"Racial Justice and Youth Defense Fellowship"

We shall overcome because the arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice. - Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

About the Georgetown Juvenile Justice Clinic and Initiative

As one of the first legal clinics of its kind, the Georgetown Law Juvenile Justice Clinic continues to be one of the premier law school clinics in the country. Students in the Clinic represent youth charged with misdemeanor and felony crimes in the District of Columbia under close faculty supervision. The Clinic provides highly effective representation to their clients by protecting the youth's rights in the juvenile legal system and providing holistic, expressed-interest advocacy.

In 2015, the Georgetown Juvenile Justice Clinic expanded its outreach with the creation of the Juvenile Justice Initiative to tackle the most pressing issues in the juvenile legal system, including racial and socioeconomic disparities, the school-to-prison pipeline, and the criminalization of normal adolescence. Together, both the Clinic and the Initiative aim to raise the quality and scope of youth defense practice in the District of Columbia, the Mid-Atlantic region, and nationally through continued direct representation, policy advocacy, and training for youth defenders across the country.

About the Racial Justice and Youth Defense Fellowship

The Racial Justice and Youth Defense Fellowship is a two-year, post-graduate fellowship open to both recent law school graduates and experienced attorneys. The Fellowship was designed in 2018 to advance racial justice advocacy in the Georgetown Juvenile Justice Initiative (GJJI). During the two-year fellowship, the Fellow works with GJJI staff to develop strategies and resources to help youth defenders challenge racial injustice in their cases and to improve the systems youth encounter through policy reform.

The Fellowship combines elements of project management, legal research and writing, training development, community outreach, and policy advocacy. The Fellow will be supervised by Clinic Director Kristin Henning, Senior Staff Attorney Rebba Omer, and Policy Director Eduardo Ferrer. The Fellow will be expected to begin the fellowship in August 2026 and must be able to commit to the two full years, ending in August 2028.

This Fellowship requires high-level collaborative leadership, project management, and organizational skills, as well as excellence in substantive legal analysis, research, and writing. A successful Fellow will be proactive in identifying and meeting both substantive and administrative project needs. The Fellow will be a self-directed project co-lead who has excellent communication skills, demonstrates great attention to detail, and sees projects through to completion. Additionally, a successful Fellow will value teamwork and collaboration with colleagues and invest in relationship-building with internal and external partners.

Primary Responsibilities

• Complete legal research and writing about race and juvenile justice, as assigned by Kristin Henning, Eduardo Ferrer, and Rebba Omer.
• Work with GJJI and The Gault Center staff to plan and implement the day-to-day operations of the Ambassadors for Racial Justice (ARJ) program.
• Represent GJJI and partners in a lead or supporting capacity at speaking engagements, conferences, trainings, and other events.
• Envision and complete other creative writing projects, including book projects, op-eds, training materials, policy reports, and legal scholarship.
• Update online systems such as the GJJI website and assist with social media outreach as needed and relevant to the racial justice work.
• Create opportunities for youth and community engagement.

Additionally, depending on the needs and capacity of the GJJI, the Racial Justice Fellow may plan and host conferences, participate in legislative advocacy, or design and execute a project of their own that advances racial justice.

Compensation and Degree

The fellowship will run for a term of two years, starting in August 2026. The fellow will be enrolled as an LL.M. (Advocacy) student for two years and will receive a full tuition scholarship. The annual stipend will be $70,000 in the first year and $75,000 in the second year, before taxes. Benefits information can be found at https://benefits.georgetown.edu/post-doctoral-fellows. Fellowships may count toward the federal Public Student Loan Forgiveness program and may qualify for loan repayment assistance.

Qualifications

Applicants must have a demonstrated interest in racial justice, youth justice, youth defense, criminal law, civil rights, and/or social justice. They must possess a J.D., be a member of a state bar or apply for admission, and demonstrate attributes such as project management, research and writing skills, strategic thinking, attention to detail, time management, communication, public speaking, and teamwork.

Application Instructions

Applicants must submit a cover letter, essay, resume, undergraduate transcript, law school transcript, names and contact information of three references, and a writing sample. All completed applications must be submitted by 11:59pm EST on November 3, 2025 via the application portal. For more information and to apply, visit https://apply.interfolio.com/172209.