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Volunteer Oportunities |
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The Advocacy Center welcomes the opportunity to use your talents to help persons with disabilities and seniors throughout Louisiana. We offer volunteer opportunities for a variety of different tasks, such as:
Law Student Legal Intern OpportunitiesThe Advocacy Center is interested in using the talents of interested, committed law students in a variety of ways. Because we are a private non-profit corporation, we only have very limited funding for student law clerks/legal interns. Therefore, we use a combination of student volunteers, students who receive public interest service grants from other organizations, such as law school or national Public Interest Law Foundations, and students eligible under law school work study programs. We encourage students to explore alternative funding sources, as our funding, even at modest levels, will only cover a few students. We realize that many students’ circumstances are such that they cannot afford to perform volunteer or low paid work while in school or over the summer. However, we would like to stress that for those who are able to do so, the experience gained is very beneficial in obtaining paid public interest positions at a later time. The legal hiring field is so competitive right now, even for public interest positions, that a student with demonstrated commitment and experience during the law school years has a much better chance of being hired for one of the few positions that become available. We make an effort to involve students in several phases of our agency’s work. Law clerks/student interns conduct legal research, including factual investigations when necessary, attend issue group meetings, and assist our attorneys, paralegals, and/or client advocates in other areas of case-handling. We can usually arrange for some client contact if this is of interest to the student. While our primary needs are for research, we usually have an interesting variety of assignments and projects, some short and some long term, which expose the students to a number of different subjects and styles of research. Wherever possible, we give students some choice in their assignments. We also permit flexible scheduling of weekly work hours as well as the working location. Some students spend some of their time at the law school library. Students are also invited to attend regular agency and systems advocacy meetings. The Advocacy Center is a non-profit agency which provides legal advocacy services to persons who are elderly or disabled. Types of cases include public benefits (Medicaid, Medicare), special education, advocacy for rights of residents of institutions, including nursing homes, cases involving issues of inaccessibility or discrimination, and issues related to self determination. We have some class actions and impact litigation; however, most of our advocacy efforts do not involve litigation. We do not handle fee-generating cases; rather, our focus is upon advocating for the rights of individuals or groups who encounter legal difficulties related to their age or disability. Law student legal interns are students who have completed at least one year of law school and who have a demonstrated interest in working on behalf of people with disabilities and/or public interest law. No funding is available for students entering their second year; however, volunteers and students funded by public interest projects are welcome. Students entering their third year or law graduates who have previously worked for the Advocacy Center or another public interest agency and who are work study eligible may, if resources permit, be paid at a public interest/work study rate. We request a minimum commitment of 120 hours of work by volunteers, interns, or paid clerks who independently seek placement with the Advocacy Center. For example, this could be four weeks of full-time work, eight weeks of half-time work, or 2-3 hours weekly throughout the year. This level of commitment is necessary for both the agency and the student to benefit from the experience, training, and learning curves involved. Students who are placed by local law schools to fulfill public service requirements are encouraged, but not required, to volunteer hours in excess of those required by the school. To apply, please send a letter of interest and a resume to Ann Maclaine, Co-Director of Legal Services, Advocacy Center, 1010 Common Street, Suite 2600, New Orleans, LA 70112, 504-522-2337, ext. 117 or e-mail to hr@advocacyla.org. Paralegal OpportunitiesAs with law students, the Advocacy Center has many opportunities for paralegal students. Paralegal students can work with one lawyer in their area of interest or with a variety of different lawyers. We make an effort to involve students in several phases of our agency’s work. Please contact Emily Trammel, Executive Assistant, Advocacy Center, 1010 Common Street, Suite 2600, New Orleans, LA 70112, 504-522-2337, ext. 127 or e-mail: hr@advocacyla.org for more information or to volunteer. |
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The Protection and Advocacy System for Louisiana ~ Serving People with Disabilities and Senior Citizens Advocacy Center |
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