Pursuing Justice Fellowship - Summer 2025
Legal Aid of Southeast & Central Ohio See More Job Openings by This EmployerLegal Aid of Southeast and Central Ohio (LASCO)’s mission is to provide civil legal aid and advocacy to overcome unfairness and injustice, reduce poverty, and increase opportunity. LASCO has a long-standing history of being committed to searching out the patterns, causes of, and solutions to the repetitive and fundamental legal problems facing low-income Ohioans and pursuing the legal recourse needed to address those problems. Since 1966, our organizations have helped thousands of Ohio’s poor obtain and keep housing, secure public benefits, worked with families to gain and maintain economic stability, and helped domestic violence survivors to live free of fear and abuse and to obtain the resources needed to sustain themselves and their children.
LASCO is pleased to offer the Pursuing Justice Fellowship. The Fellowship program enables students entering or enrolled in law school to receive funding to work during the Fall, Spring, and/or Summer for LASCO. We are currently accepting applications for the Summer 2025 term.
To enhance the professional opportunities available to people from historically disadvantaged backgrounds, this fellowship aims to demonstrate a commitment to Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion within our organization by providing financial support and legal experience to underrepresented law students as they begin their legal careers.
According to the American Bar Association, diversity in the legal profession remains limited, with studies showing a lack of representation across a variety of backgrounds. LASCO is committed to increasing representation of disadvantaged professionals in the legal field and advancing the understanding of the life experiences of those minority communities. We will remain true to this philosophy while acknowledging the barriers that many different people face.
To that end, LASCO encourages students from historically disadvantaged or underrepresented backgrounds to become Legal Aid lawyers and join Ohio Legal Aid organizations, with the goal that over time these organizations, including LASCO, will better represent the backgrounds and experiences of the clients these organizations serve.
The Fellowship:
The Summer 2025 LASCO Pursuing Justice Fellowship term will be based on the school year semester and run between May and August. The Fellowship anticipates between 10 - 40 hours worked per week over the 10-week period with virtual components as well as hybrid work flexibility. The Fellowship is funded at a rate of $20 per hour.
Fellows will be assigned a mentor from LASCO. This mentor will not only provide support and guidance within LASCO but will also support and create opportunities to engage with the greater legal community.
Additionally, the Fellowship offers a direct connection to the Executive Director and Board Members. The fellow will have the special opportunity to connect with the program's Executive Director and select Board Members to build their legal network.
*Submit Your Completed Application by Friday, March 7, 2025 via Paylocity
Application Instructions:
Please submit a resume, letter of interest, and references.
The letter of interest should be 500 words or less and the subject of the letter is at your discretion. However, we strongly encourage you to select one, or a combination, of the following topics in your letter: telling us your story, the talents you would bring to the legal profession, what barriers are you facing, and/or why you should be selected as a fellow.
Please also include your anticipated date of law school graduation. Also, if you choose, please share any personal barriers you’ve encountered or underrepresented communities with which you identify, that have impacted your career progression in the legal field.