AALDEF Spring & Summer 2007 Internships

The Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund (AALDEF), founded in 1974, is the first organization on the East Coast to protect and promote the legal rights of Asian Americans through litigation, legal advocacy and community education. Current program priorities include economic justice for workers, immigrants' rights, voting rights and civic participation, language rights, affirmative action, the elimination of anti-Asian violence and police brutality, youth rights and educational equity, and the assistance of low-income Chinatown residents and workers affected by 9-11. For more information about AALDEF, visit our website at www.aaldef.org.

Included in this email are details regarding the following internships:

Spring 2007 Undergraduate Internships

Winter 06/Spring 07 Voting Rights Internships

Spring 2007 Legal Internships

Summer 2007 Undergraduate Internships

Summer 2007 Legal Internships

Summer 2007 Pfizer Inc./AALDEF Corporate Legal Internship

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WINTER 2006 & SPRING 2007 INTERNSHIPS

DEFENDING ASIAN AMERICAN VOTING RIGHTS

for Undergraduate, Graduate, and Law Students

In prior elections, Asian Americans faced a series of barriers in exercising their right to vote; for example, ballots have been mistranslated listing Democratic candidates as Republicans and vice versa, lack of interpreters, denial of language assistance, rude and hostile poll workers. Then, when the news media reported on election returns and the vote by specific groups, Asian Americans were overlooked. AALDEF's Voting Rights Program aims to enhance the political participation of Asian Americans and guard against anti-Asian voter discrimination.

Voting Rights Interns work on the following:

*Reviewing election monitoring reports to advocate for election reforms and compliance with the Voting Rights Act and federal Constitution. The Voting Rights Act mandates Chinese and Korean language voting assistance and forbids anti-Asian voter discrimination. This includes legal research and writing, fact pattern development, and working with clients and witnesses for possible litigation.

*Documenting the use of bilingual ballots and reporting on Asian American voting patterns from AALDEF's multilingual multi-state voter survey.

*Assess local elections compliance with settlements reached in voting rights lawsuits in Massachusetts and other states.

*Registering new voters after citizenship swearing-in ceremonies.

*Conducting research and advocacy on local, state and federal election reform proposals.

Description of Fall Internships:
Supervision: Interns are supervised by attorneys through regular meetings and trainings.
Compensation: These internships are not paid positions, but academic credit can be arranged.
Hours: Interns work anywhere between 12 to 25 hours per week in the office.
Duration: Winter internships are during intersession and Spring internships usually follows the spring semester, commencing with the start of classes (end of January) to the first or second week of May.

To Apply:
Bilingual ability is helpful but not required. Students with language ability in Chinese (Cantonese, Mandarin), Korean, Bengali, Urdu, or Punjabi are especially welcome to apply and languages (if any) should be stated in the resume.

Applicants should also state the number of hours they can work per week and a possible schedule.

Send a resume and cover letter to:

Voting Rights Fall Intern Search
Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund (AALDEF)
99 Hudson Street, 12th floor
New York, New York 10013-2815
fax: 212-966-4303 or Email: info@aaldef.org

For more information, contact Glenn D. Magpantay at 212-966-5932, ext. 206 or gmagpantay@aaldef.org.

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SPRING LEGAL INTERNSHIPS 2007

The Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund (AALDEF), founded in 1974, protects and promotes the civil rights of Asian Americans through litigation, legal advocacy, and community education. Legal internships are available in the following program areas:

Anti-Trafficking Project, legal research on the Trafficking and Violence Protection Act (TVPA), as well as outreach, community education, and advocacy on the rights of women and youth trafficking survivors .

Community Health Care Initiative, legal research, as well as community education and outreach in the areas of immigration, government benefits, language rights, and health care access;

Economic Justice for Workers, litigation on behalf of garment, restaurant, and other low wage workers;

Educational Equity and Youth Rights, legal services, policy work, community education, research and litigation concerning educational equity, juvenile justice, affirmative action and post 9-11 hate violence and racial targeting;

Immigrant Access to Justice, litigation, legal services, and organizing/outreach with communities impacted by 9-11, including special interest detainees, special registration, voluntary interviews by the government, the 9-11 absconder initiative, and local and state enforcement of immigration laws;

New Jersey Asian American Legal Project, community outreach, education, and legal services to Asian Americans in New Jersey, as well as community organizing and litigation on employment-related claims for Asian immigrant workers in New Jersey.

Korean Community Law Project, direct legal services and litigation on employment-related claims for Korean immigrant workers, and community education /advocacy in collaboration with YKASEC - Empowering the Korean American Community;

South Asian Workers Project, direct legal services on employment-related claims to South Asian immigrant workers, as well as community education and advocacy; and

Voting Rights, legal research and fact development under the Voting Rights Act and Equal Protection challenging anti-Asian voter discrimination, advocacy on bilingual ballots, and state and local election reform; produce reports and organize public forums.

Description of Internships.

Interns are supervised by attorneys in specific program areas. Legal interns will work on litigation, particularly legal research and writing, legal and policy advocacy, client intakes, and some community outreach and education. Each program area differs in emphasis.

These internships are not paid positions, but academic credit can be arranged. Interns work anywhere between 8 to 25 hours per week. The internship usually commences with the start of classes or late January/early February through late April/early May.

To Apply:

Any bilingual ability should be stated in the resume. Bilingual ability is helpful but not required. Applications should also state the number of hours the intern is able to work per week and a possible schedule. Send a resume and cover letter to:

Legal Intern Search

Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund (AALDEF)
99 Hudson Street, 12th floor
New York , New York 10013-2815
Fax: 212-966-4303 or Email: info@aaldef.org

For more information, contact Jennifer Weng at 212-966-5932, ext. 212 or jweng@aaldef.org.