Legal Fellowship Opportunity for 2027- Education Surveillance

Job Description

Job Description

Brooklyn Defender Services (BDS) seeks rising third year law students, judicial law clerks, and recent law school graduates to sponsor for a post-graduate public interest law fellowship. The fellow will join the Seizure and Surveillance Defense Project in the Criminal Defense Practice and will work collaboratively with BDS to design a project envisioning direct advocacy, policy, and litigation projects to challenge the increase in law enforcement surveillance of young people in schools. BDS regularly sponsors fellows for Justice Catalyst, Echoing Green, and school-based fellowships.

BDS is a public defense office representing low-income New Yorkers in criminal, family, immigration, and civil legal matters. Our work with clients is focused on the intersection of the legal systems that disproportionately impact Black and brown communities living below the poverty level in Brooklyn.

BDS represents thousands of people each year who have diverse, complex, and multi-faceted legal needs. In addition to a zealous legal defense, our interdisciplinary teams of attorneys, social workers and advocates provide a wide range of legal and advocacy services, including direct advocacy on law enforcement seizure of personal property and challenging the digital surveillance of our client communities and the use of these surveillance methods in the criminal prosecutions.

BDS’ Seizure and Surveillance Defense Project (SSDP) is a specialized and unique project in New York City that focuses on the intersection between criminal defense, property seizure, and digital surveillance. We work to advocate for property return for clients who have had their property seized in connection with their arrests and track patterns across the seizure of technological devices to identify the ways seizure practices impact arrests, prosecution, and the general surveillance of our clients’ communities. We pilot policy and special litigation projects to challenge the constitutionality of emerging surveillance practices being used in criminal investigations and prosecutions. Finally, we appear at conferences and conduct trainings in our community and across the country on constitutional trends and data privacy.

Fellowship Project

The Seizure and Surveillance Defense Project is interested in sponsoring an Education Surveillance fellow. The Fellow will work in the Seizure and Surveillance Defense Project within our Criminal Defense Practice on policy and litigation projects in coordination with our Education, Policy, and Adolescent Representation teams, in addition to direct case advocacy on tech seizure cases for our youth clients, to fight back against the surveillance infrastructure that is putting our young people at risk.

Qualifications

• Rising third year law student, judicial law clerk, and/or recent law school graduate.
• Demonstrated commitment to social justice and criminal defense issues.
• Interest or ability to learn about emerging surveillance technologies
• Committed to client-centered representation.
• Good oral and written communication skills.
• Ability to work effectively and collaboratively with interdisciplinary staff members both within the practice and throughout BDS as a whole
• You are willing and able to commit time to write – and meet interim and final deadlines for - one or more fellowship applications, with input, guidance, and supervision from BDS staff.

Position Information

This is an exempt, salaried position. The normal schedule is Monday to Friday 9am-5pm. The position is based at BDS’s offices, and the courts located in Downtown Brooklyn.

BDS determines salary on a pay scale based on education and experience. For this position there is a base salary range of $90,000-$95,000 depending on the applicant’s education and experience. BDS offers comprehensive benefits including health insurance and a 403(b) retirement plan. In order to support work/life balance and family-friendly policies, BDS has generous vacation, sick, holiday, family, and medical leave policies.

Application Instructions  

Click “Apply Now” to submit a cover letter and resume on our online application portal. Applications will be reviewed until the position is filled.   We recommend you submit your application by July 16, 2026.

Brooklyn Defender Services is a proud equal opportunity employer committed to celebrating diversity and maintaining an equitable and inclusive work environment. We strongly encourage candidates of all identities, expressions, orientations, disabilities, and experiences to apply. If you require an accommodation due to a disability or another reason, please contact the Managing Director, H.R., Christina Wallace, at cwallace @ bds.org.