CHLPI Summer Internship Program 2015, Now Accepting Applications

The Harvard Law School Center for Health Law and Policy Innovation (CHLPI) is seeking summer interns for its 2015 summer clinic semester in its Health Law and Policy Clinic and its Food Law and Policy Clinic.

We are accepting applications on a rolling basis and will review applications starting in January 2015.

For questions about the summer internship program, please contact chlpi@law.harvard.edu

PROGRAM INFORMATION:

The 2015 program will run from Tuesday, May 26th through Friday, July 31st for a minimum of 40 hours per week. We have some flexibility with regard to start and end dates as long as summer interns make at least an eight-week commitment.

This internship program is primarily for law students. However, in previous summers we have taken other graduate and undergraduate students who show a keen interest and relevant experience in the field.

Summer interns are unpaid. They are eligible for all public interest fellowships including law school summer public interest funding programs that may be available through their schools (these vary by school) and EJA. CHLPI program staff will support accepted candidates with whatever paperwork is needed from the sponsoring organization for these applications.

The CHLPI summer internship program takes place in the CHLPI office located in the Jamaica Plain neighborhood of Boston.

Information about the Food Law and Policy Clinic:

The Food Law and Policy Clinic (FLPC) aims to increase access to healthy foods, prevent diet-related diseases such as obesity and type 2 diabetes, and assist small and sustainable farmers and producers in breaking into new commercial food markets.

Summer interns in the Food Law and Policy Clinic (FLPC) have the unique opportunity to engage in action-based learning to gain a deeper understanding of the complex challenges facing our current food system. Interns get hands-on experience conducting legal and policy research for individuals, community groups, and government agencies on a wide range of food law and policy issues, and are challenged to develop creative legal and policy solutions to pressing food issues, applying their knowledge from the law school classroom to real-world situations. Examples of project areas include providing policy guidance and advocacy trainings to state and local food policy councils, assessing how food safety regulations could be amended to increase economic opportunities for small local producers, recommending policies to increase access to healthy food for low-income communities, and identifying and breaking down legal barriers inhibiting small-scale and sustainable food production.

FLPC interns have the opportunity to practice a number of valuable skills, including legal research and writing, drafting legislation and regulations, commenting on agency actions, public speaking and trainings, and community organizing, among others. Interns also have the opportunity to travel to meet with clients; for example, FLPC travels to work in places like Mississippi, Tennessee, Navajo Nation, and La Paz, Bolivia.

Information about the Health Law and Policy Clinic:

The Health Law and Policy Clinic (HLPC) aims to improve the health of vulnerable populations, including low-income people living with HIV and AIDS, by expanding access to high-quality healthcare, reducing health disparities, supporting community education and advocacy capacity, and promoting legal, regulatory, and policy reforms that contribute to a more equitable individual and public health environment.

Students will have the opportunity to develop cutting-edge policy recommendations at the state and national levels in both the legislative and regulatory arenas. Projects involve informing both national and state level implementation of the Affordable Care Act through regulatory comments and analysis, providing law and policy analysis to national and state coalitions advocating to protect the Medicaid program, and investigating best practices for initiatives to increase access to treatment and service programs serving vulnerable populations.

Students gain a wealth of hands-on experience in current and emerging health law and policy issues, and develop written products such as fact sheets, in-depth reports, comment letters, testimony, presentations, and draft legislation or regulatory guidance. Students have the opportunity to develop a range of problem-solving, policy analysis, research and writing, oral communication, and leadership skills.

HOW TO APPLY:

Applicants interested in either the Health Law or Food Law and Policy Clinic should submit the following materials to chlpi@law.harvard.edu. Please indicate in your email to which clinic you are applying. If you are interested in both clinics, please rank them in order of preference.

• Resume
• Cover Letter
• Writing Sample
• Name of Reference