Reporters Committee extends deadline for legal fellowship
The deadline for applying for the Reporters Committee for Press of the Press’s premier one-year legal fellowship has been extended two weeks.
The Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press will offer a one-year legal fellowship for a law school graduate beginning in September 2008, funded by the McCormick Foundation.
The Reporters Committee is a voluntary, unincorporated association of reporters and editors, dedicated to protecting the First Amendment interests of the news media. From its Arlington, Virginia office, The Reporters Committee staff provides cost-free legal defense and research services to journalists and their attorneys throughout the United States, and also operates the FOI Service Center to assist the news media with federal and state open records and open meetings issues.
The Robert R. McCormick Tribune Foundation Legal Fellow will be expected to draft approximately appellate amicus briefs in significant cases involving First Amendment/media law issues during the fellowship. The legal fellow will also monitor significant developments in media law, assist with responding to legal defense requests from reporters, prepare legal memoranda, and other special projects. In addition, the legal fellow will write for the Committee’s publications, the quarterly magazine The News Media & The Law, and the bi-weekly newsletter, News Media Update.
The fellowship lasts for one year (September to August), with a stipend of $50,000, plus fully-paid health benefits.
Candidates must have received a law degree and be admitted to the bar of any state. They must have a minimum of three years post-graduate legal experience in a law firm, public interest group, government agency, or judicial clerkship. Substantial experience in appellate brief-writing is mandatory, and strong legal research and writing skills required. Experience in news reporting is strongly preferred.
Candidates should submit a cover letter; resume; names, addresses and phone numbers for three references; a sample appellate brief; and news clips or other short non-legal writing sample
Please send applications to:
Lucy A. Dalglish
The Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press
1101 Wilson Blvd., Suite 1100
Arlington, VA 22209
Application materials will be returned only if the applicant supplies a stamped, self-addressed envelope with sufficient postage. E-mail applications may be sent to ldalglish@rcfp.org.
Complete applications must be received at The Reporters Committee’s office no later than June 15, 2008.