The Vermont Bar Foundation and the Vermont Access to Justice Coalition are pleased to announce the availability of a full time, two-year Vermont Poverty Law Fellowship (VPLF) beginning in August 2024. The VPLF program is looking for outstanding graduating law students and other new lawyers to help expand the reach of Vermont’s existing legal services providers. Funding for salary and benefits will be provided by the Vermont Bar Foundation.
The 2024 Fellowship will focus on the need for temporary and permanent housing for the soaring population of people experiencing homelessness in Vermont. The Fellow will represent people experiencing homelessness in emergency housing assistance appeals and address related legal issues that prevent them from meeting their basic needs and obtaining permanent housing. Vermont has one of the highest rates of substance use in the country, and people with substance use disorder disproportionately fill the ranks of people experiencing homelessness. The Fellow will work on strategies for addressing the housing needs for this growing population. Finally, the Fellow will use what they learn from individual representation of people experiencing homelessness to advocate for systemic change, consistent with our mission to advance the law to eliminate the injustice of poverty.
Fellows will work with the Vermont Bar Foundation and the Vermont Bar Association to publicize Fellowship activities, contribute to the public awareness of legal services in Vermont, and participate in the Vermont Bar Association’s continuing legal education activities.
The position will be in-person at one of our five office locations in Vermont, with the option of working remotely up to 3 days per week.
Applicants must have excellent written and oral skills. Experience in public interest law, civil rights law, or legal services is required. Applicants must be recent law school graduates or graduating law students and should be licensed to practice law in Vermont or committed to obtaining licensure before the fellowship begins. Applicants must have a personal vehicle and some in-state travel will be required.
Application Submission Instructions: Your application should include the following four (4) things in order, sent as a single PDF entitled “YourLastName YourFirstName.pdf”. Applications must be emailed to [email protected] with the subject line “Vermont Poverty Law Fellowship 2024 Application”.
Application deadline: December 26, 2023, 12:00pm EST. Qualified applicants can expect to receive further information from the Fellowship Hiring Committee on or around December 29, 2023.
Application Components:
1. Cover Letter
Your cover letter should be no more than two single-spaced pages and should address how you believe your training and experience prepare you for success in this fellowship and why you are interested in working on poverty issues in Vermont. How can you help Vermont and Vermont Legal Aid respond to the needs of our increasingly diverse population?
2. A current resume
3. References
Please provide the phone numbers and email addresses of three academic or professional references.
4. Writing Sample
Please provide a sample of expository writing. While there is no page limit, excerpts of long briefs or articles are encouraged.
It is the responsibility of the applicant to ensure that your application is correctly formatted and complete. However, if you encounter a problem, please do not hesitate to contact us at [email protected]
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