Centro Legal de la Raza offers semester-long jobs and summer clerical jobs in each of our three practice areas.
To apply for these positions, please email a cover letter, indicate your preferred practice area, CV, and a list of three references to jobs@centrolegal.org. The ability to communicate and work in Spanish is a requirement for these legal secretary positions.
Suggested Application Periods:
Summer: August 1 – February 15
Fall Semester: December 1 – September 15
Spring Semester: August 1 – January 1Centro Legal de la Raza is an affirmative action/equal opportunity employer. People of color, LGBTQ-identified people, people with disabilities, and people age 55 and older are encouraged to apply.
Law Student Offices
Tenants Rights Program
Centro Legal’s Tenant Rights Program helps Oakland and Hayward tenants:
- to address habitability issues
- provide limited scope representation in eviction cases
- provide pro per per assistance with eviction cases
- provide limited and full scope representation at hearings prior to the Oakland Rent Adjustment Program
Under the supervision of housing attorneys, law clerks will have the opportunity to work one-on-one with primarily monolingual Spanish-speaking tenants seeking help with a variety of issues, including preparing Pro Per responses to unlawful housing complaints. detention and relevant motions. Law enforcement employees may have the opportunity to represent tenant clients at hearings before the Oakland Rent Adjustment Program challenges rent increases and seeks rent reductions for decreased housing services. In addition, the Law Clerk will assist with Centro Legal’s housing clinics.
Workers’ Rights Program
Centro Legal’s Workers’ Rights Program provides advice, counsel, Pro Per assistance, and legal representation to immigrant and low-wage workers facing wage theft, workplace discrimination, and retaliation. The law clerks of the Workers’ Rights Program will have the opportunity to work closely with the supervising attorneys on all aspects of this work. This includes conducting one-on-one consultations with low-income, primarily monolingual Spanish-speaking workers at our legal clinics, assisting workers in preparing claims, and conducting legal research and preparing reports to support worker claims through administrative defense and litigation. Law clerks will also have the opportunity to represent workers at conferences or hearings before the Division of Labor Standards Enforcement.
Immigration Rights
Centro Legal’s Workers’ Rights Program provides advice, counsel, Pro Per assistance, and legal representation to immigrant and low-wage workers facing wage theft, workplace discrimination, and retaliation. The law clerks of the Workers’ Rights Program will have the opportunity to work closely with the supervising attorneys on all aspects of this work. This includes conducting one-on-one consultations with low-income, primarily monolingual Spanish-speaking workers at our legal clinics, assisting workers in preparing claims, and conducting legal research and preparing reports to support worker claims through administrative defense and litigation. Law clerks will also have the opportunity to represent workers at conferences or hearings before the Division of Labor Standards Enforcement.
Scholarships 2019-2020
Centro Legal is interested in sponsoring scholarship applicants, including the Skadden and Equal Justice Works Scholarship Programs, for the 2019-2020 cycle.
Centro Legal provides an ideal training ground for recent law school graduates seeking experience providing direct legal assistance to low-income individuals and families in a community setting. Centro Legal invites junior law students and recent law school graduates to propose and collaboratively develop innovative scholarships for submission to the Skadden and Equal Works scholarship programs, as well as other similar scholarship programs. For this next cycle of scholarships, Centro Legal is interested in sponsoring scholarship projects that fall within the area of workers’ rights. Centro Legal is particularly interested in projects aimed at promoting and protecting the rights of low-wage and immigrant workers. Applicants must submit proposals aligned with those broader goals.
Application Process:
Applicants must be in their third year of law school or recent law school graduates. Proficiency in the Spanish language is required.
Please include a detailed cover letter that includes a discussion of your interest in working with Centro Legal and the community we serve, as well as a brief description of your project proposal or your interest in the project areas described above. Also attach your resume, list of three references, a writing sample, and law school transcript. Please email applications to jobs@centrolegal.org with the subject line “Legal Scholarship Proposal.” Centro Legal de la Raza is an affirmative action/equal opportunity employer. People of color, women, lesbians, gay men, transgender people, people with disabilities, people with prior contact with the criminal justice system, and people 55 and older are encouraged years to submit your application.