2026 SUMMER HOUSING FELLOWSHIPS - LEGAL SERVICES OF THE HUDSON VALLEY
2026 SUMMER HOUSING FELLOWSHIPS - LEGAL SERVICES OF THE HUDSON VALLEY
Job Type: 2026 Summer Housing Fellowships - Legal Services of the Hudson Valley – All Offices
Schedule Type: Full-time Summer
About Us
For more than 50 years, Legal Services of the Hudson Valley (LSHV) has been providing free, high-quality legal counsel in civil matters when basic human needs are at stake including: eviction and foreclosure prevention, domestic violence, disability, elder law, healthcare, consumer fraud and more. Our services support almost 600,000 poor and low-income families and individuals who cannot afford an attorney in our seven-county service area. With the gap separating those who can and cannot afford legal representation widening each day, we work to ensure that everyone has equal access to justice, regardless of their ability to pay. As the only provider of comprehensive civil legal services in the lower and mid-Hudson Valley (Westchester, Putnam, Dutchess, Rockland, Orange, Ulster and Sullivan), LSHV is proud to have handled over 12,000 cases impacting nearly 30,000 household members including 10,000 children last year. LSHV is made up of ten offices, and a dedicated and highly skilled staff of attorneys, paralegals and administrative professionals.
Legal Services of the Hudson Valley is dedicated to building a highly skilled workforce that reflects the communities we serve and where everyone feels supported to bring their authentic selves to work. We are committed to promoting equity for all, and we continuously review and strengthen our processes and practices to support our staff, clients and the communities we serve. Respect is a cornerstone of relationships among our staff.
Fellowship Description
LSHV will host 10 rising 3L law students in our housing units this summer. Through these fellowships, LSHV will train the next generation of social justice lawyers, giving them both practical litigation experience and an understanding of the factors that create disadvantages for low-income individuals and families. While helping LSHV attorneys and staff serve clients, legal fellows will receive training, mentorship, support, and skill development and engage in advocacy. Work may include client interviewing, issue spotting, legal research and writing, preparing court documents, accompanying attorneys and clients to court, and appearing in court under a student practice order.
This fellowship is in our housing practice, which focuses on helping our clients maintain the basic human and legal right to live in habitable housing. It is largely focused on eviction prevention and maintaining subsidized or protected housing, as well as challenging landlord intimidation and harassment. The summer fellows will also participate in a mock trial program throughout the summer to gain valuable trial preparation experience.
Details
- 10-week fellowship duration; 35 hours per work week required (5-day week, Mon – Fri)
- $8,000 stipend with 5 days paid time off (PTO)
- Fellows will be placed in LSHV offices throughout our service area, including White Plains, Yonkers, Mount Vernon, Peekskill, Poughkeepsie, New Windsor, Goshen, Nanuet, Monticello, and Kingston.
- Fellows will be loaned laptops during the summer for conducting LSHV business.
- Housing, transportation, work-related, and other fellowship expenses will be the law student's responsibility. LSHV will reimburse fellows for work-related mileage expenses that exceed the fellows’ usual commute and provide office parking where applicable.
- At the conclusion of the summer, fellows may be required to provide feedback concerning their experience, the substance of which may be reproduced in full or in part in LSHV materials.
Eligibility
- Open to law students enrolled in a U.S. law school who will have completed two years of law school by May 2026 or are graduating in 2026.
- Must not have previously accepted an LSHV Summer Housing Fellowship or Paid Summer Legal Internship.
- Must be able to work several days per week in person in the office where placed (some days are hybrid), subject to disability-related reasonable accommodations.
- Ability to travel to the office where placed and other locations, such as courts, as needed.
Application Timeline
- All materials must be submitted by Sunday, December 14, 2025 at 11:59 pm (ET)
- Applications submitted after the deadline will not be considered.
- Applicants selected for interviews will be notified in early January 2025.
- Finalists will be notified in early February 2025.
Required Submissions
Applications will be evaluated based upon review of the following:
- Complete Online Application with preferred office location(s)
- Unofficial Law School Transcript
- Current Resume
- One legal writing sample on any topic (5-page limit)
- Statement of Interest (typed, double-spaced)
Describe your commitment to public interest law and/or direct legal services, and what you hope to gain from LSHV’s Summer Fellowship Program. Please explain why you are interested in housing law and eviction defense.
You may include information such as personal experience, prior jobs, volunteer experience or internships and what you learned from them, as well as future career plans and professional goals. (750-word max)
Please apply by following this link:
2026 SUMMER HOUSING FELLOWSHIPS - LEGAL SERVICES OF THE HUDSON VALLEY
Equal Opportunity Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, age, pregnancy, genetic information, disability, status as a protected veteran, or any other protected category under applicable federal, state, and local laws.
