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Network for Public Health Law

Job Opportunity: Public Health Law Clerk

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Health and Racial Equity program Law Clerk
Mid-States Region Office Law Clerk

The Network for Public Health Law, with the support of its fiscal sponsor, TSNE, is a national organization providing leadership, legal technical assistance, and educational resources to help public health practitioners, attorneys, policymakers, researchers, advocates, and communities develop, implement, and enforce laws to solve public health challenges. The Network is a fiscally sponsored organization of TSNE (tsne.org). 

The Network is seeking Public Health Law Clerks to work with its Health and Racial Equity program and Mid-States Region Office. All work will be performed remotely; accordingly, clerks do not need to live in a particular Region to work with that Region Office. Clerks will assist attorneys with providing legal technical assistance and developing tools and educational materials on public health law topics. Focus areas will vary by region/project as follows:

  • Health Equity & Social Justice: The Law Clerk will focus on legal issues regarding public health authority, social determinants of health, health equity, and collecting, sharing, and protecting data for public health purposes. The Clerk will conduct in-depth research, assist with responding to legal technical assistance requests, and collaborate with Network attorneys to prepare written products and training materials. The Clerk may contribute to large-scale projects focused on data collection and sharing.
  • Mid-States Region Office (MSRO): The Law Clerk will focus on legal issues regarding public health authority, social determinants of health, health equity, and collecting, sharing, and protecting data for public health purposes. The Clerk will conduct in-depth research, assist with responding to legal technical assistance requests, and collaborate with MSRO attorneys to prepare written products and training materials. The Clerk may contribute to large-scale projects focused on data collection and sharing.

The Law Clerk will support Network attorneys in providing legal technical assistance and educational materials on a range of public health legal topics. Law Clerks will have opportunities to hone their legal research and writing skills and will gain experience with communicating legal concepts to non-legal audiences. The Network will also provide projects and opportunities that will build Law Clerks’ general knowledge of public health law and foster connections in the field.

By the end of the summer, Law Clerks will have prepared at least one Law and Policy Insights article for publication on the Network’s website. Law Clerks will have an opportunity to present their article (or other work product of their choice) to Network staff at the end of the summer.

Rising 2L and 3L students with a strong interest in public health law are encouraged to apply. The successful candidate will have excellent legal research and writing skills as well as excellent organizational skills. Applicants should demonstrate a commitment to health equity and social justice. The start date is flexible, but we hope to have Law Clerks begin in late May. We expect Clerks to commit to 8-10 weeks of full-time work. All work will be completed remotely

This position is eligible for a full benefits package including:

  • Generous Paid-Time-Off (PTO): 12 paid holidays, 3 weeks vacation, 1 week personal holiday, and sick time for full-time staff.
  • 80% Employer-paid, $0 deductible Health Insurance through Harvard Pilgrim.
  • Low-cost MetLife Dental and Vision.
  • Flexible Spending Accounts (FSA) for Health and Dependent Care.
  • Employer-paid Life, Long- and Short-Term Disability Insurance.
  • Employer-paid Pension through TIAA.
  • …and more!

Non-Hiring Contact: Please contact Anna Schmalzbauer (aschmalzbauer@networkforphl.org) with any questions about the application process. The Network is committed to supporting all students who are interested in working with us, including those who may face obstacles to applying. Questions submitted to Ms. Schmalzbauer will not be shared with the hiring committee in an identifiable form (and will not be shared at all unless necessary).