Work With Us

Current Openings & Opportunities

The Center on Race, Inequality, and the Law works at the intersection of scholarship, advocacy, and community engagement. If you are passionate about racial justice and want to contribute to meaningful, lasting change, we invite you to explore our current open positions.

Law Graduate Fellowship

Apply here

 

The Center on Race, Inequality, and the Law at NYU School of Law confronts and upends the array of American laws, policies, and practices that lead to racial oppression and injustice.

The Center advances its work through interconnected approaches that shape its research, advocacy, and partnerships. Grounded in collaboration with communities, scholars, advocates, and policymakers, the Center translates insight into action through:

• Research & Thought Leadership: Challenging dominant narratives and producing original research and analysis that reveal how race shapes the law, contributing scholarship and public commentary that shift the field.
• Litigation & Advocacy: Pursuing strategies that disrupt harmful systems and promote justice through litigation, amicus advocacy, policy reform, and coalition work.
• Education & Leadership Development: Supporting the next generation of leaders working to transform and challenge the institutions they encounter through legal education, training, and mentorship.
• Convenings & Community Engagement: Bringing people together through public programs, dialogues, and partnerships that deepen relationships, strengthen movements, and support collective action.

 

We are seeking applications for a Graduate Fellowship, a one-year position designed to support the professional development of current third-year law students, recent law school graduates, and early-career attorneys with no more than three years of post-graduate legal experience who are interested in pursuing or continuing a career focused on racial justice.

 

The fellow will play an integral role in the Center's work, under the supervision of the Center's Faculty Director, Professor Vincent Southerland, and the Center's Executive Director, Patrice Sulton. The fellow will be expected to actively participate in the Center's research, public education, advocacy, organizing, litigation, events, and programming. Fellows have the opportunity to develop and produce research reports on a range of racial justice issues, draft amicus submissions in state and federal courts across the country, and engage in the Center's ongoing advocacy and organizing work with and on behalf of communities of color. The Fellow may also support, coordinate, or supervise the work of law students and other project contributors during the academic year.

 

The fellow will be appointed for one year, but their term may be renewed for a second year, contingent upon the fellow's satisfactory performance and the availability of funding. The fellowship will begin after the successful candidate has completed law school and, for candidates sitting for a bar examination, after the applicable bar examination period. The fellowship start date is negotiable, based on the Center's priorities and the candidate's availability, although it generally will commence by either January or August 2027. The fellowship salary is commensurate with experience and includes full benefits.

 

In compliance with NYC's Pay Transparency Act, the annual base salary for this position is $80,000. New York University considers factors such as (but not limited to) scope and responsibilities of the position, candidate's work experience, education/training, key skills, internal peer equity, as well as market and organizational considerations when extending an offer. Compensation includes excellent benefits, including medical, dental, and vision.

 

To learn more about the Center on Race, Inequality, and the Law, visit http://www.law.nyu.edu/centers/race-inequality-law. Questions may be addressed to law.race.inequality@nyu.edu, with the subject line "CRIL Graduate Fellowship Application Question."

Qualifications

Eligibility and Qualifications: This fellowship is intended for current third-year law students (3Ls), recent law school graduates, and early-career attorneys. Applicants must have no more than three years of post-graduate legal experience as of the fellowship start date. Candidates should possess, or expect to receive before the fellowship start date, a JD, LLM, or equivalent legal training; distinguished analytical, research, and writing skills; and a demonstrated interest in racial justice.

Application Instructions

Please apply through Interfolio and submit the materials listed below through Interfolio:

• Résumé
• Writing sample
• Cover letter
• Short responses addressing each of the following prompts:
  • Which focus area is of greatest interest to you, and why? Please select one: Race + Tech; Race + Punishment; Race + Place; or Race + Culture.
  • If you could instantly add, repeal, or revise one law or policy, what would it be and why?
• List of three references, including email addresses

 

References will not be contacted unless and until an applicant advances to a later stage of the selection process.

The application period will open September 8, 2026, and close at 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time on January 15, 2027. Please ensure that you include a telephone number and/or an email address where we can contact you.

Paul Weiss Fellowship (For current NYU Law students)

Not currently accepting applications. Please check back in March 2027 for the 2027-28 application cycle.

Fellows will support the Center’s research, advocacy, litigation, public education, and event programming by conducting research on issues related to race and inequality under the supervision of Center leadership. Students will work approximately 10 hours per week during the academic year, participate in weekly CRIL meetings, and contribute to one of four focus areas: Race + Tech, Race + Punishment, Race + Place, or Race + Culture. The position pays $17 per hour and offers students the opportunity to play an active role in advancing racial justice initiatives through legal research, organizing, and community engagement.

LACA Fellowship (For current NYU Law students)

Not currently accepting applications. Please check back in March 2027 for the 2027-28 application cycle.

Fellows will support the Center’s research, advocacy, litigation, public education, and event programming by conducting research on issues related to race and inequality under the supervision of Center leadership. Students will work approximately 10 hours per week during the academic year, participate in weekly CRIL meetings, and contribute to one of four focus areas: Race + Tech, Race + Punishment, Race + Place, or Race + Culture. The position pays $17 per hour and offers students the opportunity to play a meaningful role in advancing racial justice initiatives through legal research, organizing, and community engagement.