TRLA hires University of Texas and St. Mary's University law schools students for the Telephone Access to Justice Project (TAJ) in Austin and in San Antonio. Low-income residents from Central and South Texas apply for legal assistance from TRLA by calling the TAJ’s toll-free number. The clients speak to law school students who conduct detailed substantive intake interviews and, under the supervision of a staff attorney, offer brief counsel and advice when appropriate. Client information is entered into TRLA’s customized database and accessed by TRLA attorneys who make case disposition decisions based on intake information collected by TAJ Associates. In the course of their work, TAJ Associates work closely with TRLA staff attorneys throughout the TRLA service area.
The part-time position offers the opportunity to develop practical legal skills and assist low-income Texans with a wide variety of legal problems. The ability to speak in Spanish is strongly preferred. Pay begins at $10.00 per hour, and can increase as high as $14.00 per hour with experience. Students need to work a minimum of 12-15 hours per week. Law students who have completed their first or second year of law school are eligible for the position. First year students can interview, but employment cannot begin until the completion of the first year of law school. New TAJ Associates are generally hired to start at the beginning of the fall and spring semesters and at the beginning of summer. The summer position is of a part-time nature and works well for those attending summer school or interning with another organization. Most of the attorneys that TRLA has hired in the last few years began their TRLA career at the Telephone Access to Justice Project.
Interested students can contact:| For University of Texas law students Mary Christine Reed Attorney/Director TAJ Austin E-mail mcreed@trla.org 512-373-1001 |
For Saint Mary's law students Donna Harvey Attorney/Director TAJ San Antonio E-mail: dharvey@trla.org 210-212- 3768 |
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