The Institute for Public Representation at Georgetown Law invites recent law graduates to apply for a Clinical Teaching Fellowship in the Communications and Technology Law Clinic. The Fellow will supervise and teach law students representing real clients on high profile, cutting edge cases. In addition to a generous stipend and full benefits, the Fellow will receive an LL.M. degree in Advocacy at the conclusion of the two-year Fellowship. The Fellowship starts in summer 2017. Applications will be accepted and considered on a rolling basis through December 15, so applicants are encouraged to apply early.

About the Clinic

The Communications and Technology Law Clinic is the country’s oldest and most respected legal organization representing public interest clients in communications law and policy. Founded in 1969 as the Citizens Communications Center, and later known as the First Amendment and Media Clinic, the clinic’s docket today includes a broad set of issues arising in a world where new technologies compete with traditional broadcast, cable, and telephone services.

In this clinic, students provide pro bono legal representation to nonprofit organizations concerned with ensuring that as the media landscape changes, communications technologies realize their full potential to benefit the public. The clinic thus works on behalf of its clients to promote the accessibility, inclusiveness, and integrity of communications technologies and media content. Lawyers and students in the clinic advocate for these goals before the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), and appellate courts.

Some recent projects include:

• participating in a rulemaking proceeding at the FCC to foster universal service and reduce the “digital divide” by including broadband service in subsidy programs for low-income households;
• filing complaints at the FTC concerning children’s websites and apps that violate laws protecting children’s privacy;
• filing a brief in the DC Circuit supporting lower telephone rates for prisoners;
• filing complaints at the FCC against television stations that fail to disclose the true identity of the sponsors of political ads;
• advocating before the FCC and the Third Circuit for increased ownership of broadcast stations by women and people of color; and
• filing a complaint at the FCC against the Baltimore Police Department for the unlawful use of “stingray” surveillance devices.

For more information about the clinic’s cases, visit its website:

http://www.law.georgetown.edu/academics/academic-programs/clinicalprograms/our-clinics/ipr/index.cfm.

About the Position

The Communications and Technology Law Clinic has two Fellows serving staggered two-year terms. The Fellows work closely with the two faculty members: Professor Angela Campbell and Benton Senior Counselor Andrew Jay Schwartzman.

The Fellows are given a great deal of responsibility for the clinic’s cases.

They work directly with client organizations and coalitions to develop strategy; meet with Commissioners, agency staff, and Congressional staff; and draft briefs, comments, and other legal documents. The Fellows experience firsthand the interplay between Congress, federal agencies, and federal courts in developing communications and technology policy.

An important part of the Fellows’ job is supervising the day-to-day work of three to four second- and third-year law students. The Fellows spend much of their time teaching students in a one-on-one setting. They help students develop a research plan, review and revise drafts, and prepare for meetings and oral presentations. Fellows also take an active role in planning and teaching the classroom components of the clinic. Fellows from this clinic and other clinics at Georgetown Law receive formal training in clinical teaching in an intensive orientation and in a Clinical Pedagogy course that meets throughout the first year of the Fellowship.

The clinic is part of the Institute for Public Representation, a highly regarded program that simulates a small public interest law firm and also practices in the areas of environmental justice, civil rights, and voting rights.

Qualifications

Applicants must have a law degree or anticipate receiving one before the beginning of the Fellowship, and must be eligible for admission to the District of Columbia Bar or another state bar. Experience in legal practice or as a judicial clerk is a major plus, but not a requirement. Teaching or supervisory experience is also a valuable factor. Preference will be given to applicants with:

• a demonstrated interest in media, telecommunications, privacy, freedom of speech, or related legal fields;
• strong analytical and communication skills, both oral and written;
• an interest in teaching law students in a clinical setting; and
• a commitment to serving the public interest.

Pay and Other Benefits

The Fellowship pays an annual stipend of at least $53,500, and provides generous benefits, including fully-covered tuition for the LL.M. program, group health insurance, and unlimited access to Georgetown Law's state-of-the-art fitness center. The Fellowship starts in summer 2017 and ends in summer 2019.

The Fellowship also provides an excellent entryway into technology law and academia. Because the program is widely respected in the communications bar and the academy, Fellows typically have considerable success obtaining fulltime positions of their choosing. Some institutions where alumni have gone immediately following the Fellowship are: Federal Communications Commission, Federal Trade Commission, U.S. Attorney’s Office, Consumer Product Safety Commission, Common Sense Media, Electronic Frontier Foundation, Free Press, National Hispanic Media Coalition, New America, Public Knowledge, and several law schools.

How to apply?

Persons interested in applying should create an application package that includes:

• resume;
• law school transcript (an unofficial copy is acceptable);
• list of references, including contact information;
• personal statement (not longer than two pages, double-spaced) setting forth the reasons for seeking the Fellowship; and
• one or two recent writing samples that represent the applicant’s most challenging analytical work and finest writing, which should not have been collaboratively drafted or significantly edited by someone else.

Applications must be submitted no later than midnight on December 15, 2016. Please save application items in PDF format and email all materials to IPR’s Administrator, Niko Perazich, at nwp2@law.georgetown.edu. The clinic will invite selected candidates to interview in person at Georgetown Law. Regretfully, the clinic cannot pay candidates’ travel expenses, but clinic staff will work to arrange interviews on dates that are convenient for out-of-town candidates.