Lambda Legal is pleased to announce its posting for the 2014-2015 Tyron Garner Memorial Fellowship for African-American LGBT Civil Rights, expanded in 2013 from a summer position to a year-long funded fellowship. Lambda Legal is a national nonprofit organization committed to achieving full recognition of the civil rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (“LGBT”) people and those with HIV through impact litigation, education, and public policy work. Founded in 1973 and headquartered in New York City, Lambda Legal has regional offices in Los Angeles, Chicago, Atlanta and Dallas. The Garner Fellowship is a paid, full-time, year-long legal internship awarded to a recent law graduate to work in any of Lambda Legal’s five offices.

Lambda Legal’s law reform, policy, and education work encompasses a wide range of areas critically important to LGBT people and those living with HIV, such as federal and state constitutional law issues; sexual orientation, gender identity, and HIV discrimination in employment, schools, youth in out-of-home care systems, health care, identity documents, the criminal justice system, and other areas; asylum and immigration policy; and harassment and violence. Lambda Legal has been involved in numerous landmark United States and state Supreme Court cases, including Lawrence v. Texas, Romer v. Evans, Boy Scouts of America v. Dale, University of Alabama v. Garrett, In re Marriage Cases, Varnum v. Brien, Benitez v. North Coast Women’s Care Medical Group, and Brandon v. County of Richardson. For more information about Lambda Legal, visit www.lambdalegal.org.

This fellowship honors the memory of Tyron Garner, one of the men Lambda Legal represented in our groundbreaking Supreme Court victory Lawrence and Garner v. Texas (which struck down all remaining state sodomy laws in the country) and helps expand Lambda Legal’s work in African-American LGBT communities. Tyron Garner died in 2006, after his case vindicated the constitutional right to express sexual intimacy in adult relationships.

The fellowship constitutes one of Lambda Legal’s efforts to increase the diversity of attorneys within the LGBT movement. Through the Garner Fellowship, we seek to encourage and mentor law students dedicated to LGBT issues within African-American communities to become engaged in civil rights work on behalf of LGBT individuals and people living with HIV. The Garner Fellowship will contribute to Lambda Legal’s expansion of our current work to serve more communities of color and address the intersection of LGBT discrimination and racism, sexism, and poverty that affects African-American LGBT communities.

Qualifications and Responsibilities: We are looking for recent law school graduates who have first-hand understanding of the issues that affect communities of color and have demonstrable interest in working with LGBT and HIV issues affecting African-American communities. The Garner Fellow will work with colleagues to:

• identify and connect with key African-American leaders and organizations to further inform and guide our efforts to serve African-American LGBT communities;
  
• identify important LGBT and HIV legal issues that affect African-American communities, particularly considering inequities and barriers that disproportionately affect African-American LGBT communities;
  
• identify poverty-, class- and race-related legal issues that particularly affect African-American LGBT communities that Lambda Legal should address;
  
• develop legal resources focused on the specific challenges of people living with HIV in LGBT African-American communities;
  
• develop legal resources focused on the specific challenges LGBTQ youth of color face in school, foster care, shelter and juvenile justice systems.
  

Compensation: The salary for the Fellowship is $50,000 for the year, and includes health insurance, vacation and other employment benefits. Excellent employer-paid benefits package including medical, dental, life and long-term disability insurance. Generous vacation.

Application: The position is open until filled. The fellowship anticipates an early fall start date, but may be flexible depending upon the successful candidate’s needs. Please send résumé, writing sample, and letter of interest indicating the Lambda Legal office(s) in which the applicant would be interested in working; a description of experience working in African-American communities; a description of interest in addressing LGBT and HIV issues in African-American communities; and particular areas or legal issues of interest relating to the position to:

Amy Shapiro, Legal Administrative Manager
Lambda Legal
120 Wall Street, 19th Floor
New York, New York 10005-3904
Fax: 212-809-0055
ashapiro@lambdalegal.org

Include the words “Tyron Garner Memorial Fellowship” on the first line of the address of the envelope or the subject line of the email transmitting your application materials. Please indicate which of our offices you would consider.

NO CALLS PLEASE. Due to the high volume of applications, Lambda Legal cannot return phone calls about the position and does not notify applicants of status except when an interview is granted.

Lambda Legal is an equal opportunity employer. People of color, women, transgender people and people with disabilities, including HIV, are encouraged to apply.