Description
Duties & Responsibilities
Reports to the Director of the Harvard Law School Cyberlaw Clinic, based at Harvard’s Berkman Center for Internet & Society.
The Clinical Instructional Fellow’s (Fellow’s) primary responsibility will be to assist the Clinic’s Director and Clinical Instructors in supervising, managing and mentoring students as they represent clients in a variety of challenging cyberlaw cases and matters, including in the areas of new media and online speech; transactional, licensing, and online liability questions; copyright, fair use, trademark and other intellectual property issues; startups, entrepreneurship and emerging technology; privacy and security; cybercrime; and youth online safety, among others. The Fellow’s practice will include considerable work helping represent and advocate for the First Amendment interests of online speakers and others who host and provide content online and otherwise engage in free expression online, among other areas.
The Fellow also may assist in overseeing student preparation of amicus briefs, comments and other filings in cases involving significant First Amendment, online speech and media law, IP, and technology policy issues.
The Fellow, under the close supervision of the Clinic’s Director and Clinical Instructors, will meet regularly with students to prepare and strategize in connection with the students’ casework, observe students in client interactions, review students’ written and other work product, provide regular and detailed feedback to students on their projects and performance, deliver instruction in basic legal skills and Internet-related practice, and ensure professional, high-quality representation of Clinic clients.
The Fellow will also assist in developing new Cyberlaw Clinic cases and clients, particularly in the transactional, licensing, startup and IP/technology counseling areas, and in maintaining relationships with existing clients and external partners such as government agencies, advocacy organizations, startups, and law firms.
The Fellow will play a substantial role in assisting the Director and Clinical Instructors in managing various administrative aspects of the Clinic’s practice and operation.
The Fellow will be part of the intellectual community at the Berkman Center and will have the opportunity to attend workshops and conferences at the Center and at Harvard Law School. The Fellow will have frequent opportunities to expand his/her knowledge of technology and law and the opportunity to use a limited amount of time to pursue his or her own research or scholarship. The community of fellows at the Center includes wide range of people working on issues related to Internet and society, including scholars, practitioners, innovators and others committed to understanding and advancing the public interest. The Berkman Center fellowship program aims to encourage and support fellows in an inviting and rigorous intellectual environment, with community activities designed to foster inquiry and collaboration.
The Clinical Instructional Fellow position is a benefit-eligible, full-time position ending no later than December 31, 2013.
Basic Qualifications
Candidates must have a Juris Doctor degree and be admitted to the Massachusetts bar. Two to three years legal-practice experience with significant internet/technology and/or relevant intellectual property law background is required.
Additional Qualifications
Expertise in the areas of online transactional/licensing law, start-up (both for-profit and non-profit) legal assessment and advising, is preferred, as is experience with legal issues relating to the First Amendment, new media, and online speech. Previous experience in a clinical legal setting or the direct supervision and mentoring of young attorneys is highly desirable. A strong technical background or prior technical experience is advantageous but not required. Candidates should be energetic and passionate about working on a variety of cyberlaw, technology policy and IP cases and projects. Top academic credentials, superior writing and verbal skills, sound judgment, exceptional ethical standards, and proven abilities in interpersonal communication, supervision, and team building are required.
Additional Information
The following materials should be submitted with your online application:
* A short statement (no more than 1000 words) describing relevant experience;
* Resume;
* Writing sample (10 – 15 pages preferred);
* List of at least three references; and
* Law school transcript
Commitment to Diversity
The work and well-being of the Berkman Center for Internet & Society at Harvard University are strengthened profoundly by the diversity of our network and our differences in background, culture, experience, national origin, religion, sexual orientation, and much more. We actively seek and welcome applications from people of color, women, the LGBTQ community, and persons with disabilities, as well as applications from researchers and practitioners from across the spectrum of disciplines and methods. The roots of this deep commitment are many and, appropriately, diverse. We are not nearly far enough along in this regard, and we may never be. It is a constant process in which there remains much to learn. We welcome your inquiries, comments and ideas on how we may continue to improve.
What is the Berkman Center for Internet & Society?
The Berkman Center for Internet & Society is a research center founded at Harvard Law School in 1997. Now a university-wide center, it serves as the locus for a network of Harvard and other faculty, students, fellows, lawyers, entrepreneurs, and others working to identify and engage with the challenges and opportunities presented by the Internet. The Center is devoted to research and teaching on issues at the intersection of emerging technologies, law, public policy, industry, and education and to the development of dynamic approaches and rigorous scholarship that can affect and support the public interest. More information about the Berkman Center can be found at: http://cyber.law.harvard.edu
What does the Cyberlaw Clinic do?
The rapid expansion of the Internet during the 1990s and the increasing ability of individuals and organizations to locate and retrieve content online had two important and related effects relevant to the law school clinical model. First, it allowed a wide range of users to obtain and share information at an extraordinary rate. Second, it posed enormous challenges to existing legal regimes in areas such as intellectual property, speech, and privacy. Whereas some could afford to pay for high-quality legal services in the emerging area of “cyberlaw,” the need for free or low-cost legal service organizations to meet the needs of individuals, academics, startups, and others was apparent. At the same time, students graduating from law schools in the late-1990s and early-2000s were increasingly expected by their employers, clients, and others, to come to the workforce prepared to grapple with complex questions relevant to organizations, businesses, and individuals that operate in an online world. The importance of legal issues relevant to the Internet was clear even in areas of practice with no apparent connection to the web, as questions about the intersection technology and law (including laws relating to contracts, intellectual property, jurisdiction, privacy, and speech) impacted virtually everyone.
The Cyberlaw Clinic was born of the need to serve these two constituencies -- prospective clients and students -- and a central aim of the Clinic remains balancing the provision of top-notch legal services to Clinic clients with teaching and pedagogy geared toward students. The Clinic offers HLS students a unique opportunity to engage directly with the practice of law as it relates to the Internet, technology, and new media. It does so by providing high-quality, pro-bono legal services to appropriate individuals, small start-ups, non-profit groups, and government entities regarding cutting-edge issues of the Internet, new technology, and intellectual property. Consistent with the needs of its clients and the interests of its students, the Clinic's practice covers a wide variety of types of work and a broad range of substantive areas of the law. More information about the Cyberlaw Clinic can be found at: http://cyber.law.harvard.edu/teaching/cyberlawclinic
To apply
More information and the official Harvard Human Resource position listing can be found online, and applications must be submitted through the official Harvard channels described at the listing: <https://sjobs.brassring.com/1033/asp/tg/cim_jobdetail.asp?jobId=843447&PartnerId=25240&SiteId=5341&type=mail&JobReqLang=1&recordstart=1&JobSiteId=5341&JobSiteInfo=843447_5341&gqid=0>
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