Thanks to the generous support of our donors, Disability Rights Advocates is pleased to make available on our website and in our offices the work of artists from the National Institute of Art & Disabilities (NIAD). NIAD provides an art program that promotes creativity, independence, dignity, and community integration for people with developmental and other disabilities.
Disability Rights Advocates (DRA) is currently accepting applications from third-year law students, judicial law clerks, or recent law school graduates, who are seeking a sponsoring organization for fellowship opportunities that commence in September 2011. Specific experience in disability law is not required although candidates should have a demonstrated interest in civil rights and/or public interest law. Early applications are encouraged as fellowship application deadlines will begin in September 2010.
DRA is a non-profit legal center based in Berkeley, California whose mission is to ensure dignity, equality, and opportunity for people with all types of disabilities throughout the United States. DRA's national advocacy work includes high-impact class action litigation on behalf of people with all types of disabilities, including mobility, hearing, vision, learning and psychological disabilities. Through negotiation and litigation, DRA has made thousands of facilities throughout the country accessible and has enforced access rights for millions of people with disabilities in many key areas of life, including access to technology, education, employment, transportation and health care.
DRA has a long-history of mentoring and training young lawyers to practice law in the public interest. DRA has sponsored over 25 fellowships since its inception in 1993, including Skadden, Equal Justice Works, and other fellowships. DRA has also enjoyed recent success sponsoring law students for public interest fellowships that are offered by numerous law schools throughout the country.
Recent fellowships at DRA have focused on areas such as improving access to the Los Angeles homeless shelter system, challenging the healthcare system for veterans returning from Iraq and Afghanistan with post traumatic stress disorder, and advocating for educational institutions to provide course materials in formats that are accessible to individuals with vision and learning disabilities.
As an integral part of DRA’s 12-attorney office, fellowship attorneys have extensive opportunities to participate in every aspect of the litigation process and receive substantial training, mentoring and supervision. In 2011, the starting salary for fellowship attorneys will be roughly $47,000, plus partial loan repayment and excellent benefits.
