Litigation Fellowship

The Policing Project at New York University School of Law invites applications for our 2025–2026 Litigation Fellowship, one-year, potentially-renewable position. The fellowship will begin in July or August 2025.

This fellowship is designed for recent law school graduates with a passion for transforming how policing occurs. The Fellow will be a key member of our litigation team. Our litigation team is pursuing groundbreaking impact litigation strategies to bring greater democratic accountability to policing, and to limit police discretion that gives rise to discrimination. This is an opportunity to join a growing and novel litigation effort.

Background on the Policing Project

The Policing Project is at the forefront of a new approach to addressing the harms of policing. We believe in “front-end accountability”—that there must be public voice and democratic sign off before police act, rather than simply when something goes wrong. The goal is achieving public safety that is equitable, non-discriminatory, and respectful of public values. We pursue this mission by drafting and promoting legislation to regulate policing, and by litigating where these principles are not respected. Our work addresses both street policing and the growing use by police of surveillance technologies and artificial intelligence. Because sending armed officers to deal with a raft of social problems satisfies no one, we also are working hard to reimagine public safety from the ground up, relying on non-police alternative first responders. You can learn more about our work—past and present—at www.PolicingProject.org.

 

Job Description & Responsibilities

Litigation is a critical part of our multi-faceted approach to achieving front-end accountability, transparency, and racial justice in policing. Partnering with community groups and impacted individuals, we develop novel impact litigation suits grounded in basic principles of democratic governance and anti-discrimination. We seek to fundamentally reframe how courts hold police accountable, and to bring structural legal change to policing. Examples of our work include:

  • A lawsuit on behalf of indigenous rights and environmental justice advocates challenging the Oregon Department of Justice’s TITAN Fusion Center, a domestic spying agency entirely unauthorized by law, which has conducted surveillance on a number of civil rights and racial justice organizations.

  • A lawsuit on behalf of actors and comedians Eric André and Clayton English, challenging—under the Fourth Amendment and the Equal Protection Clause—a program of discriminatory stops on jet bridges at the Atlanta Airport.

  • A lawsuit challenging the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division’s unauthorized operation of a statewide vehicle surveillance program that indiscriminately captures and stores more than one hundred million time- and location-stamped photos of vehicles on South Carolina roads each year.

The Litigation Fellow will be a key member of the Policing Project’s litigation team. The Fellow will work closely with other members of the litigation team and will report to the Policing Project’s Litigation Director. Specific responsibilities include: 

  • Litigating an active caseload in federal and state courts around the country, including working with clients; researching, drafting, and editing pleadings and briefs; participating in discovery; and researching and deploying innovative legal arguments and litigation approaches;

  • Conducting legal and factual research and drafting memoranda;

  • Coordinating with internal and external partners, including co-counsel at law firms and other organizations; 

  • Developing and supporting litigation strategy and helping to build new cases to file; and

  • Collaborating with teams within the Policing Project and with outside organizations and allies to advance the Policing Project’s mission.

In addition, fellows interested in future academic work will have the opportunity to have their academic writing reviewed by members of the NYU Law Community.

Desired Experience & Qualifications

We are looking to hire someone with the experience, talent, energy, creativity, and passion to help us bring democratic accountability to policing, and to eliminate police discretion that invites discrimination. In addition to a legal degree, our ideal candidate will have the following qualifications, although applicants who do not meet all of the following qualifications are still encouraged to apply:

  • J.D. required, but bar admission is not;

  • Experience with or strong interest in litigation, as demonstrated through clerkships (including those scheduled for future years), law school clinics, and/or previous work experience;

  • A strong interest in policing issues;

  • A strong interest in racial justice and civil rights work;

  • Strong written communications skills;

  • The personality to build and maintain relationships with legal and non-legal staff, pro bono counsel, plaintiffs, partner organizations, and other stakeholders;

  • Strong organizational skills and an inclination to be proactive;

  • Good judgment and proven capacity to multitask; and

  • Residency in New York City area or willingness to relocate is preferred, but full-time remote applications will also be considered.

Application Instructions

To apply, please email a cover letter, resume, (unofficial) law school transcript, and writing sample of no more than 10 pages as one PDF to applications@policingproject.org. Please indicate “Litigation Fellow” in the subject line.  Applications will be reviewed on an ongoing basis until the position is filled, and you will be contacted if selected for an interview.

Salary is commensurate with experience, in the range of $80,000 – $85,000. Compensation also includes excellent benefits, including medical, dental, and vision. Further information regarding benefits can be found at https://www.nyu.edu/employees/benefit/full-time/professional-research-staff/benefits-guide-2025.html.

The Policing Project heartily encourages applicants from diverse backgrounds, and is an equal opportunity employer.  NYU is an Equal Opportunity Employer and is committed to a policy of equal treatment and opportunity in every aspect of its recruitment and hiring process without regard to age, alienage, caregiver status, childbirth, citizenship status, color, creed, disability, domestic violence victim status, ethnicity, familial status, gender and/or gender identity or expression, marital status, military status, national origin, parental status, partnership status, predisposing genetic characteristics, pregnancy, race, religion, sex, sexual orientation, unemployment status, veteran status, or any other legally protected basis. Women, racial and ethnic minorities, persons of minority sexual orientation or gender identity, individuals with disabilities, and veterans are encouraged to apply for vacant positions at all levels.