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Want to fight for the public interest and social justice?

The Chandra Law team

Chandra Law is always interested in hearing from dynamic people who could propel the mission of our civil-rights law firm to, as Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. said, "bend the arc of the moral universe toward justice." Or as we sometimes put it: engage in the karmic facilitation™ of civil-rights wrongdoers.

Here are the current positions we have available, the eligibility criteria, and how to apply:
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Lateral litigation associates (two-to-ten years of litigation and judicial clerkship)—posted on a rolling basis until filled

We seek litigators to advance the causes of our clients in civil-rights and constitutional litigation including in the areas of police misconduct, First Amendment rights, and employment retaliation, among others. For a broader look at our civil-rights practice areas, click here.

Applicants must have at least two-to-ten years of litigation experience, which may include judicial clerkships, although those with federal-judicial-clerkship experience may be considered even if they have less than two years of experience.

We seek the following attributes:

  • Demonstrated commitment to and passion for civil rights, civil liberties, and the public interest,
  • Strong academic and other credentials comparable to our existing team, including firm or public-service experience—with judicial clerkships being a significant plus,
  • Polished plain-English writing skills (no use of legalese), with significant, persuasive legal-writing experience,
  • Strong work ethic with the ability to manage a significant volume of work,
  • Extremely self-organized, efficient, and detail-oriented,
  • Happy-warrior spirit balanced by a strong sense of professionalism,
  • Grit and persistence,
  • Perfectionist with a drive for excellence,
  • Growth-mindset—desire to learn,
  • Collaborative, team-oriented attitude, with ego in check,
  • Sense of humor,
  • Progressive, community commitment—demonstrated change agent, and
  • Ohio bar admission, or eligibility to obtain provisional admission upon job offer and admission without examination.

Karaoke skills go a long way too.

Qualified candidates should submit the following in .pdf format through the form at the bottom of this page:

  • Cover letter addressed to Mr. Subodh Chandra articulating what you would be able to contribute to the types of causes we champion,
  • Résumé,
  • List of at least three professional references, and
  • For candidates less than four years out of law school, law-school transcript, and
  • Three unprivileged or appropriately redacted writing samples.

Before applying, candidates should study our blog and practice areas to determine whether our work is right for you, and so you may articulate what you would be able to contribute to the types of causes we champion.

Base compensation will depend upon experience, although applicants should keep in mind that ours is a public-interest law firm.

Chandra Law is an equal-opportunity employer, committed to effectively serving its diverse clientele. We strongly encourage applications from candidates from non-traditional legal backgrounds, including persons of color, persons of all genders and sexual orientations, first-generation professionals, and persons with disabilities.

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Summer Law Clerks—posted until filled; summer decisions made on a rolling basis 

Our civil-rights law firm plans to hire up to four summer law clerks. We will determine the precise number as we get closer to the summer. We have a number of exciting matters that public-spirited law students would find interesting, including in the areas of employment discrimination and retaliation, sexual harassment, Title IX retaliation, the First Amendment, whistleblower lawsuits, voting rights, section 1983 police-misconduct cases, and white-collar-criminal defense. We have a lot cooking and plan to immerse our law students in deeply substantive work.

We seek the following attributes:

  • Strong work ethic with the ability to manage a significant volume of work,
  • Grit and persistence,
  • Extremely self-organized, efficient, and detail-oriented,
  • Perfectionist with a drive for excellence,
  • Strong academic and other credentials including firm or public-service experience, with judicial clerkships being a significant plus,
  • Demonstrated commitment to and passion for civil rights, civil liberties, and the public interest,
  • Polished plain-English writing skills (no use of legalese), with significant, persuasive legal-writing experience,
  • Growth-mindset—desire to learn,
  • Collaborative, team-oriented attitude, with ego in check,
  • Sense of humor, and
  • Progressive, community commitment—demonstrated change agent.

We prefer second-year law students, but will consider particularly strong first years. We offer a flat summer stipend of $6,000, paid in three installments, although some students from some universities arrange for academic credit instead.

Our blog has more information about the kinds of cases we are handling.

Qualified candidates should submit the following in .pdf format to through the form at the bottom of this page:

  • Cover letter addressed to Mr. Subodh Chandra,
  • Résumé,
    List of at least three references,
  • Up-to-date law-school transcript, and
  • Two-to-three unprivileged and appropriately redacted writing samples.

Chandra Law is an equal-opportunity employer, committed to effectively serving its diverse clientele. We strongly encourage applications from candidates from non-traditional legal backgrounds, including persons of color, persons of all genders and sexual orientations, first-generation professionals, and persons with disabilities.

No telephone calls, please. Please bear with us as we are a busy small firm, demand is high, and it may take us a while to fill these positions and respond to all applicants.

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Summer Civil-rights law-firm college-level internship (remote during pandemic; unpaid)

The Chandra Law Firm LLC, based in downtown Cleveland, Ohio sometimes seeks part-time, school-academic-year and full-time summer college interns  and learn about civil-rights law,  program, although you may apply now as instructed below for that opportunity as well. Just specify in your cover letter whether you wish to work part-time during the school year, want the full-time summer internship, or want to be considered for either.

This is an opportunity for personal and professional growth in a collegial, small-firm environment with a fast-paced, high-profile practice focusing on civil rights, constitutional law, and white-collar-criminal defense. Current cases include police-misconduct (we were among the lawyers helping the family of the late Tamir Rice), First Amendment, sexual harassment, race and gender discrimination in employment, and whistleblower cases.
The main internship duties would include, but not be limited to, interviewing potential clients and preparing interview summaries for attorneys for evaluation; reviewing evidence including video recordings of police encounters and documents; drafting website content to educate the public about civil-rights law, and assisting with scheduling of and attending key meetings.

For more advanced candidates, or later in the internship, interns may be asked to assist attorneys with preparing pleadings, correspondence, and court filings; assist with more advanced case-document review, analysis, and organization; help attorneys prepare for depositions, mediations, and trial; and conduct fact investigation and appropriate legal research.

Preferred qualifications: Proficient with Microsoft Word, Adobe, and Excel. The firm is looking for someone who has a strong work ethic, possesses strong organizational skills, has strong writing skills, pays close attention to detail, can manage multiple priorities under stress, excels in a team setting, and has a professional, upbeat disposition and growth mindset.

Before applying, please visit www.ChandraLaw.com for information about the firm. Read about our civil-rights practice areas and our blog for stories about the types of cases and causes we champion.

Qualified candidates should submit the following in .pdf format through the form at the bottom of our hiring page:

  • cover letter,
  • résumé,
  • list of three references, and
  • two unprivileged writing samples.

Chandra Law is an equal-opportunity employer, committed to effectively serving its diverse clientele. We strongly encourage applications from candidates from non-traditional legal backgrounds, including persons of color, persons of all genders and sexual orientations, first-generation professionals, and persons with disabilities.

Applications will be considered on a rolling basis and so the internship may be full by the end of the process.

No telephone calls, please.

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John Lewis Civil Rights Litigation Fellow (one-to-five years of experience by the time the fellowship begins)

Selections will be made on a rolling basis with a final deadline for application of June 1 for fall of that same year. Early applications for fall of the year that follows are strongly encouraged.

What the John Lewis Fellowship is and why we offer it

To honor our civil-rights hero John Lewis, our public-interest firm—peer-reviewed in U.S. News & World Reports as one of the Best Law Firms in America for Civil Rights—has established a two-year fellowship to introduce newer lawyers with federal-judicial-clerkship experience to civil-rights legal advocacy.

Now, more than ever, we need to develop the next generation of civil-rights trial lawyers. This fellowship is designed to do just that.

Qualifications

By the time their fellowship begins, applicants must have at least 1-to-5 years of litigation experience, which must include a federal judicial clerkship.

We seek the following attributes:

  • Strong work ethic with the ability to manage a significant volume of work,
  • Happy-warrior spirit balanced by a strong sense of professionalism,
  • Grit and persistence,
  • Extremely self-organized, efficient, and detail-oriented,
  • Perfectionist with a drive for excellence,
  • Strong academic and other credentials comparable to our existing team, including firm or public-service experience,
  • A federal judicial clerkship completed by the time the fellowship begins,
  • Demonstrated commitment to and passion for civil rights, civil liberties, and the public interest,
  • Polished plain-English writing skills (no use of legalese), with significant, persuasive legal-writing experience,
  • Growth-mindset—desire to learn,
  • Collaborative, team-oriented attitude, with ego in check,
  • Sense of humor,
  • Progressive, community commitment—demonstrated change agent, and
  • Ohio bar admission, or eligibility to obtain provisional admission upon job offer and admission without examination.

Karaoke skills go a long way too.

What you will gain

We expect that fellows will be introduced to every aspect of complex civil-rights litigation, from direct client engagement and factual investigation and development, to drafting federal complaints, to conducting discovery including taking and assisting with depositions, to identifying and developing expert testimony, to drafting key briefs, to engaging in mediation, to engaging in pretrial preparation and trial.

Fellows will benefit from mentorship from our partners in a collaborative and collegial firm setting, and receive targeted feedback on your legal writing, witness examinations, and other substantive work. We will also introduce them to our broader network in the civil-rights and judicial community.

Base compensation for the fellowship will depend upon experience, although applicants should keep in mind that this is public-interest work.

How to apply and what we need

Qualified candidates should submit the following in .pdf format through the form at the bottom of this hiring page at https://www.chandralaw.com/about/hiring:

  • Cover letter addressed to Subodh Chandra, articulating how you measure up under the above criteria, and what you would be able to contribute to the types of causes we champion,
  • Résumé,
  • List of at least three professional references, and
  • Law-school transcript, and
  • Three unprivileged or appropriately redacted writing samples.

Before applying

Before applying, candidates should study our blog and practice areas to determine whether our work excites you, and so you may articulate what you might be able to contribute to the types of causes we champion.

Our commitment to equal opportunity, diversity, and inclusion

Chandra Law is an equal-opportunity employer, committed to effectively serving its diverse clientele. We strongly encourage applications from candidates from non-traditional legal backgrounds, including persons of color, persons of all genders and sexual orientations, first-generation professionals, and persons with disabilities.

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Paralegal—(currently not available)

The Chandra Law Firm LLC, based in downtown Cleveland, sometimes seeks a full-time paralegal. Great opportunity for personal and professional growth in a collegial, small-firm environment with a fast-paced, high-profile practice focusing on civil rights, constitutional law, and white-collar-criminal defense.

The main job duties would include, but are not limited to, interviewing potential clients and preparing interview summaries for attorneys for evaluation; managing client files; maintaining firm calendar and scheduling, including docketing deadlines and events; assisting attorneys with preparing pleadings, correspondence, and court filings; assisting with document review, analysis, and organization; preparing exhibits and binders for depositions, mediations, and trial; fact investigation and appropriate legal research.

Preferred qualifications: Proficient with Mac, Microsoft Word, Adobe, and Excel. The firm is looking for someone who has a strong work ethic, possesses strong organizational skills, has strong writing skills, pays close attention to detail, can manage multiple priorities under stress, excels in a team setting, and has a professional, upbeat disposition and growth mindset. Prior paralegal training or experience is preferred. Notary-public status is a plus.

Visit www.ChandraLaw.com for information about the firm. Qualified candidates should submit the following in .pdf format through this page:

  • cover letter addressed to Subodh Chandra,
  • résumé,
  • list of three references, and
  • two unprivileged writing samples.

Chandra Law is an equal-opportunity employer, committed to effectively serving its diverse clientele. We strongly encourage applications from candidates from non-traditional legal backgrounds, including persons of color, persons of all genders and sexual orientations, first-generation professionals, and persons with disabilities.

No telephone calls, please.


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