Summer Law Clerk (2025)


Disability Rights Advocates Seeks 2Ls for Summer 2025 Law Clerk Positions

Disability Rights Advocates (DRA), a non-profit civil rights law firm, seeks summer law clerks who share our vision of a world free from discrimination where people with disabilities are valued members of their communities with equal access to opportunity. This position opening is in DRA’s Berkeley, CA, Chicago, IL or New York, NY office.  

DRA advances equal rights and opportunities for people with a wide range of disabilities through high-impact litigation utilizing federal, state, and local disability law. With offices in California, New York, and Chicago, DRA provides free legal representation to people with all types of disabilities who are fighting for equal access. We achieve dramatic improvements for people with disabilities in all areas of life, including technology, health care, employment, transportation, education, disaster preparedness planning, voting, juvenile justice, and housing. For more information on DRA’s mission and impact, visit www.dralegal.org.

Position Overview

Summer law clerks work with our attorneys in all aspects of high impact litigation, including case development, pleadings and motion practice, discovery, court appearances, settlement negotiations, and monitoring. Typical assignments include factual and legal research, drafting memoranda, writing portions of briefs, assisting with propounding and reviewing discovery, reviewing expert reports, and other relevant tasks as needed.  

DRA offers law clerks frequent interactions with attorneys and staff and numerous opportunities for both formal and informal feedback, guidance, and mentoring. Law clerks will receive feedback and guidance on all assignments.  

Summer law clerk positions require a commitment for a 10-week period between May and August. We do not allow summer law clerks to split their summers with a law firm or another public interest organization.  

Summer law clerks are expected to work a hybrid schedule, working in the office 2 days per week and remotely 3 days per week. All summer law clerks must be located in or be willing to relocate to the San Francisco Bay Area, New York City, or Chicago.  

Qualifications

  • Commitment to DRA’s mission to advance the rights, inclusion, and equity of people with disabilities through high-impact litigation, education, and advocacy  
  • Excellent legal research and writing skills   
  • Excellent communication skills  
  • Strong work ethic with the ability to take initiative, manage a variety of tasks, adapt to changing situations and circumstances, and see projects through to completion  
  • Law student who will be enrolled in their second year of law school in fall 2024  

Compensation

Summer law clerks will be paid $28 per hour for 10 weeks.

How to Apply

To apply, please send the following to jobs@dralegal.org with “Summer Law Clerk 2025” as the subject:

  1. Cover letter, including how you learned about this job opening and which office you would like to work in  
  2. Resume  
  3. Unofficial law school transcript  
  4. Three references, at least one from a direct supervisor  
  5. Legal writing sample (5-10 pages)  

Applicants will be considered on a rolling basis.  

DRA is an equal opportunity employer and values a diverse workforce and inclusive culture.  

DRA encourages applications from all qualified individuals and does not discriminate in employment opportunities or practices on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin, age, gender, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, marital or familial status, veteran status, disability, AIDS/HIV status, medical condition, or any other characteristic protected by law. This policy applies to all terms and conditions of employment, including recruiting, hiring, placement, promotion, termination, layoff, leaves of absence, compensation, and training.  

DRA is committed to providing access and reasonable accommodations for individuals with disabilities in all aspects of the employment process. If a reasonable accommodation is needed for the hiring process, please contact jobs@dralegal.org with the subject line “Accommodations Request.”