Ron Plesser Fellow

The Center for Democracy & Technology is seeking applicants for the Ron Plesser Fellowship, a two-year public interest fellowship for recent law school graduates looking to practice in the areas of privacy law, civil liberties, and Internet policy in CDT’s Washington, DC office. The Plesser Fellow will focus on consumer privacy issues, but will also have the opportunity to work on the full range of CDT’s legal and public policy activities. Previous Plesser Fellows have worked on a wide variety of topics related to Internet policy and civil liberties, including government ID programs, government access to user data, mobile applications, online identity, free expression, international policy issues, and baseline consumer privacy legislation.

CDT works to keep the Internet open, innovative, and free. With expertise in law, technology, and policy, CDT engages in a variety of strategies to enhance free expression and privacy, including advocacy, public education, and research. CDT works on legislation, participates in agency rulemakings, engages in litigation, and fosters consensus-building among public interest and private sector stakeholders.

The Ron Plesser Fellowship was established by CDT and the law firm of DLA Piper Rudnick Gray Cary in honor of Ron Plesser, a senior partner at the firm who died suddenly in the fall of 2004. Ron began his career as a public interest lawyer and grew into a leader in the fields of e-commerce, freedom of information, and privacy law. Over the course of his legal career, Ron helped frame the still-evolving legal standards for information policy in the digital era. Ron Plesser worked closely with CDT from its founding nearly twenty years ago. The fellowship honors his memory by identifying and nurturing the careers of young lawyers interested in learning the consensus-building approach to policymaking that Ron’s career exemplified.

ABOUT CDT

CDT is a leading nonprofit public interest organization, working at the cutting edge of digital rights policy. With expertise in law, technology, and policy, CDT engages in a variety of strategies to enhance free expression and privacy, including advocacy, public education, and research. CDT works on legislation, participates in agency rule-makings, engages in litigation, and fosters consensus-building among public interest and private sector stakeholders. CDT has offices in Washington, DC, San Francisco, and Brussels. For more information, please visit our About page.

Responsibilities Qualifications

This fellowship is open to third year law students and recent law graduates with exemplary academic records, an interest in privacy, information policy, civil liberties, and technology policy, and a demonstrated commitment to public interest law. Individuals completing other fellowships are also welcome to apply. Our ideal candidate possesses:

-- Demonstrated commitment to public interest generally and specifically to the areas of privacy, civil liberties, and Internet policy;
-- Strong academic record, participation in professional/volunteer activities, subject matter expertise indicating that s/he possesses the relevant skills and initiative to make the Fellowship a success;
-- Superb legal writing and research skills;
-- Ability to multi-task, take initiative, and work in a highly collaborative environment; and
-- Commitment and ability to fulfill the two-year term required by the program.

COMPENSATION

Salary is competitive with public interest and government pay scales.

TERMS OF FELLOWSHIP
The Plesser Fellowship requires a two-year commitment from the Fellow, to commence on a mutually agreed date between August and October 2016.

TO APPLY
Please submit applications to hr@cdt.org by February 12, 2016. The email should have the subject line “Plesser 2016 Fellowship.” Applicants should include a cover letter explaining their interest in the field of privacy, civil liberties, and Internet policy along with a resume and two writing samples. Two letters of recommendation will ultimately be required of leading candidates, but may optionally be submitted with the initial application. CDT will review applications on a rolling basis and early applicants may have an advantage. CDT is an equal opportunity employer and encourages applications from women, people of color, persons with disabilities, and lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender individuals.
Important Deadlines:

-- February 12, 2016 – All applications must be submitted.
-- January – February – Semifinalists selected and interviewed on a rolling basis.
-- February – March – One or more finalists are interviewed; Fellow selected and offer extended.
-- August – October 2016 – Fellow commences work at CDT, on a date to be agreed between CDT and the Fellow.

Click here for more information.