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Teaching Fellow - Death Penalty Clinic - School of Law

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Position description

Salary: $67,563-$70,985 (100% time position)
Anticipated Start Date: July 1, 2015

The Berkeley Law Death Penalty Clinic is one of the few clinics nationwide engaged in the defense of indigent clients facing the death penalty. Under the direct supervision of clinical faculty, clinic students learn first-hand the responsibility and skills required to defend individuals in capital cases. Students gather life history documents, conduct fact investigation, interview witnesses, and collaborate with experienced capital investigators and a variety of forensic experts. They research and draft legal pleadings, and assist in hearings and trials in courts ranging from state trial courts to the United States Supreme Court and in jurisdictions as diverse as Alabama, California, Georgia, Texas, and Louisiana.

Students are enrolled in the Death Penalty Clinic for the entire academic year. They also take a required companion seminar taught by the Clinic faculty.

The Death Penalty Clinic offers a two year full-time fellowship for a criminal defense attorney interested in clinical teaching. The purpose of the fellowship is to provide assistance to capital defendants in the South, as well as an opportunity for the Clinical Teaching Fellow to gain experience teaching and supervising law students in a clinical setting. The majority of the Clinical Teaching Fellow’s docket will be capital cases in which the Clinic partners with lawyers in the South and non-profits, such as the Southern Center for Human Rights, the Georgia Capital Defender Office, and the Texas Defender Service, among others. If time and case load permit, the Clinical Teaching Fellow can also engage in his or her own academic research and writing. The Clinical Teaching Fellow must have the ability to travel frequently (multiple times a year).

The fellowship is anticipated to begin on July 1, 2015 and continue through June 30, 2017.

The Clinical Teaching Fellow will work under the supervision of Clinic faculty in the following ways: Clinical Supervision (90% time):
• Supervise four to six clinic students and their caseloads per semester;
• Train, develop and facilitate educational experience and ensure expected competencies of clinical students;
• Assist in litigating capital cases, mostly in the South, at trial, on appeal and/or in post-conviction (state and federal);
• Assist in planning and teaching the clinic companion seminar and/or case rounds;
• Engage in academic writing, if time and case load permit;
• Travel, often with students, to visit clients, conduct investigation, attend court proceedings and meet with co-counsel; and

Administrative Duties (5%):

• Review and complete all required paperwork in a timely manner.
• Work with other clinical faculty to evaluate and improve the clinical curriculum;
• Assist in organizing programmatic events, such as conferences, workshops and speaker series.

Other Duties as Assigned (5%)

Salary and Benefits: The salary range is $67,563 to $70,985, depending on experience. The University offers excellent health and retirement benefits which can be viewed online at http://atyourservice.ucop.edu/.

Minimum Qualifications Required (at time of application):
• Candidate must hold a JD degree or equivalent by the date of application;
• Admission to practice law in at least one state (California Bar not required).

Additional Qualifications:
• At least three years of criminal defense experience, including some experience defending capital clients at trial, on appeal, or in post-conviction;
• Excellent legal research and writing skills.

Preferred Qualifications:
• Experience litigating in the Southern United States;
• Substantive knowledge in the areas of capital punishment, evidence, and criminal procedure.

The final deadline for applications is April 2, 2015.

Letters of reference and copies of scholarly transcripts may be requested of top candidates. All letters will be treated as confidential per University of California policy and California state law. Please refer potential referees, including when letters are provided via a dossier service or career center, to the UC Berkeley statement of confidentiality (http://apo.berkeley.edu/evalltr.html) prior to submitting their letters.

For more information about the Death Penalty Clinic visit our website at http://www.deathpenaltyclinic.org.

If you have questions about the position, please contact academicpositions@law.berkeley.edu.

Berkeley Law is interested in candidates who will contribute to diversity and equal opportunity in higher education through their teaching or research. Qualified women and members of underrepresented groups are strongly encouraged to apply.

The University of California is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, disability, age or protected veteran status. For the complete University of California nondiscrimination and affirmative action policy see:
http://policy.ucop.edu/doc/4000376/NondiscrimAffirmAct.

Application Requirements

Document requirements
  • Curriculum Vitae

  • Cover Letter

  • Writing Sample - Legal advocacy writing sample (such as a brief, motion or equivalent)

Reference requirements
  • 3 required (contact information only)