Hanna S. Cohn Equal Justice Fellowship

The Hanna S. Cohn Equal Justice Fellowship will be awarded to a talented, committed law school graduate at the beginning of their career in public interest law. All applicants must be in their final year of law school. The Fellow will be placed in the Rochester, NY office of the Empire Justice Center and will represent low-income clients through litigation, policy and systems change advocacy. The Fellow's background and interests will be matched with high priority legal issues facing low-income families that are not currently being addressed or are in need of additional resources. The duration of the Hanna S. Cohn Equal Justice Fellowship is two years; starting salary is $54,500. In addition, Empire Justice offers a generous benefits package, including a health care co-pay plan paid in full by the organization, a loan forgiveness program and generous paid time off.

The Fellow will work in one of the following areas of law during their two-year term.

Civil Rights, Education - The Fellow will represent students with disabilities and K-12 students experiencing discrimination in
actions before the New York State Division of Human Rights and at impartial due process hearings, educate parents and students regarding their legal rights and provide trainings to legal services and advocacy organizations regarding school discrimination and special education issues. The Fellow will also engage in state level policy work advocating for issues involving education.
Landlord Tenant - The Fellow will work as part of the Tenant Defense Project, the right to counsel program that was established in Rochester in October 2020 representing tenants, engaging in local and statewide policy work on issues relating to housing, and provide training to other advocates on how to spot systemic issues.

Disability Advocacy Program: Helping Young Adults Obtain and Retain Disability Benefits - The fellow will represent claimants who have been denied disability benefits in hearings and appeals before the Social Security Administration and will engage in statewide and national policy advocacy, with a special focus on a the unique challenges faced by young adults in obtaining and retaining Social Security and SSI disability benefits. The Fellow will also be expected to assist with federal court appeals, provide training to other advocates, and participate in community outreach.

Public Benefits - The Fellow will focus on the rights of people with disabilities to public benefits, including shelter, with
appropriate reasonable accommodations. The fellow will also study how people with disabilities are being inappropriately sanctioned for disability-related behaviors, denying them access to benefits essential to meeting their basic needs. The fellow will offer both direct representation to clients, engage in policy advocacy at the state and local level, and engage in education and training to create a long-term systemic impact in the Rochester community.