The Critical Race Studies Program at the UCLA School of Law seeks applicants for the Laura E. Gómez Teaching Fellowship on Latinx People and the Law for the 2024-2026 academic years. This position is a full-time, two-year academic fellowship with an expected start date of July 1, 2024.

This fellowship offers the opportunity to work with the world-renowned faculty affiliated with UCLA Law’s Critical Race Studies Program (CRS) in furtherance of the candidate’s eventual career in legal academia. We invite applications from J.D. holders who already possess or who envision establishing a scholarly profile in law, policy, and/or related fields such as ethnic studies, the social sciences, the humanities, and the like. An applicant’s proposed research agenda should center Latinx people in the United States, with a focus in areas such as criminal law and punishment, labor/employment law, immigration law and policy, voting and political rights, civil rights, sexuality/gender, and/or family law, to name just a few.

Established in 2000, CRS is the first law school program dedicated to incorporating Critical Race Theory (CRT) into legal scholarship and teaching, based on the understanding that achieving racial justice requires understanding the pervasive influence of race and racism on American law and society. Through their research and teaching, CRS faculty often explore these dynamics at the intersections between seemingly distinct structures, such as those between the criminal legal system and the labor market, between residential property and K-12 education, or between migration and national borders established through colonialism. UCLA Law’s diverse student body includes many first-generation college graduates and/or students from underrepresented communities, and our more than 1200 alumni include racial justice leaders in legal practice, academia, and government around the country and the globe. More information on the CRS Program can be found here.

The Laura E. Gómez Teaching Fellowship on Latinx People and the Law was established in 2024 with a generous donation by UCLA Law alumna Alicia Miñana de Lovelace in honor of Laura E. Gómez, who retired from UCLA in 2024 as the Rachel F. Moran Endowed Chair in Law. Only the second Latina to receive tenure at a top-20 U.S. law school, Professor Gómez’s research focuses on the intersection of law, racial inequality, and politics as they shape and affect Latinos in the U.S. She is best known for two books about Latinx people and the law: Manifest Destinies: The Making of the Mexican American Race and Inventing Latinos: A New Story of American Racism. Gómez taught at UCLA Law from 1994-2005 and 2011-2024 and was a CRS founding faculty member. More information can be found here.

Eligibility and Qualifications

Applicants for the fellowship should possess (or expect to possess by June 15, 2024) a J.D. ; a strong academic record; excellent writing and analytical skills; and demonstrated interest in Latinx people and the law. We welcome candidates who, in addition, possess experience in law practice, graduate training in other disciplines, judicial clerkships, and/or other professional experience that informs their research interests.

Terms of the Fellowship

The Laura E. Gómez Teaching Fellow on Latinx People and the Law will be appointed for the academic year beginning July 1, 2024 and concluding June 30, 2026. The candidate must be in residence in Los Angeles. The fellowship offers a salary of $75,000 per year with full benefits. Renewal of the fellowship for the second year is contingent on the fellow’s satisfactory progress in the first year.

The fellow’s responsibilities will include:

• teaching one course annually on Latinx People and the Law,
• conducting scholarly research on a project related to the law and Latinx people in the United States, in areas such as criminal law and punishment, labor/employment law, immigration law and policy, voting and political rights, civil rights, sexuality/gender, family law, and/or other topics in legal scholarship,
• completing, during the first nine months of the fellowship, at least one substantial scholarly article to be presented as a work-in-progress to the UCLA Law faculty and submitted for publication,
• mentoring J.D. students, especially those with a demonstrated interest in how the legal system impacts Latinx communities,
• attending CRS programs, such as symposia and workshops,
• actively participating in the CRS intellectual community, including attending faculty paper presentations and presenting a work-in-progress,
• actively participating in the intellectual life of the law school, including attending faculty workshops, specialized colloquia, and meetings of the fellows of other programs and the law school generally,
• working closely with two formally appointed faculty mentors from CRS and working with informal faculty mentors.

Application Process

Applicants should apply online at https://recruit.apo.ucla.edu/JPF09331 by submitting pdf copies of the following:

• a cover letter summarizing your interest in and qualifications for the fellowship, including any past and/or potential contributions to equity, diversity and inclusion via research, teaching, and/or public service,
• a research proposal (limited to 2,500 words) describing two articles you would like to write during the fellowship term and how they connect with your prior experience and education,
• an academic resume (c.v.),
• your law school and other post-undergraduate transcripts,
• a writing sample, published or unpublished that demonstrates your potential for scholarly writing,
• the names, titles, and email addresses of three references who would be prepared to write a letter of recommendation upon request; at least one should be a professor who is familiar with your scholarly potential.

Questions via email may be sent to crs@law.ucla.edu