Are you a lawyer who wants to make a difference? Do you care about social issues and justice for all? Do you feel that there is a need for change in the present legal system? If so, read on… Centre for Social Justice, Ahmedabad & ECONET, Pune
Lawyers for Change FELLOWSHIPS – 2012-14
About Lawyers for Change (LfC) World history is replete with illustrations of great leaders who have been lawyers. They are the people who designed the structure of nations, led movements to eradicate ills of the society and inspired thousands of others to follow their footsteps. Lawyers for Change (LfC) is a fellowship programme for leadership development designed exclusively for young lawyers – for those who aspire to bring about change in the society. Over two years of the programme, LfC will systematically work with the lawyers and help them build the identity and skills required for Social Justice Lawyering. The academy has distinguished faculty members from amongst well known human rights educators, retired members of the judiciary, senior lawyers and practitioners in the field. Activities of the academy will include rigorous training sessions which will be conducted once in every two months. In between the two months, Fellows will explore opportunities for legal interventions while working with rights based organizations in different parts of the Country and be connected with the academy electronically.
Structure of the Programme The programme is a two-year engagement with an annual evaluation as a milestone for continuation. During the two years, the selected candidate will be taken through an intensive capacity building process to use law for fighting exclusion, discrimination, enabling entitlements and to establish herself / himself as a leader in the field of law. There will be a total of 30 days of contact sessions in a year in which the selected candidate will be expected to remain present. These contact sessions will be conducted once every two months for 6-7 days pre-decided in the annual calendar. In between the contact sessions, Fellows will work with organizations working on rights based issues, explore possibilities of legal interventions and also carry out tasks assigned by the academy. Work thus done will be required to be presented in the next contact session.
Applications for the Fellowship We are looking for: -
Students of law in their final year of law school expected to graduate before June 2012. Practicing lawyers who are associated with organizations working on rights based issues. Lawyers who want to start a practice on social justice issues.
PLEASE NOTE: The programme is open ONLY to candidates below 32 years of age. A good knowledge of written and spoken English and working knowledge of computers is a MUST for every candidate. The programme is open only to citizens of India.
Fellowship Selected candidates will be awarded a fellowship of upto Rs. 16,000 per month. Candidates will also be entitled for a monthly allowance of Rs. 2500 for books, travel and internet connection. Travel to and from Ahmedabad for attending training sessions will be reimbursed according to policy.
How to apply? An email may be sent to
[email protected] on or before 29th February, 2012 with the CV of the applicant attached. The „Subject‟ field of the email must clearly mention “Application for Programme”. Candidates who had applied for the previous batch may also apply. Date and location of the interview will be notified to shortlisted candidates before 7th March, 2012.
About ECONET ECONET was formed in the year 1993. The affected population with whom ECONET has been working comprises of Tribal, Nomadic and De-notified Tribes, Other Backward Classes and Dalits. The approach adopted by ECONET is to create leadership through working on Development perspectives and Soft skills at various levels. From the understanding created based on our work on legal analysis and experiences in implementation of legislations we also engage with State and National level Governance systems. We facilitate Networking processes at the grassroots and to evolve mechanisms for amplifying the voices of the people emerging through the networks at mezzo and macro spaces.
About Centre for Social Justice The Centre for Social Justice (CSJ) is a socio-legal non-governmental organization registered as a public charitable trust in Gujarat, India. It is one of the first organizations of its kind in the States of Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Rajasthan and Gujarat and was set up with a view to pursue justice and to uphold and promote human rights. The Centre operates through a network of law centres in local communities across these States. The centres consist of a team of lawyers, paralegals and researchers that take a holistic approach to human rights by providing litigative support as well as outreach to villages through law clinics. CSJ focuses on the various legal issues concerning the rights of women, Dalits, tribals, minorities and other socially vulnerable groups. Today, CSJ responds to almost 4,000 claims annually through its law centres and is a part of several national campaigns for institutional law reforms. It has contributed to structural changes to make access to justice a reality for the vulnerable. For more information, contact:
Satyajeet Mazumdar Programme Anchor Email:
[email protected] Phone: +91 – 99099 63150
www.econetindia.org www.centreforsocialjustice.net www.facebook.com/censocjust www.facebook.com/lawyersforchange
