates committed to the highest standards of scholarship and professional activities and to a campus climate that supports equality and diversity. 

Application Instructions and Deadline

Please apply online by submitting a cover letter, CV, statement of research interest, statement of teaching philosophy, a writing sample, and a list of three references to https://recruit.apo.ucla.edu/apply/JPF02172.  To ensure full consideration, applications should be received by Wednesday, May 19, 2016, but will be considered thereafter until the position is filled.  Start date will be July 1, 2016.  Relocation to the Los Angeles area is required.

The University of California is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Employer.  All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, age or protected veteran status.  For the complete University of California nondiscrimination and affirmative action policy, see http://policy.ucop.edu/doc/4000376/NondiscrimAffirmAct.