Natural Justice (Lawyers for Communities and the Environment) is a pioneering international team of legal practitioners. We do cutting edge work on environmental and human rights law, support communities and provide technical advice to governments to secure environmental and social justice. Natural Justice currently works in Africa, Asia and Latin America and has offices in South Africa, Ivory Coast, United States, India and Malaysia.
Natural Justice has been working with communities, civil society organizations and the government in India since 2009. It has its India office in Bangalore and a field office in Bhubaneswar.
Natural Justice is calling for applications for a one-year Associate Lawyer Fellowship. The Fellowship offers an exciting opportunity to lawyers who are passionate about learning to use domestic and international environmental law to secure the rights of communities to their lands and waters. The Fellowship will expose the Associate Lawyer to a range of innovative ways of effectively doing environmental law ranging from community based legal support and training to litigation and advocacy. Over the year the Fellowship will also facilitate learning networks for the Associate Lawyer that will include community based organizations, non-governmental organizations, legal practitioners, academics, designers, activists, intergovernmental and international organizations.
Applicants would be required to have:
- A keen interest in advancing the rights of communities to their territories, and natural resources;
- A passion for learning, networking with partners, initiating new work and innovating on existing work;
- Good communication skills that can be used to effectively collaborate, share and exchange information with the extended Natural Justice team and its partners;
- A law degree with an interest in the law and a basic understanding of the Indian legal system;
- A willingness to travel on a regular basis as well as an ability to work for extended periods with communities and CBOs/NGOs in remote areas;
- Fluency in English with the ability to engage in research, draft reports and legal documents; and
- Fluency in Hindi and any other Indian language with an ability to engage in discussions with communities and run workshops where necessary.
Natural Justice is a close knit and nurturing collective that places a high premium in facilitating opportunities for the professional and personal growth of its fellows. Besides this, joining Natural Justice will offer the individual a chance to work with a passionate and highly professional global team and gain valuable international experience.
Duration of Fellowship: One year
Honorarium: The Associate Lawyer will be provided with an honorarium of twenty thousand rupees a month along with a sufficient travel, activity and communications budget.
Job location: Bhubaneswar and Bangalore
The selection process would involve two stages. At the first stage applicants are required to send a letter of interest, a resume with two referees and a writing sample. A Natural Justice panel will interview shortlisted applicants at the second stage before a final decision is made.
Interested candidates are invited to send their applications to arpitha (at) naturaljustice.org before the 28th of June 2013. For more information on Natural Justice see:
