APALRC Announces Summer 2009 Internship Opportunities (Early Applications Encouraged)

Asian Pacific American Legal Resource Center (APALRC)
Summer 2009 DC Area Internships

The Asian Pacific American Legal Resource Center (APALRC) is a 501(c)(3) community-based legal organization that works with low income and limited-English proficient Asian immigrant communities across the Washington D.C. metropolitan area. Founded in 1998 by law students and members of the local Asian American legal community, the APALRC runs a multi-lingual legal intake helpline, a legal interpreter project, and legal representation and policy work in language access, immigration, domestic violence and family law, employment, affordable housing and tenants' rights, community development, and other areas. The APALRC combines innovative and collaborative approaches to legal services, advocacy, and organizing to both meet emergency needs and address the systemic inequities faced by Asian American, immigrants, and all residents of our region.

The APALRC has a number of full-time legal internship opportunities available in Summer 2009, as well as other opportunities for undergraduate and graduate students to assist in our work.

Domestic Violence and Family Law Project:
Work alongside staff attorneys in MD or VA on domestic violence and family law cases and community education. Provides representation on immigration and family law issues to domestic violence survivors and their families.

Language Access Project:
This project focuses on language access issues in the District and throughout the region. Work with the staff attorney to outreach to local communities, identify potential language access violations, and work with community members to file language access complaints.

Employment Project:
Through this project, APALRC works to educate Asian Americans about their legal rights in the workplace, and provides legal advice and representation on employment-related matters to Asian Americans via our helpline and legal clinics held in partnership with community-based organizations.


Housing and Community Justice Project:
Addresses affordable housing, tenants' rights, and transactional issues. The ideal candidate(s) have an interest in housing and poverty law and policy, and some orientation to the basic principles of community lawyering. Urban planning or urban policy graduate students are also encouraged to apply for work related to Asian community enclaves in Maryland, Virginia, and D.C.

Crime Victims' Assistance Project:
This project includes the work of the D.C. Crime Victims' Assistance Partnership, which reaches out to Asian victims of aggravated crimes and ensures that they can access law enforcement services and have information about the D.C. Crime Assistance Fund. Work with immigrant victims of crime who may be eligible for T and U Visa applications.


Asian American Legal Helpline
The helpline serves low-income and limited-English proficient Asian Pacific Americans in the D.C. metropolitan area, and has separate lines for Chinese dialects, Korean, Vietnamese, and Hindi/Urdu/Gujarati/Nepali. Helpline interns will take incoming calls, conduct initial intakes, work with the legal team to identify and outline next steps, conduct legal research, and take the lead on a docket of cases under the supervision of a staff attorney. Helpline interns are required to be bilingual in at least one Asian language, with a strong preference for one of the helpline languages listed above.


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Internship Description
Each program area differs in emphasis and specific job tasks. Full-time and part-time interns will be considered. Part-time interns work anywhere between 8 to 20 hours per week and internships usually commence with the start of the summer session. Full-time interns must work 40 hours/week for 10 weeks.



Full-time summer interns may be eligible for a $1,000 stipend and other funding opportunities from the APALRC, and the APALRC will assist interns to identify and apply for additional external funding resources. Academic credit can be arranged for interns/externs.

Rising third-year law students with authorization from a local state court may have the opportunity to present basic matters before courts or administrative hearings under the supervision of staff attorneys.


To apply:
Please send an email with the following attachments:

1) Cover Letter (1 page): explaining the specific project(s) in which you are interested, and your past experience or future plans for work in the Asian American community;
2) Writing Sample (up to 5 pages): that shows legal writing skills and/or ability to convey legal issues in plain English; and
3) Resume (2 page max): please include relevant course/clinical work and honest assessment of all additional language skills.


Please send attachments in a single email to Mr. Parag Khandhar (parag.khandhar@apalrc.org), with the subject line "Internship Application for Summer 2009" by February 13, 2009. Candidates will be interviewed and offered positions on a rolling basis, so early applications are encouraged.

Not all applicants will be contacted for interviews, and incomplete applications will not be considered. No Phone Calls, please.


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Parag Rajendra Khandhar

Staff Attorney

Housing and Community Justice Project

Asian Pacific American Legal Resource Center

1600 K Street, N.W. -- Mezzanine Level
Washington, D.C. 20006



MULTILINGUAL LEGAL HELPLINE: ext. 22

f: (202) 393-0995

parag.khandhar@apalrc.org

www.apalrc.org