Christina Krasomil
CELA Administrative Director

NORTHERN CALIFORNIA FIRMS — ARE YOU IN NEED OF AN EXEMPLARY ATTORNEY FOR 6 MONTHS?

DO YOU WANT TO SUPPORT DIVERSITY?

WHEN:            March 2017-August 2017

WHO:              ALLYSSA VILLANUEVA, Sanford Heisler Public Interest Diversity Fellow

HOW IT WORKS:

FIRST
Your Northern California firm submits a short statement of interest to Christina Krasomil by Wednesday, November 30, 2016. (Christina@cela.org).  The statement should not be more than one page in length and describe:

• Your firm’s commitment to diversity.
• Your firm’s commitment to CELA’s workers’ rights goals and
• The tasks, assignments and types of cases the fellow could expect to work on if she were employed at your firm.

SECOND
Allyssa will receive all CELA firm statements of interest and apply to those firms she believes will be the best fit for her.  She will provide a resume, cover letter and writing sample to firms that interest her.  Interviews will be conducted the week of December 5.

THIRD
CELA Firms interview the fellow and make their decisions/offer by December 31, 2016 informing Christina Krasomil of their decision.

FOURTH
Allyssa accepts the firm she would like to work with from the offers she receives and starts working in March 2017.

FIFTH
Allyssa works until August 31, 2017. Hiring firm pays a minimum salary of $52,000 annualized (i.e., half of that, for six months)

HIGHLIGHTS – ALLYSSA VILLANUEVA’S QUALIFICATIONS:

• Selected over approximately 25 other applicants nationwide for prestigious fellowship
• Excelled and graduated UC Hastings Law School (2016) where she was co-president of the Employment and Labor Law Student Association
• Oakland native and critical race theorist, graduated from UC San Diego in 2012
• 6 months training as fellow at Legal Aid Society-Employment Law Center
• Experience includes drafting and responding to written discovery; drafting complaints; administrative advocacy including representation at unemployment insurance hearings, calculating wage claims; negotiations with employer’s counsel on wage claims and supervising law students at wage claim clinic.  Assisting in development of cutting-edge, impact lawsuit to challenge statewide discriminatory practices including extensive research on potential claims and defendants.
  

BACKGROUND

CELA’s nonprofit arm, the Foundation for Advocacy Inclusion and Resources, FAIR (www.fair-foundation.org) and the San Francisco-based Legal Aid Society-Employment Law CENTER (LAS-ELC) have partnered with Sanford Heisler, LLP and are proud to sponsor its third annual Sanford Heisler Public Interest Diversity Fellowship.

If you would like more information about the Sanford Heisler Diversity Fellowship and this year’s Fellow, you can visit FAIR’s website at www.fair-foundation.org, or contact Christina Krasomil at the email address indicated above.