The Week That Will Be
Event Announcements (More details on the Events Calendar)
Monday, January 18th: Lawfare will be on a restricted publishing schedule as we pause to honor the life and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
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Event Announcements (More details on the Events Calendar)
Monday, January 18th: Lawfare will be on a restricted publishing schedule as we pause to honor the life and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
Tuesday, January 19th at 2 pm: At the Center for Strategic and International Studies, Vice Admiral James D. Syring, the Director of the U.S. Missile Defense Agency, will provide a Ballistic Missile Defense System Update. Thomas Karako will moderate the event. RSVP.
Wednesday, January 20th at 10 am: The U.S. Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs will hold a hearing on The Mind of ISIS: Understanding its Goals and Ideology to Better Protect the Homeland. Bernard Haykel, Jessica Stern, Michael Weiss, and Lorenzo Vidino will provide testimony. See more information on the committee's website.
Thursday, January 21st at 9 am: The Middle East Policy Council will host a Capitol Hill conference on the ISIS Threat to U.S. National Security: Policy Choices. Panelists will include William F. Wechsler, Mark Katz, and Charles Lister. Register here.
Thursday, January 21st at 2 pm: The Governance Studies program at Brookings will host Justice Stephen Breyer for a discussion of his new book, The Court and the World: American Law and the New Global Realities. Strobe Talbott will provide introductory remarks while Benjamin Wittes and Dahlia Lithwick will speak on a panel afterwards. RSVP.
Friday, January 22nd at 10 am: At CSIS, Admiral Cecil Haney, Commander of U.S. Strategic Command, will provide an address on Strategic Deterrent Forces: A Foundation for National Security. The address will be followed by a discussion with Franklin Miller, Keith Payne, and Thomas Karako. Register here.
Employment Announcements (More details on the Job Board)
Education: Law Degree
Application Deadline: January 20th, 2016
Organization Focus: International Human Rights Law in Latin America
Position Focus: Nationality, Statelessness, and Migration-related issues in the Americas
Salary: $42,000 pro rata, plus benefits
Starting Date: Immediately
The Center for Justice and International Law (CEJIL) seeks a bilingual (Spanish/English, with Portuguese or French being a plus) attorney possessing academic and/or professional experience related to nationality, statelessness, and migration-related issues in the Americas. The position will be based in Washington, DC and may require some international travel.
Established in 1991 by a group of prominent Latin American human rights defenders, CEJIL is a non-governmental organization whose mission is the promotion and protection of human rights in the Americas through the use of the Inter-American Human Rights System and other international mechanisms of protection. For more information about the organization, please visit its website at www.cejil.org.
The legal fellow will support CEJIL’s activities aimed at contributing to the implementation of the UNHCR’s Global Action Plan to End Statelessness and the Brazil Plan of Action (to increase protection for refugees, displaced persons, and stateless persons in Latin America), including serving as coordinator of the Americas Network on Nationality and Statelessness (ANA).
Responsibilities
- Promote public awareness of UNHCR Global Action Pan to End Statelessness (2014-2024) and the Brazil Plan of Action;
- Facilitate the communication and promote a better coordination among network members in the Americas;
- Provide follow-up on the implementation of the network’s working agenda (2015-2016); complete and disseminate incorporating documents including By Laws and Ten Year Strategic Plan;
- Coordinate working groups within the network;
- Maintain bilingual website;
- Serve as network administrator, including managing membership;
- Circulate relevant information via network’s listserv;
- Elaborate and disseminate monthly newsletter;
- Organize network events, and liaise with other regional networks in Europe, Africa and Asia to promote the sharing of best practices;
- Other responsibilities as assigned.
Qualifications
- Demonstrate a strong commitment to human rights, in particular the issues of nationality, statelessness, and migration;
- Law Degree (Masters preferred but not required);
- Ability to write, edit, and communicate fluently in Spanish and English;
- Ability to work on own initiative and work with others as part of a team;
- Willingness and availability to travel as needed and work in a multicultural environment;
- Ability to multi-task.
- No phone calls please - Interested candidates should send by e-mail a cover letter in English, resume and two (2) writing samples (one in English and one in Spanish) no later than January 20th, 2016 to washington@cejil.org Subject: Position-2016-DC Legal Fellow
Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis as they come in. Interested applicants are encouraged to send their applications before the deadline. Only candidates selected for an interview will be contacted. CEJIL assures equal employment opportunities for all qualified persons without discrimination based on any reason.
Legal Intern
ORGANIZATION: International Committee on the Red Cross (ICRC)
Intern – International Humanitarian Law
OBJECTIVE: The Intern in the IHL Department at the Washington Regional Delegation of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) provides research and writing on topics of IHL, other branches of international law, and U.S. law as needed, thus contributing to the thematic and operational priorities of the legal team.
Minimum required knowledge & experience:
- Basic knowledge of IHL and a related legal field (e.g. National Security or Human Rights Law).
- Excellent oral and written English skills, good understanding of French an asset
- Currently pursuing a U.S. J.D. or LLM degree (or JD graduate pursuing another graduate degree)
- Applicants must be U.S. citizens or legal permanent residents (student work permits are excluded)
JOB DESCRIPTION
Main Responsibilities
Work with the IHL team to provide legal advice to the delegation in Washington, and to the ICRC as a whole on matters of IHL, human rights law, national security law, or other U.S. legal issues.
- Research and Writing. Research such topics as scope of application of IHL, detention, conduct of hostilities, cyber/new technology and weapons, and other related topics. Possibility of authoring articles or other short pieces for the ICRC’s U.S. blog (intercrossblog.icrc.org).
- Monitor Legal Developments Regular monitoring of legal blogs and news coverage to identify significant legal developments of interest to the delegation. In addition to research, the intern will attend conferences and meetings in order to monitor developments on specific legal issues on behalf of the legal team.
- Reporting. Regular and timely reporting and analysis on meetings and events attended, as well as a weekly report on any relevant legal developments reported in external sources such as legal blogs. Reports are written for the purpose of ensuring the institution is informed of developments in U.S. policy, as well as to advance its thinking on key issues.
Management and Reporting Line. The IHL Intern reports directly to the IHL Legal Advisor. He/she is expected to collaborate with colleagues throughout the delegation in order to carry out these and other reasonably related duties.
The intern will be expected to work 20 hours a week for 12 weeks between June and August. Starting and ending date are negotiable. This is a paid internship. For information about the position, please contact Andrea Harrison at anharrison@icrc.org. To apply, please send CV and optional cover letter to Carly Steffes at csteffes@icrc.org. Applications are due April 1st, 2016.
Researcher on National Security, Surveillance, and Domestic Law Enforcement, Human Rights Watch
Description: The US Program of Human Rights Watch (“HRW”) is seeking a highly qualified Researcher on National Security, Surveillance, and Domestic Law Enforcement to investigate, analyze, and advocate against human rights abuses related to the rights abuses occurring at the intersection between national security policies, US mass surveillance, and domestic law enforcement policies and practices. The role of the Researcher may include documenting and assessing the rights implications of involving domestic law enforcement in national security operations, prosecutors’ use of information derived from US mass surveillance in preparing criminal cases, or the rights implications of the use of new tools of surveillance by local police or immigration enforcement agencies. The position reports to the Director of the US Program. The position will be preferably based in Washington DC, but other locations may be considered.
Qualifications: Education: A US law degree (J.D.) or an advanced degree in US national security, criminal law/policy, journalism, or a related field is required.
Experience: Minimum four years of relevant experience is required. Relevant experience may include among other things, work as an investigative reporter or attorney on issues related to privacy, surveillance, national security and domestic law enforcement; analysis and advocacy on for nonprofit advocacy or impact litigation organizations; or work in government on policies relating to national security, privacy, surveillance, and/or criminal law.
Related Skills and Knowledge: 1. Extensive knowledge of national security, privacy, surveillance, and criminal law in the US is required; 2. Deep commitment to human rights is required; 3. Proven track record of producing timely first-rate written products and editing experience is required. 4. Exceptionally strong research, analytical, writing, and editing skills are required. 5. Experience conducting challenging investigative research inside the United States is highly desirable. 6. Expertise or familiarity with relevant technology is highly desirable. 7. Excellent oral and written communication skills in English, and strong public speaking skills, are required; proficiency in other languages, such as Spanish or Arabic, is highly desirable; experience with TV, radio, print, and social media is highly desirable. 8. Strong interpersonal skills in order to work collaboratively within HRW and in a diverse environment, as well as with partners, are required. 9. Capacity to appropriately plan and prioritize and to manage multiple, sometimes competing demands efficiently in a challenging, fast-paced environment are required.
Salary and Benefits: HRW seeks exceptional applicants and offers competitive compensation and employer-paid benefits. HRW will pay reasonable relocation expenses and will assist employees in obtaining necessary work authorization, if required; citizens of all nationalities are encouraged to apply. Other: Applicants for this position must be willing to travel frequently and be prepared to spend extensive time outside the office doing research or advocacy.
Contact: Please submit a cover letter, curriculum vitae, salary requirements, a brief non-legal writing sample (no briefs or legal memos and unedited by others) and three references to usprog_jobs@hrw.org. Please use “National Security Researcher Application Ref: USP-15- 1078” as the subject of your email.
Law Student Volunteer, Academic Year
About the Office:
The National Security Division's (NSD) Office of Law and Policy, United States Department of Justice, seeks interns for positions located in Washington, D.C. The mission of NSD is to coordinate the Department's efforts in carrying out its top priority of preventing and combating terrorism and protecting the national security. NSD provides legal and policy advice on national security matters, litigates counterterrorism, counterespionage and foreign intelligence surveillance matters, represents the Government before the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court and other federal trial and appellate courts, and conducts oversight over Federal Bureau of Investigation national security investigations and foreign intelligence collection. The Office of Law and Policy is responsible for, among other things, resolving novel and complex legal issues relating to national security that arise from the work of the Division and other parts of the Department; providing advice and guidance to Department leadership, the Intelligence Community, and other Executive Branch agencies on matters of national security law and policy; overseeing the development of legislation, guidelines, and other policies in the area of national security; working with foreign governments on a variety of national security issues; and handling appeals that arise in national security cases. The Office works with a variety of other Department components, including the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Office of Legal Counsel, and the Office of Legal Policy, as well as other departments and agencies, such as the National Security Agency, the Central Intelligence Agency, the Department of Defense, and the Department of State.
Job Description:
Intern projects include: researching legal questions, drafting memoranda or other legal and policy analysis, factual research, and assisting with presentations and supporting materials.
Qualifications:
Applicants must be able to obtain and maintain a security clearance. Applicants must be enrolled in an accredited U.S. law school at the time of application and throughout their internship. Strong research and writing skills are required. Prior interest or experience in the area of national security would be useful, but is not required. By the time of the internship, all applicants must have taken one or more of the following courses: Criminal Law, Criminal Procedure, or Constitutional Law. Additional courses addressing criminal law and litigation or national security or intelligence law, would also be helpful.
Salary:
Internships are unpaid. If your school offers interns academic or work study, we will work with you to meet school requirements whenever possible.
Application Process:
Cover letter, resume with two references, transcript (official or unofficial), and a writing sample (not to exceed ten pages). Please submit these materials AS ONE PDF via email to office.of.law.and.policy-internship@usdoj.gov
The subject line should read: “[Last name] Intern Application”. Paper or faxed applications will not be considered.
National Security Division
Washington, DC 20530
ATTN: Intern Program Coordinator (Office of Law and Policy)Application Deadline:
Fall 2016 - April 15, 2016
Please send all applications to the email address office.of.law.and.policy-internship@usdoj.gov
Number of Positions: 2