Legal Fellow

Position Description

Open City Advocates (OCA) seeks to host a Legal Fellow for projects through the Equal Justice Works Fellowship, Skadden Fellowship, Justice Catalyst Fellowship, and other public interest fellowships to begin in Fall 2025. OCA will consider any projects related to our mission, and we welcome the opportunity to discuss and develop project ideas with the applicant.

OCA provides holistic legal representation to youth who have been committed to the DC Department of Youth Rehabilitation Services (DYRS) after sentencing in the juvenile justice system. This approach combines lawyering, advocacy, and mentoring to better guide youth through the system and set them up for success. OCA’s client-centered approach is foundational to the various systemic reform issues that we tackle with the juvenile justice system and the broader juvenile social service ecosystem.

We tackle racial inequity in our juvenile justice system where it is most extreme, as 100% of youth who are committed to DYRS are youth of color. Based on the knowledge we gain from our direct client services, we then spearhead systemic reform efforts to end the revolving door of the juvenile and criminal justice systems, safeguard and expand due process protections, and encourage individualized, trauma-responsive services for court-involved youth.

In 2020, the DC Court of Appeals ruled in our favor in our longstanding impact litigation case, In re N.H.M. (224 A.3d 581 (2020)). As a result of this decision, youth in DC’s juvenile justice system now have a clearly established right to an attorney throughout their commitment to DYRS. OCA is working with community partners to implement the right for all youth in DC.

Key Functions & Responsibilities

• Individual Representation for DC Youth
• Provide holistic, trauma-informed representation for youth committed to DYRS
• Attend team meetings and engage in informal advocacy with the agency
• Represent youth in institutional disciplinary hearings
• Represent youth in Community Status Review Hearings (revocation hearings)
• Work with trial attorneys to provide mitigation information
• Support for Adult Clients
• Support young people transitioning back to DC after a period of incarceration
• Draft sentencing letters in support of clients facing charges in DC Superior Court
• Connect clients to reentry and social services in DC
• Systemic Advocacy
• Attend coalition meetings with community partners
• Engage in systemic advocacy to support policies that support our youth and their families and communities