Pre-Law Fellow

The Connecticut Veterans Legal Center (CVLC) is seeking a talented professional with a knack for client relations and an eye for social justice issues for a two-year fellowship to advance CVLC’s mission: to help veterans recovering from mental illness and homelessness overcome legal barriers to housing, healthcare, and income. As a national leader in medical-legal partnerships and legal aid to veterans, CVLC’s work often occurs where veterans law intersects with economic and racial justice, human rights, and mental health.

The Fellow will be the face of CVLC to potential clients, screening them for legal needs and coordinating their representation with CVLC’s in-house and VA clinical staff. The Fellow will be trained by CVLC attorneys to spot legal issues for potential clients and will join a dedicated team of attorneys, paralegal, and support staff to serve veterans seeking civil legal aid.

About You:
• You have a passion for justice: the ideal Fellow will have a passion for social justice issues and an enthusiasm for helping people in need.
• You like people: the Fellow will have to be comfortable having consistent interactions over the phone and in-person with potential low-income clients, hearing their stories, and recording them for CVLC’s legal team.
• You are interested in the law: the Fellow will be a college graduate curious about the law. Perhaps the Fellow is thinking about attending law school or they are already enrolled in a nighttime program. In any case, this job will most appeal to anyone who wants to learn more about practicing law for low-income clients.
• You want to learn: the Fellow’s success will depend greatly on their ability to gather relevant
information from potential clients. A successful Fellow will be eager to learn from CVLC attorneys about different fields of law so as to better screen potential candidates.
• You are a go-getter: The best Fellow candidates will be resourceful, flexible, and driven. The Fellow will understand that priorities and plans change and that the path forward is not always a straight line. The Fellow will use the challenges as opportunities to learn new things.
• You are good with technology, good with language, and good with administration: Fellow candidates should strive to be a triple threat – not just good with people, but also adept at writing and facile with technology. The Fellow must be comfortable with doing the administrative tasks that keep the
organization going.
• You are detail oriented: the Fellow that pays attention to little things will best help serve our clients. From correctly recording potential clients’ income levels and important dates to catching typos, details will help the Fellow be successful.
• You can take the hard stories: the Fellow will be directly working, on a daily basis, with disabled veterans applying for critical legal assistance. This is a position that requires the ability to hold space for compassion and empathy while also maintaining the ability to set clear personal and professional
boundaries. The Fellow will be a person who knows how to attend to their own mental health when dealing others’ struggles.

In this job you will:
• Interview and assess client requests for legal assistance.
• Greet applicants seeking legal assistance and clinicians seeking legal guidance on behalf of the veterans.
• Partner with VA clinicians and physicians to provide other referral services when appropriate.
• Schedule legal appointments for veterans seeking assistance.
• Write professional correspondence to applicants, clinicians, and attorneys.
• Scan, copy, and fax legal screening documents into our case management system.
• Maintain and organize applicant files, referral documents, office policies and screening process documents.
• Attend and participate in VA program meetings that strengthen the partnership.
• Provide administrative support to the Intake Attorney and paralegal, as needed.

You will also get to:
• Learn about a variety of legal cases including housing, credit, consumer, and veterans law.
• Join CVLC’s legal team, participating in intake discussions and legal strategy meetings.
• Be an active participant in a team that seeks to change national and local polices that affect veterans.

On Day 1 you will
• Already have proficiency in Word and other Microsoft products and understand the basics of technology.
• Be introduced to CVLC’s processes and policies, organization calendar, data and document management systems
• Spend time with attorneys and staff in each department to understand how all the parts of the organization work independently and together.
• Meet with VA clinician staff and gain some culture competence for our client base

After 3 months you will:
• Understand the basics of housing law and the eviction process, VA benefit eligibility and other civil legal law.
• Be comfortable managing and controlling a difficult client conversation.
• Be fully embedded with the medical providers at the VA.

After 6 months you will
• Have a strong understanding of the legal and social issues facing veterans with low-income and/or mental illness
• Lead the weekly triage meeting for CVLC staff to review all applicants for services.
• Maintain and update resource and referral information and a large variety of legal topics

About Us:
• We are client-centered and hard-working. It is a privilege to do this work and we do our best to honor that by providing our clients with the best services possible.
• We are outcome-oriented and creative. The results that we get for our clients are some of the best in legal aid and we all play a part in making that happen. Part of making that happen is by not doing things like everyone else.
• We are democratic and collegial. We all pitch in as needed. Our teamwork is a hallmark of our organization. We are boisterous and like to have fun together.
Veterans, people of color, people with disabilities, and LGBTQ individuals are strongly encouraged to apply. CVLC will make reasonable accommodations for applicants and employees with disabilities. CVLC is proud to work with a diverse community of clients, staff, and constituents. Come join our team!

To Apply: Please submit a cover letter, resume, and a writing sample to CVLC at
applicants@ctveteranslegal.org. Please be prepared to share the names, title and contact information for three references if requested. The position is open until filled. We anticipate that it will be filled quickly, so please send your materials as soon as possible.