Interns & Fellows
Internships
CHLP provides substantive internships to law students with strong skills in legal analysis and writing. Although internships are unpaid, CHLP will support interns’ efforts to secure funding and/or course credit.
As a national leader in HIV policy development, CHLP provides interns with the opportunity to work on the following projects:
- Positive Justice Project: The PJP is a national coalition coordinated by CHLP and organized to end criminal laws targeting people living with HIV and other infectious diseases. We engage in federal and state policy advocacy; resource creation; support of local advocates and attorneys working on HIV criminal cases; and educating, organizing, and mobilizing communities and policymakers in the United States.
- Bodily Autonomy: Much of CHLP’s other work centers around the intersection between the criminalization of people based on their health status and bodily autonomy. This encompasses work ranging from advocating with the CDC and health departments in regards to Molecular HIV Surveillance and data privacy, to supporting people living with HIV having access to a full range of health care.
- Aging: By 2030 it is estimated that more than 70% of people living with HIV will be over the age of 50. CHLP is engaged in creating a legal primer to help inform people living with HIV and their advocates about how to address the legal challenges they face.
Assignments may include legal research in support of advocacy for individuals in civil commitment or on sex offender registries, research to assist attorneys advising state coalitions, and first drafts of content for CHLP publications. Other projects will be assigned as they arise.
JOB REQUIREMENTS
The applicant must be a law student with excellent analytical and writing skills and the ability to engage in thoughtful and thorough research independently. We are looking for students interested in creative advocacy, researching and writing about complex legal and policy issues, and working in partnership with members of diverse communities to achieve meaningful health law reform. A commitment to abolition, racial equity, anti-racism, gender justice and economic justice, as well as to CHLP’s mission, vision, and values is strongly preferred. Experience in human rights — particularly the rights of LGBTQ+ people, women, Black and brown people, and/or youth — is strongly preferred. Rising 3Ls/4Ls are encouraged to apply. Rising 2Ls with strong qualifications will also be considered.
CHLP is an equal opportunity employer dedicated to advancing fairness, equality, and diversity in both its work and its workplace. We strongly encourage applications from all communities, including people of color; individuals with disabilities; and lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender persons.
CHLP is a project of the National Center for Civic Innovation, a not-for-profit 501(c)(3) organization founded by the Fund for the City of New York.
HOW TO APPLY
To apply for an internship, please send the following to [email protected] with the subject heading “Legal Internship Application”:
- Cover letter (please specify why you are interested in interning with CHLP)
- Resume
- Writing sample (5-10 pages) demonstrating legal research and analytical skills.
Fellowships
CHLP welcomes the opportunity to partner with a current law student, judicial clerk, or other eligible individual to develop a public interest fellowship such as an Equal Justice Works, Soros Justice, Skadden, or Liman Fellowship. A fellowship with CHLP affords an aspiring and gifted individual the opportunity to join our mission to reduce the impact of HIV on the most marginalized communities, support and increase the advocacy power and HIV expertise of attorneys, community members, and service providers, and advance policy initiatives that are grounded in and uphold social justice, science, and the public health.
If you are interested in developing a fellowship proposal with CHLP, send a brief statement outlining your proposed project along with a resume, transcript, writing sample, and contact information for three references to [email protected], with the subject line "Fellowship Proposal." Please indicate the fellowship for which you are seeking sponsorship as well as its application deadline in your email. To learn more about postgraduate fellowships, visit PSJD.org.
Past Interns & Fellows
Summer 2023
Iris Gao, CUNY School of Law
Elisabeth Mayer, Brooklyn Law School
Summer 2022
Thomas Barranca, New York Law School
Mika D'Angelo, Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law
Spring 2022
Jaylen Thomas, Southern University Law Center
Summer 2021
Krysta Colon, Elisabeth Haub School of Law at Pace University
Phil Ross, University of Michigan Law School
Fall 2020
Nadya Kronis, Georgetown University Law Center
Summer 2020
Katie Doman, Fordham University School of Law
Crystal Harris, Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health
Summer 2019
Esther Lee, Vanderbilt Law School
Summer 2018
Denise Go, Duke University School of Law
Summer 2017
Emily Hosseini, Marquette University Law School
Summer 2016
Mackenzie Brennan, St. John's University School of Law
Aleaha Jones, Duke University School of Law
Fall 2015
Sara Nassof, New York Law School
Samantha Weiss, Brooklyn Law School
Summer 2014
Dwayne K. Wright, Pennsylvania State University Dickinson School of Law
Juan Luis Rodriguez, Georgetown University School of Law
Spring 2014
Matt Mikaelian, Adelphi University School of Social Work
Fall 2013
Shoshana Golden, American University Washington College of Law
Summer 2013
Jocelyn Greer, Columbia Law School
Meagan McElroy, University of Pittsburgh School of Law and Heinz College, Carnegie Mellon University
Fall 2012
Gavin Myer, Northeastern University School of Law
Summer 2012
Darcy Kues, University of Washington School of Law
Christos Tsentas, Northeastern University School of Law
Summer 2011
Nicky Barnett, Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law
Edward Xia, Columbia Law School
Spring 2011
Kimberly Shindel, Fordham Law School
Fall 2010
Lydia Devine, Fordham Law School
Summer 2010
Joanna Cuevas Ingram, University of California, Davis, School of Law
Daniel Faria, Columbia Law School
Spring 2010
Peter Beauchamp, New York Law School
Fall 2009
Genevieve Cohoon, Fordham Law School
Bryan Hedlin, Fordham Law School
Summer 2009
Cynthia Fernandez, New York University School of Law
Lauren R.S. Mendonsa, University of San Diego School of Law
Stephanie Staal, Brooklyn Law School
Spring 2009
Marissa Bontempo, Brooklyn Law School
Summer 2008
Katherine Chung, New York University School of Law
Dana Delger, Columbia Law School
Fall 2007
Monica Asher, Brooklyn Law School
Summer 2007
Alex Espinoza, Fordham Law School
Spring 2007
Chris Kibler, Brooklyn Law School
Fall 2006
Claire Ruckert, Brooklyn Law School
Breanne Breimeister, New York University
Summer 2006
Kate Chaltain, Fordham Law School
Mark Guest, St. Louis University School of Law
Spring 2006
Elliot Turner, Brooklyn Law School