Victim Advocacy Program Fellowship

A book is open on a desk with a magnifying glass on top of it and a scales of justice in the background.

Introduction

Are you a 3L, recent law graduate, or judicial clerk in the fall of 2022? Are you interested in the Skadden or Equal Justice Works (EJW) Fellowship? The Victim Advocacy Program at Disability Rights Wisconsin is now seeking candidates interested in pursuing these fellowships for the Class Year of 2023!

The ideal fellowship candidate will have a public interest background, experience in the anti-violence movement, a strong interest in victim’s rights, and a demonstrated ability to work with people with disabilities and people of color. As a host organization, Disability Rights Wisconsin will work jointly with the chosen candidate to develop a proposal for a new project that focuses on advocacy on behalf of disenfranchised individuals, groups, or issues not adequately represented in our legal system.

View the full fellowship announcement with more details and qualifications here (accessible PDF).

About the Victim Advocacy Program (VAP)

The Victim Advocacy Program works to ensure that victim/survivors of crime with disabilities receive the advocacy, legal representation, services, and supports they desire to move forward, find justice, and obtain safety and stability in whatever form the survivor needs. A main goal of the Victim Advocacy Program is to promote self-determination for survivors with disabilities. The Victim Advocacy Program advocates on behalf of survivors with disabilities in many different settings, including representing survivors in legal and administrative proceedings and advocating with service providers, county workers, law enforcement, and prosecutors. Currently, our VAP attorneys are representing survivors in the areas of family law, victim’s rights, immigration, special education, and guardianship proceedings.

Learn more about the program here.

Qualifications

Required Qualifications

  • A Wisconsin law license or the ability to become licensed in WI, prior to Sept/Oct 2023 or
  • At least two years of completed law school credit at an ABA accredited school at the time of application.

Preferred Qualifications

  • Experience with, or demonstrated commitment to, civil legal services and the anti-violence movement.
  • Excellent research, writing, and court advocacy skills.
  • Strong communication and interpersonal skills, as well as the ability to work collaboratively in an interdisciplinary setting. We greatly value oral proficiency in languages other than English.
  • Personal or professional experience with, or other demonstrated commitment to, our client communities, including people from diverse racial and ethnic backgrounds.

Submissions

For priority consideration, please submit your materials no later than August 12, 2022 to Nadya Rosen, Managing Attorney, Victim Advocacy Program, at nrosen@drwi.org.

Required Materials: 

  • Your resume and a cover letter. In your cover letter, please highlight your interest and experience in a narrowly tailored statement of interest that explains why you are interested in a fellowship with DRW as the host organization and the Victim Advocacy Program in particular. Please also describe any ideas you may have for a fellowship proposal.
  • A brief legal writing sample that is 2-4 pages long.
  • Your law school transcript.
  • Contact information for two professional references.