CORNELL LAW SCHOOL is seeking to hire a Local Journalism Attorney.  Reporting to the Cornell Law School First Amendment Clinic Director, Mark Jackson, and the Managing Attorney of the Clinic’s Local Journalism Project (LJP), Heather Murray, the Local Journalism Attorney will have primary responsibility for developing and managing a New York Metropolitan Area based project dedicated to providing legal services to support local journalism. The attorney will work independently to create a docket of new matters and to partner with New York City law firms and non-profits to represent the interests of media outlets that could not otherwise afford representation. The attorney will be tasked with affirmative outreach to media outlets, building and sustaining relationships with these outlets, and providing representation to aid investigative journalists to perform their watchdog function. The attorney will have a working and collaborative relationship with the Ithaca-based Clinic staff attorneys, but will have no formal teaching responsibilities. When appropriate, the attorney will work with students from the First Amendment Clinic on active matters, to help these students become familiar with legal issues related to media in the New York Metropolitan Area, and to otherwise aid in their professional development.

This position is ideal for a candidate who is eager to use their prior litigation and press backgrounds to help support and sustain local journalism in the New York Metropolitan Area. It calls for someone entrepreneurial, who is willing to help shape a new model for the delivery of the Clinic’s important services.

This is a satellite position of the Cornell Law School First Amendment Clinic based out of New York City, and generously funded by the Charles H. Revson Foundation.

Responsibilities

·         Help create a docket of matters based in the New York Metropolitan Area, including by working with local media outlets to identify cases and issues that warrant the Clinic’s attention, collaborating with other attorneys and advocacy groups to enhance the impact of the Clinic work, researching legal and factual questions, drafting research memos, working with clients and witnesses, drafting legal papers, presenting oral argument and counseling and training media clients.

·         Travel as required for litigation, conferences, speaking engagements and trips to Ithaca.

Minimum Qualifications

The Local Journalism Attorney must have a J.D. or equivalent, be admitted to the New York bar, and have a minimum of three years of relevant experience as a lawyer. Applicants should have excellent communication skills, both oral and written; excellent analytical skills; and the temperament to develop and work effectively with a network of media clients, outside lawyers and advocacy organizations. Applicants should also have the skills necessary to supervise and mentor law students and work collaboratively in a team-based environment. The applicant must also be a “self-starter” and have the ability to operate on their own, with light supervision.

Preferred Qualifications

Preference will be given to candidates who have experience representing the media; supervising other lawyers or law students; have strong relationships with organizations that the Clinic is likely to partner with—media enterprises, journalists, and free speech and other civil liberties organizations; and who speak a relevant foreign language. 

To Apply

Please submit a cover letter explaining your interest in the position, including a description of any relevant life or work experience, your Curriculum Vitae, two legal writing samples (either an unedited copy of a pre-filing brief or legal memorandum to a client), and a list of references to https://academicjobsonline.org/ajo/jobs/16368. Additional information may be requested during the application process.

To ensure maximum consideration, please submit all application materials by Friday, June 26, 2020. Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis, with priority given to early applicants.

Founded in 1887, Cornell Law School is a top-tier law school, currently ranked 13th by U.S. News & World Report. We offer a 3-year JD program for about 200 students per class, a one-year LLM program for about 90 students from countries throughout the world, and a doctoral (JSD) program for about 2-3 new students per year. Cornell Law School has 41 tenured and tenure-track faculty, including 20 with chaired faculty positions; and 15 clinical professors in the legal research and writing program and in clinics at the local, national, and international level. Our faculty is consistently ranked among the top in the country for scholarly productivity and influence, and has pre-eminence in many areas, including quantitative and qualitative empirical legal studies, international and comparative law, and robust doctrinal scholarship in core fields. Our school is committed to being recognized as the leader among law schools at combining inspiring theoretical, doctrinal, and experiential teaching with cutting-edge scholarship in a supportive, intellectually rich community, so that our graduates can achieve excellence in all facets of the legal profession.

Cornell University is an innovative Ivy League university and a great place to work. Our inclusive community of scholars, students and staff impart an uncommon sense of larger purpose and contribute creative ideas to further the university's mission of teaching, discovery and engagement. With our main campus located in Ithaca, NY, Cornell's far-flung global presence includes the medical college's campuses on the Upper East Side of Manhattan and Doha, Qatar, as well as the Cornell Tech campus located on Roosevelt Island in the heart of New York City. We offer a rich array of services, programs and benefits to help employees advance in their career and enhance the quality of personal life, including: employee wellness, workshops, childcare and adoption assistance, parental leave, flexible work options.