About

Job Opportunities at AALDEF

AALDEF 2023 SUMMER LEGAL INTERNSHIP PROGRAM

Description: The Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund (AALDEF), founded in 1974, is a New York-based national organization that protects and promotes the civil rights of Asian Americans through litigation, legal advocacy, and community education. For more information about AALDEF and the community lawyering model we use for social change, please visit our website at www.aaldef.org.

AALDEF program areas include:

  • Anti-Asian Violence – Addresses current rise in violence against Asians by connecting lessons learned from post-9/11 increased surveillance and law enforcement policies. Counters racial profiling and criminal legal policies creating school to prison to deportation pipeline.
  • Economic Justice – Advances the rights of workers in low-wage industries, including home health care, massage work, sex work, nail salons, and restaurants.
  • Educational Equity – Supports race-conscious admission policies in higher education and fair and equitable education policies for communities of color and English Language Learners in K-12.
  • Housing & Environmental Justice – Fights displacement in low-income Asian immigrant communities through zoning and land use policy and litigation.
  • Immigrant Justice – Counters impact of post-9/11 immigration and law enforcement policies, deportations in the Southeast Asian community, and unconstitutional ICE apprehensions/detentions. Supports deferred action policies for undocumented youth and addresses humanitarian visa issues.
  • Voting Rights/Democracy – Challenges voter suppression measures, discriminatory redistricting, denials of language access, and other voting rights and equal protection issues through litigation under the Voting Rights Act. Conducts election protection through exit polling and poll monitoring.

Summer Internship Program Description: The summer program is ten weeks, from May 30 through August 4, 2023. Interns will work on a full-time schedule with a hybrid in-office/remote work policy. Interns, supervised by attorneys in various program areas, will receive training and education on legal skills in civil rights issues. Interns may work on litigation, legal and policy advocacy, legal services, legal research and writing, community outreach and education, and/or client intakes. Each program area differs in emphasis. Interns attend weekly brown bag series on a range of public interest legal topics along with interns from other legal defense funds and civil rights groups. The position is unpaid, but many interns have successfully secured independent funding. Academic credit can be arranged.

To Apply:

  • Interested applicants should email a cover letter, resume, and writing sample as a single PDF document. Please indicate in your cover letter the preferred program area(s). Only law students qualify for AALDEF’s legal internships. Applications may be emailed to: info@aaldef.org with Subject Line: Summer Legal Internship Search.
  • Any bilingual ability should be stated in the application. Bangla, Chinese (Mandarin or Cantonese), Gujarati, Hindi, Khmer, Korean, Urdu, and Vietnamese-speaking skills are a plus, but not required.
  • Students are encouraged to submit applications as early as possible, as decisions are made on a rolling basis. Only applicants with interviews will be notified of their advancement in the application process.

For more information, contact: info@aaldef.org.

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Staff Attorney, Immigrant Rights

Description: The Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund (AALDEF), founded in 1974, is a New York-based national organization that protects and promotes the civil rights of Asian Americans. By combining litigation, advocacy, education, and organizing, AALDEF works with Asian American communities across the country to secure human rights for all.

AALDEF believes that immigration policy must adhere to basic human rights principles. We have represented Asian immigrants facing deportation, DACA recipients, and undocumented workers challenging employment law violations.

The staff attorney will use litigation, legal counseling, and policy advocacy to protect the rights of Asian immigrants and refugees. The attorney, who will be based in Boston or New York City, will be focused on immigration and other civil rights issues in Massachusetts and the Northeast. Lowell, Massachusetts has the second largest Cambodian community in the United States and Southeast Asians live in many areas, including Rhode Island and Maine. The attorney will work with Southeast Asian community groups to stop deportations, challenge unjust laws, and help reunify families. Additionally, the staff attorney will represent and support undocumented immigrants on immigration and civil rights cases. The staff attorney will also collaborate with community organizing groups on civil rights issues that impact Asian American communities.

The staff attorney will work with other program attorneys and organizers on the following activities:

  1. Represent Southeast Asian immigrants and refugees fighting removal orders;
  2. Represent Asian American immigrants in cases before Immigration Court, the Board of Immigration Appeals, and USCIS;
  3. Provide legal support for undocumented Asian American youth organizing;
  4. Collaborate with community organizations in Massachusetts and throughout the Northeast to respond to civil rights issues, including immigration and housing displacement;
  5. Engage in litigation challenging anti-immigrant initiatives;
  6. Represent AALDEF in national coalitions and dialogues on policies that affect Asian American immigrants.

Qualifications

  • More than three years of litigation experience or other public interest law activities;
  • Demonstrated commitment to racial justice;
  • Familiarity with Asian American communities and issues
  • Admitted to the Massachusetts, New York, or other state bar;
  • Ability to speak an Asian language helpful, but not required.
  • Familiarity with Asian American issues in New England

Salary Range
$75,000 - $100,000

Deadline
The position will be filled as soon as possible.

Email a cover letter, resume, writing sample, and three references to info@aaldef.org, and put “Staff Attorney, Immigrant Rights” in the subject line.

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Voting Rights Organizer

Description: The Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund (AALDEF), founded in 1974, is a New York-based national organization that protects and promotes the civil rights of Asian Americans. By combining litigation, advocacy, education, and organizing, AALDEF works with Asian American communities across the country to secure human rights for all.

AALDEF’s Asian American Democracy Program promotes fairness in the electoral process and invigorates the civic participation of Asian Americans, especially new citizens and persons not yet fluent in English. By expanding access to the electoral process for Asian Americans, AALDEF improves the quality of democracy for all Americans.

The Voting Rights Organizer will be responsible for mobilizing Asian American community groups for a non-partisan exit poll of Asian American voters and overseeing volunteers for Election Day poll monitoring in several states for the 2022 midterm elections and the 2024 presidential and congressional elections. The job includes recruiting, training, and supervising volunteers; working with community leaders; supervising the development, translation, and printing of materials; and giving educational presentations. The Organizer will also oversee post-election follow-up and assist in writing a report about Asian American voter participation in the 2022 midterm elections and expand outreach for the 2024 elections.

Qualifications

  • Highly organized, detail oriented, and able to supervise volunteers and work with a wide variety of community leaders and organizations.
  • Experience with community organizing and database systems.
  • Bilingual ability in an Asian language is desirable.
  • Strong communication skills.
  • Ability to travel and work on occasional weekends.

Salary Range: $50,000 - $65,000

To Apply:
Email a cover letter, resume, and three references to info@aaldef.org (put “voting rights organizer search” in the subject line).

Deadline: Applicants will be considered on a rolling basis until filled.

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Development Director

The Organization:

The Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund (AALDEF), founded in 1974, is a New York-based national organization that protects and promotes the civil rights of Asian Americans through litigation, advocacy, and community education. AALDEF is supported by foundation and corporate grants, For more information about AALDEF and its activities, visit our website at http://www.aaldef.org.

Job Description:

The Development Director is responsible for organizing and implementing all fundraising activities to ensure the sustainability and future expansion of the organization. The Development Director reports to the Executive Director and Assistant Director.

Specific responsibilities include:

  • Work with the executive director to design and implement an annual fundraising plan, in coordination with the board of directors
  • Manage foundation relationships and grant submissions; maintain a calendar of grant proposal and report deadlines; prepare letters of intent and proposals with requisite documents; maintain ongoing correspondence with funders.
  • Create and implement mail and online solicitations and plan year-end giving strategy; analyze current donor base and identify new individual prospects.
  • Create and implement a cultivation program targeting law firms, corporations and businesses.
  • Identify and implement strategies for new major gift prospects; provide background materials for board member solicitations; and write regular reports for the executive director and board of directors
  • Supervise development assistant to maintain donor database, process gifts, acknowledge donors, and generate regular reports.
  • Performs other tasks as assigned.

Qualifications:

  • Excellent writing and communications skills.
  • Minimum five years’ experience in fundraising and projects management.
  • Prior CRM database management experience preferred.
  • Strong organizational skills, attention to details, and ability to work independently.
  • Proven track record of working in a collaborative environment with demonstrated success in raising funds from individual donors, foundations, corporations, and law firms.
  • Creative, strategic, and entrepreneurial.
  • Familiar with Asian American communities and legal/civil rights issues.

Compensation:
Commensurate with experience; excellent health and vacation benefits package.

Starting date:
As soon as possible.

Please send a cover letter (including any salary requirements), resume, names of three references, and two unedited writing samples to:

Jennifer Weng
Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund
99 Hudson Street-12/F
New York, NY 10013-2815
jweng@aaldef.org

(for email, insert “Development Director” in subject line)

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AALDEF is an equal opportunity/affirmative action employer.