Health and Food Law & Policy Summer Interns Program – Now Accepting Applications

The Health Law and Policy Clinic (HLPC) and the Food Law and Policy Clinic (FLPC) are now accepting interns for summer 2016. Please see below for details on applying. 

PROGRAM INFORMATION:

Tentative dates for the 2016 program are Monday, May 23^rd to Friday, July 29^th for a minimum of 40 hours per week. There is some flexibility with regard to start and end dates as long as summer interns make at least an eight-week commitment.

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 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 the legislative, litigation, 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, developing a national litigation strategy for anti-discrimination and improved access efforts, 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 should complete this online form (http://goo.gl/forms/DF9ex7Sx4o) and submit the following materials in one consolidated pdf document to chlpi@law.harvard.edu.

• Cover Letter
• Resume
• Writing Sample

INFORMATION ABOUT THE FOOD LAW AND POLICY CLINIC:

Established in 2010, the Harvard Food Law and Policy Clinic (FLPC) addresses the health, environmental, and economic consequences of the laws and policies that govern our food system. FLPC strives to increase access to healthy foods, support small-scale and sustainable farmers in breaking into new commercial markets, and reduce waste of healthy, wholesome food. As the oldest food law clinical program in the United States, the FLPC is a pioneer in the field of food law and policy, and serves as a model for lawyers and law schools entering this field.

The following four initiatives are an expression of our dedication to resolving the environmental, public health, and economic consequences of our food system:

• Food Policy Community Empowerment
• Food Access and Obesity Prevention
• Food Waste
• Sustainable Food Production

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, West Virginia, Navajo Nation, and La Paz, Bolivia.

HOW TO APPLY:

Applicants should complete this online form (http://goo.gl/forms/nIgAOWMeqI) and submit the following materials in one consolidated pdf document to flpc@law.harvard.edu.

• Cover Letter
• Resume
• Writing Sample