HARVARD LAW SCHOOL invites applications for the full-time position of Assistant Clinical Professor of Law and Deputy Director of the Harvard Legal Aid Bureau.
The Harvard Legal Aid Bureau
The Legal Aid Bureau was founded by Harvard Law School students in 1913 and remains student-run. Our mission is to provide excellent, free representation to low-income and marginalized clients and communities in the Greater Boston area and to do so in a way that responds to the systemic racial, social, and economic inequalities that are the causes and consequences of poverty. The 50 students who win membership in the Bureau devote more than 20 hours a week throughout their second and third years of law school to representing clients in civil cases, appeals, policy initiatives, and community lawyering projects in a range of civil legal aid practice areas. Students also run the organization, setting policy, allocating resources among eligible clients, and managing the office on a day-to-day basis. With a staff of 8 supervising attorneys, two administrators, and a part-time social worker, the Bureau trains its student attorneys to advocate vigorously for their clients, create enduring community partnerships, and become socially conscious leaders.
Deputy Director Role and Responsibilities
The Deputy Director will report to the Faculty Director and work in concert with her, with the Administrative Director, and with the student leadership to manage the legal work and operations of the Bureau. The Deputy Director will assist the Faculty Director in supervising the clinical instructors and administrative staff and will have primary responsibility for leading various office projects and initiatives as determined by the Faculty Director. The Deputy Director will also teach or co-teach one or both of the clinic seminars in which all students are enrolled throughout their two years in the Legal Aid Bureau and may have the opportunity to teach additional courses at the Law School as approved through regular course approval processes.
The Deputy Director will also supervise and assess the legal work of 4-5 HLAB student-members during the academic year. HLAB members serve as primary counsel and are responsible for managing their own cases; each maintains a caseload of around 3-5 active cases. The Deputy Director will supervise students' case work by meeting regularly with them to discuss case strategy and relationships, reviewing and editing their written work, preparing them for and accompanying them to court and administrative hearings, and providing regular oral and written feedback. The Deputy Director will also be responsible for identifying, developing, and sustaining productive community partnerships, including through periodic attendance at evening community meetings. There are ample opportunities to engage with students in legislative reform work and on amicus and other appellate advocacy projects.
During the summer recess, the Bureau operates a summer program in which the Deputy Director will supervise students from other law schools on cases and projects carried over from the academic year. During brief periods of transition between the academic year and summer programs, the Deputy Director may be responsible for direct case handling, including communication with clients, motions and trials. Vacations are scheduled around new-student orientations and the requirement of maintaining effective case coverage. Evening and weekend hours are periodically required to meet client or outreach needs.
The Bureau's staff works together as a close-knit team, meeting regularly to share information and strategies and collaborating on office-wide initiatives, including new-student orientation, trainings, and clinical seminars. Harvard Law School's large and diverse clinical legal education program provides additional opportunities for professional connection and collaboration. As an Assistant Clinical Professor of Law, the Deputy Director will also be a member of the Harvard faculty and invited to participate in many faculty initiatives and governance activities. As a member of the clinical faculty, the Deputy Director will further be invited and expected to participate in and contribute to the clinical faculty's regular meetings and projects. Following a period of service at the Assistant Clinical Professor rank, the successful candidate will be eligible for consideration for promotion to the rank of Clinical Professor of Law.
Qualifications
Applicants must have a J.D. from an ABA-accredited law school, admission to the Massachusetts bar or eligibility to practice and supervise students under S.J.C. Rule 3:04 while pursuing admission, a distinguished academic record, and a minimum of five years of practice experience in at least one of the Bureau's current practice areas: housing and foreclosure, family law (including divorce and custody, restraining orders and petitions for special immigrant juvenile status findings), wage-and-hour, and government benefits. Applicants must also have substantial experience in the training, teaching, or mentoring of junior lawyers or law students, with significant clinical teaching experience strongly preferred.
Applicants should have a track record of deep engagement with public interest lawyering and/or the clinical legal education community, whether through program or project leadership, contributions to scholarship or training materials, and/or other forms active participation in these communities. Applicants should also have excellent oral and written communication skills and the patience and ability to explain complex material in a clear manner to students with little to no legal experience. Because the Bureau is student-run, the Deputy Director must be flexible, adaptable, and open to (and ideally enthusiastic about) constant experimentation and change, and must be willing to cede power over most administrative decision-making to the student Board. The role also requires exceptionally strong personal skills and an ability to guide students' leadership of the organization using non-directive techniques. A demonstrated ability to develop and deliver effective courses in professional responsibility, lawyering, or other topics related to the Legal Aid Bureau's work is strongly preferred.
To apply, please send a letter of interest, a resume, and a list of three or more references to Clinical Appointment Committee c/o Esme Caramello, Clinical Professor of Law and Faculty Director of the Harvard Legal Aid Bureau, at ecaramello@law.harvard.edu, and copy Lisa Dealy, Assistant Dean for Clinical and Pro Bono Programs (dealy@law.harvard.edu), and Daniel Nagin, Clinical Professor of Law and Vice Dean for Experiential and Clinical Education (dnagin@law.harvard.edu). Please write Assistant Clinical Professor of Law Application in the subject line of the e-mail. The application period will be open until July 1, 2019. The expected start date will be in 2020, and no later than July 1, 2020.
Harvard Law School is an equal opportunity employer and all qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, disability status, protected veteran status, gender identity, sexual orientation, pregnancy and pregnancy-related conditions or any other characteristic protected by law. Consistent with our commitment to diversity, we strongly encourage women, people of color, LGBTQ individuals, people with disabilities, persons from other underrepresented groups, and all qualified persons to apply for this position.