[Hiring] Fall 2027 Fellowship - California Public Benefits Advocacy @Youth Law Center

Role Description

The Youth Law Center (YLC) is seeking applications from third-year law students, judicial clerks, and other recent law graduates who are interested in working on advocacy related to access to public benefits—including but not limited to Social Security Administration benefits, housing programs, nutrition supports, and foster care benefits—for systems-impacted transition-aged youth (TAY) in California.

Fellowship candidates will apply for fellowship funding (applications are typically due in Fall 2026) offered by the Skadden Fellowship Foundation, Equal Justice Works Foundation, and law-school-specific or other sponsored fellowships. Please note that YLC will not independently fund this fellowship, but we will cover any difference between the external funding obtained and the position salary according to our internal salary scale.

Candidates for this role should be self-starters with an interest in system-impact projects, particularly in the area of increasing access to public benefits programs for youth and young adults impacted by the child welfare and juvenile justice systems, and in working directly with California legal aid attorneys supporting those young people at home in their communities. This will be a remote position, based in California, with some opportunities to collaborate in-person with other California-based attorneys.

Qualifications

• Demonstrated commitment to public interest law
• Knowledge of, experience with, or strong interest in child welfare and/or juvenile justice issues
• Excellent written and oral communication skills
• Strong analytic ability and legal research skills
• Ability both to work independently in a remote-work environment and work well with others
• Anticipated or current bar membership, with strong preference given to applicants who are or will be members of the California Bar
• Ability to travel
• People of color and individuals who have lived experience in the child welfare and/or juvenile justice system are strongly encouraged to apply.

Requirements

• Full-time, exempt; one-year or two-year position (depending upon the term of the awarded fellowship), with the potential to extend into a full-time staff position in related work at the conclusion of the fellowship.
• Fellows are placed on the same salary scale as our Staff Attorneys, with a possible range of $76,000 to $85,000 for fellows, depending on years of prior post-J.D. experience.
• Unlimited paid vacation, 13 accrued sick days annually, and 11+ paid holidays; paid parental leave after one year of service.
• Medical (HMO & PPO options), dental, vision, long-term disability, and life insurance; EAP; healthcare and dependent care FSA plans; pre-tax commuter benefits plan; 401k with up to 4% employer match; remote workstation equipment; and a remote work expense reimbursement.
• This position will be based in California and will be fully remote, with opportunities for in-person work with YLC’s other California-based staff members as relevant and needed for the project.

Benefits

• Health plan premiums are currently 100% employer-paid for staff and all enrolled family members.

To Apply

Please submit an application via the application form on this BambooHR job page. When you apply, you will be required to provide all of the following documents:

• Cover letter, explaining your interest in YLC, including why you are specifically interested in working on a project related to access to public benefits for systems-impacted transition-aged youth in California.
• Resume
• Writing sample
• List of at least three academic or professional references

Please submit all required documents (either as a single PDF or as separate Word or PDF document attachments) at the time of application. Incomplete applications will not be considered for this position.

Applications are accepted on a rolling basis, but preference will be given to applications received by July 1st, 2026, as interviews will take place during the summer.

If you have questions about this position or the application process, feel free to contact us at [email protected], but please do not email your application materials to this email address. Note that due to the volume of applications we receive, we may not be able to respond to every inquiry in detail. No phone calls about the position, please.