Fall 2027 Legal Fellow Sponsorship Opportunity

The Tennessee Immigrant and Refugee Rights Coalition (TIRRC) invites rising third-year law students or recent law graduates to apply for sponsorship for post-graduate attorney public interest fellowships, such as Equal Justice Works, Justice Catalyst, Skadden, law school-sponsored fellowships or other fellowship opportunities, to work with TIRRC for one to two years beginning in Fall 2027.

About TIRRC

The Tennessee Immigrant and Refugee Rights Coalition (TIRRC) is a statewide, immigrant and refugee-led collaboration. Our mission is to build power, amplify our voices, and organize communities to advocate for our rights. Our vision is a stronger, more inclusive Tennessee where people of all nationalities, immigration statuses, and racial identities can belong and thrive. TIRRC's growing legal team engages in community legal education, direct representation, and advocacy to protect the rights of immigrant community members and support the power-building mission of the organization.

Position Description

TIRRC's legal team uses a range of strategies, including individual affirmative and defensive immigration representation; habeas practice; state and federal litigation, and legislative and administrative analysis and advocacy, to support our members and advance the rights of immigrants and refugees in Tennessee. We will work with prospective fellows to develop proposals that address the individual and systemic legal needs of immigrant and refugee communities and advance our organizational priorities. Although we welcome ideas for specific projects, fellowship proposals need not be developed prior to submitting materials expressing interest in applying for a fellowship with our organization.

We are interested generally in proposals addressing any of the following:

• Defending the civil rights of Tennessee immigrant and refugee community members subjected to immigration enforcement and detention;
• Addressing the dire need for direct individual representation for immigrants caught up in the mass detention and deportation regime in Tennessee, including habeas, bond and merits representation;
• Protecting the economic and social rights of Tennessee immigrant and refugee community members in the face of attacks on their access to health care, education, and public benefits;
• Monitoring and analyzing state-level legislative and administrative policies to inform and empower communities and support advocacy and legal campaigns;
• Developing pro bono infrastructure and capacity to address the acute access to justice crisis facing immigrants and refugees on a range of civil justice issues in Tennessee.

TIRRC's legal team has hosted a Skadden fellow recently and is committed to supporting candidates during the application process to ensure the submission of a strong proposal.

Skills and Qualifications

• Candidate for J.D. in Spring 2027 or recent law school graduate;
• Membership in at least one state bar or a plan to become a member;
• Belief in TIRRC's mission and demonstrated commitment to social justice and public interest practice;
• Established knowledge of and interest in immigrants rights and civil rights issues;
• Ability to work both independently and collaboratively with others;
• Excellent research, writing, analytical and interpersonal skills;
• Self-motivation with the ability to take initiative, manage a variety of tasks and see projects through to completion;
• Ability to be very organized, work on deadlines, and juggle multiple priorities and cases;
• Ability to work effectively with low-income immigrant clients who have diverse personalities, lifestyles, cultures, and faiths;
• Ability to coordinate and advance strategies within a coalition and internal team in a rapidly moving environment;
• Ability to collaborate effectively with legal and non-legal stakeholders and partners;
• Fluency or high proficiency in languages spoken by our clients (particularly Spanish or Arabic) is preferred, as the job requires extensive legal counseling and representation with clients who primarily speak languages other than English;
• Ability to work flexible hours, including some nights and weekends;
• Must have reliable transportation.

Salary and Benefits Package

The compensation for this position depends on external funding. If necessary, TIRRC will supplement the outside funding to align the fellow's salary with TIRRC's salary scale for entry-level attorneys. The annual salary may range between $70,000 - $75,000. The Fellowship will only commence if outside funding is awarded.

Benefits: Full-time TIRRC employees are eligible to receive medical, dental, and vision insurance with 100% of the medical employee premium covered by TIRRC, participate in a 401K retirement plan with an employer match, and receive 24/7 access to an Employee Assistance Program. In addition, TIRRC provides paid leave including up to 15 vacation days, 13 paid holidays, and 3 weeks paid sick leave in an employee's first year and 6 weeks of paid parental leave.

How to Apply

To apply for this position, please send a cover letter and resume to jobs@tnimmigrant.org.

Note on Cover Letter: In your cover letter, please include any thoughts you have regarding a potential fellowship project. You do not need to present a full project proposal, but it is helpful if you demonstrate that you have done some research into TIRRC's work and the legal issues and challenges currently facing immigrants and refugees in Tennessee.

Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis.