Immigrants’ Civil Legal Rights Fellowship

North Carolina Justice Center

Immigrants’ Civil Legal Rights Fellowship

North Carolina Justice Center - Job Opportunities. Upon request, The North Carolina

Justice Center will provide reasonable accommodation for all candidates with

disabilities. 

Location: Hybrid (Raleigh, NC)

• Project/Department: Workers’ Rights Project

• Job Title: Immigrants’ Civil Legal Rights Fellowship

• Reports to: Workers’ Right Director

• Group Number: 6

• FLSA Status: Exempt

• Union Status: Union

• Supervises: N/A

• Hiring Range Salary: $65,000- $70,132

Overview

The North Carolina Justice Center (NCJC) is a progressive research and advocacy organization

dedicated to expanding opportunity and protecting the rights of low-income individuals and

communities in North Carolina. For over 29 years NCJC has worked across policy, legal, and

community platforms to address poverty and systemic inequities through legislative advocacy,

litigation, public education, and coalition building.

The North Carolina Justice Center invites third-year law students and recent law graduates to

apply for a two-year Immigrants’ Rights Fellowship. The Fellowship is generously funded by

the N.C. Interest on Lawyers Trust Accounts (IOLTA) Program. The fellowship will begin in the

Fall of 2026. The Justice Center is North Carolina’s leading private, non-profit anti-poverty

organization. Our mission is to alleviate poverty in North Carolina by ensuring that every

household has access to the resources, services, and fair treatment it needs to achieve

economic security.

In order to improve the ability of low-income families to access opportunity and share in the

prosperity, the Justice Center pursues a broad policy agenda around the issues of

affordable housing, transportation, workers’ rights, public education, supports for working

families, consumer protections, immigrants' rights, and access to health care. The Justice

Center has conducted extensive civil litigation for immigrant clients, including class actions for

workers not paid minimum wage or overtime; civil cases for victims of human trafficking, class

actions for clients who encountered unfair business practices when purchasing mobile homes;

and administrative complaints against state agencies who fail to provide language access to

immigrant residents of North Carolina.

Key Responsibilities

• The goal of the Immigrants’ Rights Fellowship is to expand access to legal assistance for

immigrants, regardless of their immigration status, in civil cases. The Fellow will work in

two primary areas of law: housing (including eviction and home purchase cases) and

workers’ rights (including wage and hour and discrimination). The fellow will work closely

with experienced attorneys at the NC Justice Center to provide advice and

representation to callers, file administrative complaints, guide clients through pro se

processes, engage in community education events, and, where appropriate, offer full

legal representation.

• The Fellow will also help run the Justice Center’s Power of Attorney program. This

involves recruiting pro-bono volunteers, working with community groups interested in

hosting clinics, and training and scheduling volunteers and assisting clients with filling

out Power of Attorney paperwork.

• The Fellow will develop resources to help immigrants understand their rights and how to

navigate court and government complaint processes. Through the fellow’s advice,

outreach, and individual representation of immigrant clients, he or she will help identify

cases that may be appropriate for more extended representation such as class action

litigation or administrative advocacy.

• The Fellow will engage in special projects and other duties as assigned with the goal of

expanding access to civil justice for immigrants in North Carolina.

Minimum Qualifications:

• J.D. or expected to receive a J.D. by the spring of 2026, the Fellow must have passed

the North Carolina bar exam and be eligible for admission to the bar by the

commencement of the Fellowship.

• Strong writing, legal research, and oral advocacy skills.
• Professional fluency in written and spoken Spanish and English; ability to interview

potential clients and communicate with existing clients in Spanish both verbally and in

writing without interpretation assistance.

• Interest in and ability to create and conduct community presentations in English and

Spanish.

• Demonstrated commitment to social justice and ability to recognize the barriers facing

immigrant communities.

• Self-motivated with the ability to take initiative, manage a variety of tasks, and see

projects through to completion.

• Demonstrated commitment to racial equity.
• Some travel, evening, and weekend work is required.

Physical Requirements:

The employee should have the ability to maintain focus and productivity while performing at a

workstation for prolonged periods, including working on a computer, managing documents, or

engaging in virtual meetings.

• Some travel, evening, and weekend work is required.

Work Environment:

• Hybrid work environment, including home and office.

Benefits

• Six weeks paid time off annually
• Paid parental leave and holidays
• Employer contributions to a 403(b)-retirement plan
• Medical, dental, and vision insurance
• Disability and life insurance
• Flexible spending and health savings account options
• Part of the Bargaining unit

Equal Opportunity

The NC Justice Center is committed to a policy of equal employment opportunity for all persons

without regard to race, color, creed, sex, religion, age, national origin, sexual orientation, gender

identity, political affiliation, disability, pregnancy, personal appearance, citizenship, military

service, genetic information, natural hairstyles, or any protected status. We are a Fair Chance

Employer and strive to reduce barriers to employment for individuals with criminal records.