Immigrant Justice Project Post-Graduate Legal Fellow

About the role

Fordham University School of Law’s Feerick Center for Social Justice is pleased to announce its inaugural Immigrant Justice Project (IJP) Post-Graduate Legal Fellowship for the 2026-2027 academic year. Law graduate applicants will be considered for a single open position with the Center’s Immigrant Justice Project (IJP).

The Feerick Center for Social Justice brings the Law School’s commitment to legal education “in the service of others” to the forefront by addressing problems facing marginalized and low-income New Yorkers in key areas of access to justice. In this vein, the Center’s immigrant justice work addresses the crisis of legal representation for non-citizens, who face daunting challenges as a result of policy changes to eligibility for asylum and other humanitarian protections, the erosion of due process rights, and stepped-up immigration enforcement.

The Feerick Center partners with trusted nonprofit legal services providers and community-based organizations to organize limited-scope legal clinics and week-long service engagements staffed by volunteers from across the Fordham University community. The Feerick Center recruits and trains volunteers on humanitarian immigration relief with a focus on asylum. During these clinics, held at various locations throughout New York City and underserved communities in the region, unrepresented non-citizens in deportation proceedings can access critical services that help them assert their claims for humanitarian protection and obtain self-help resources.

Responsibilities

• Helps to support convening, coalition-building, and advocacy work for the Feerick Center’s Immigrant Justice Project.
• Develops innovative clinic procedures and pro se community-facing resources.
• Provides community education workshops at community-based clinics in New York City and the region.
• Engages in client-facing work during and beyond clinic sessions.
• Prepares limited-scope legal filings to be filed with the Immigration Court and Board of Immigration Appeals.
• Develops, updates, and disseminates legal updates to IJP’s network of volunteers.
• Participates in Feerick Center service trips, providing limited-scope legal services in underserved regions of the United States.

Qualifications

• Graduated from a JD or LLM program up to two years prior to the start of the Fellowship (no earlier than Spring 2024) and may be currently enrolled in a JD or LLM program, provided they graduate from a law school JD or LLM program by the Spring of 2026.
• Strong legal research and writing skills.
• Excellent interpersonal, communication, and organizational skills.
• Demonstrated ability to take initiative, work independently, and manage multiple projects simultaneously.
• Demonstrated commitment to diversity, equity, inclusion, and access to justice.

Preferred Qualifications

• Demonstrated commitment to public interest work and experience working in immigration legal services.
• Spanish and/or French language proficiency (applicants are encouraged to share their language skills in their application materials).
• Experience working in a law school, legal services organization, nonprofit organization, or government agency.
• Experience working with volunteers, student organizations, or community groups.

Salary

$75,000 - $85,000

Benefits

Commensurate with qualifications, experience, and skills.

Schedule

Full-time, 35 hours per week, starting no later than October 1, 2026.