Legal Fellow

UNHCR seeks post-graduate Legal Fellows to work full-time in the Protection and Solutions Unit at the Multi-Country Office in Washington, D.C. The fellowship lasts one year starting September 2027, focusing on supporting protection and solutions strategy for asylum-seekers, refugees, and stateless persons in the United States and the northern Caribbean.

Responsibilities

• Support PSU’s overall protection and solutions strategy focusing on the United States and regional engagement.
• Advise governments on aligning domestic asylum systems with international standards.
• Provide comments on proposed legislation and regulations, submit amicus briefs on international legal issues, and share information on displacement trends.
• Focus on regional protection issues in the Americas and related bilateral and multilateral initiatives.
• Conduct trainings and presentations on statelessness and nationality and provide guidance on potential stateless status of individuals.
• Gather information on protection situations of forcibly displaced and stateless persons at various stages of the asylum process.
• Develop pragmatic policy and practice options for relevant authorities.
• Provide information on laws, policies, and procedures for seeking asylum and related protection in the United States.
• Engage in law and policy analysis at the intersection of international and domestic law, regional protection policy, monitoring protection conditions, and individual case support.

Requirements

• Must be a 2027 degree candidate or recent graduate from a U.S. law school.
• Must have completed coursework in international law; refugee law; and/or human rights; additional coursework in U.S. immigration law preferable.
• Preference for experience in U.S. asylum; refugee law; and/or other topics related to refugees, asylum-seekers, and statelessness.
• Experience with legal clinics in law school, or other forms of direct service experience with asylum-seekers or statelessness would be particularly helpful.
• Fluent Spanish is essential for fellows working on US southern border and protection policy issues in the Americas, and is highly desirable for other areas of work.
• Excellent oral and written communication skills.
• Detail-oriented, with strong research and legal analysis skills.
• Self-directed, with ability to multi-task and prioritize with minimal supervision.
• Candidates must demonstrate a guaranteed funding source for the one-year period of the fellowship in their cover letters.
• Candidates are responsible for their housing, legal stay in the United States, health insurance, and any other related documentation required by UNHCR.
• The fellowship will begin in September 2027 and last for 12 months.
• A fellowship does not create any expectation or entitlement to employment with UNHCR at the conclusion of the fellowship.

Skills

• International Law
• Refugee Rights
• Human Rights
• Immigration Law
• Legal Clinic Experience
• Direct Legal Service
• Legal Research
• Legal Analysis
• Oral Communication
• Written Communication
• Spanish Language
• Protection Policies
• Case Prioritization
• Self-Directed Work
• Knowledge of U.S. Asylum System

Languages

English, Spanish