The Communications and Technology Law Practice Group of the Institute for Public Representation at Georgetown Law is now accepting applications for a two-year position as a staff attorney and clinical teaching fellow starting in August 2018. The Fellow will represent non-profit organizations in high profile, cutting-edge cases before the Federal Communications Commission, the Federal Trade Commission, and federal appellate courts. The Fellow will gain valuable teaching credentials by supervising law students who work on these cases and by participating in the classroom component of the clinic. The position provides a generous stipend and benefits. The Fellow will receive an LL.M. degree in Advocacy at the conclusion of the Fellowship. Applications will be accepted and considered on a rolling basis through December 15, 2017. Applicants are encouraged to apply early.

About the Clinic

The Institute for Public Representation (IPR) is a clinical program offering Georgetown Law students the opportunity to spend an entire semester working on real-world cases under the supervision of the faculty and clinical teaching fellows. IPR has two practice groups: The Communications and Technology Law Practice Group (C&T) and the Environmental Practice Group.

The C&T Practice Group 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, the practice became part of IPR in 1980. The C&T Practice Group provides pro bono legal representation to nonprofit organizations concerned with communications law and policy. Clients include the Campaign for a Commercial Free Childhood, Campaign for Prison Phone Justice, Campaign Legal Center, Center for Digital Democracy, Common Cause, Free Press, National Hispanic Media Coalition, New America’s Open Technology Institute Prometheus Radio Project, and Telecommunications for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing.

Our Cases

Although the C&T Practice Group cases vary from year to year, they are generally concerned with promoting diverse viewpoints, ensuring access to communications services, protecting consumers from unfair or deceptive practices, protecting children’s online privacy, and promoting opportunities for women and people of color to participate more fully in the media.

Some current or recent projects include:

• an appeal in the D.C. Circuit of an FCC order relaxing the national limits on television station ownership, which would permit a few large companies to acquire even more television stations;

• filing a request with the FTC asking it to investigate whether YouTube Kids, Google’s app for children, is engaging in unfair and deceptive practices;

• representing prisoners and their families in reducing the high cost of making prison phone calls;

• filing complaints at the FCC against television stations that failed to disclose the true identity of the sponsors of political ads;

• assisting non-profit community groups in promoting the creation and implementation of policies expanding availability of low power FM radio licenses;

• representing universal service advocates in expanding the FCC’s Lifeline program to include access to broadband services;

• asking the FTC to investigate whether certain children’s websites and apps are collecting personal information from children without first obtaining parental consent as require by the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act; and

• ensuring that consumers who are deaf or hard-of-hearing have access to media and telecommunications service.

About the Fellowship

The C&T practice has two Fellows serving staggered two-year terms. The Fellows work closely with Professor Angela Campbell and Benton Senior Counselor Andrew Jay Schwartzman.

The Fellows exercise a great deal of responsibility for the clinic’s cases. They work with clients and coalitions to develop strategy; meet with Commissioners, agency staff, and Congressional staff; and draft briefs, comments, and other legal documents. Because we are located in Washington, D.C., the Fellows get to experience firsthand the interplay between Congress, federal agencies, and federal courts in developing communications and technology policy. They also have many opportunities to network with others working in this area.

Each Fellow typically supervises four second-year or third-year law students per semester. Working with students individually or in partnerships, Fellows assist students in developing their lawyering skills. For example, Fellows help students develop a research plan, review and comment on student drafts, and prepare for meetings and oral presentations. Fellows also help to plan and teach the classroom components of the clinic. The C&T Fellows, along with the fellows from other Georgetown clinics, receive training in clinical teaching at a two-day orientation and in a Clinical Pedagogy course that meets throughout the first year of the Fellowship.

The Fellowship provides an excellent entry into technology law, public interest practice, and academia. Because the program is widely respected by both the communications bar and the academy, Fellows typically have considerable success obtaining full-time teaching or advocacy positions after the completion of the Fellowship. Alumni have gone to the FCC, FTC, Electronic Privacy Information Center, Common Sense Media, Electronic Frontier Foundation, Free Press, National Hispanic Media Coalition, New America’s Open Technology Institute, and Public Knowledge, as well to teaching positions in several law schools.

The Fellowship pays a stipend of $57,000 for the first year and $60,000 for the second year. Georgetown Law provides generous benefits, including full tuition for the LL.M. program, group health insurance, a 403(c) retirement plan, and unlimited access to Georgetown Law's state-of-the-art fitness center. The Fellowship starts in August 2018 and ends in August 2020, with the exact dates to be determined.

Qualifications

Applicants should have a law degree and have been admitted to the District of Columbia or another state bar. We will also give consideration to very strong candidates who will graduate from law school in 2018 and take the bar during that summer. The qualifications that we look for include:

• a demonstrated interest in media, telecommunications, privacy, freedom of speech, or related legal fields;

• practice experience in a law school clinic, a public interest organization, government, a law firm, or as a judicial clerk;

• strong analytical and communication skills, both oral and written;

• experience in supervision;

• an interest in teaching law students in a clinical setting; and

• a commitment to serving the public interest.

How to apply?

Persons interested in applying should submit the following information:

• a personal statement (not longer than two double-spaced pages) setting forth the reasons for seeking the Fellowship;

• a résumé

• a current law school transcript (an unofficial copy is acceptable);

• a list of references, including contact information; and

• one or two recent writing samples that best represent the applicant’s analytical and writing abilities.

Please save all application items in PDF format and email them to IPR’s Administrator, Niko Perazich, at nwp2@law.georgetown.edu. Applications should be submitted as soon as possible, but no later than December 15, 2017. The clinic will invite selected candidates to interview either in person at Georgetown Law or via Skype. 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.