Oakland, California, United States · Hybrid
We are accepting applications for Law Clerks during Spring 2027 on a rolling basis beginning October 30, 2026. This is a hybrid position based in Oakland, CA. About UnCommon Law UnCommon Law fights to ensure that all peo…
Skills: Legal research, Legal writing, Case management, Communication, Organizational skills
Oakland, California, United States · Hybrid
Legal Intern - 2026/2027 Academic Calendar (Two Positions) Priority deadline will be Friday, August 21st at 5pm PST About UnCommon Law UnCommon Law fights to ensure that all people incarcerated for violent crime have acc…
Skills: Legal Research, Drafting, Communication, Database Management, Microsoft Word
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Law clerks will support attorneys in parole hearing preparation, including drafting client communications and assembling parole packets. They will also conduct legal research, review case records, and maintain the organization's legal database.
Applicants must be law students with a demonstrated interest in criminal justice reform and strong written and verbal communication skills. Proficiency in Microsoft Office, Google Suite, and CRM software is strongly preferred.
We are accepting applications for Law Clerks during Spring 2027 on a rolling basis beginning October 30, 2026.
This is a hybrid position based in Oakland, CA.
About UnCommon Law
UnCommon Law fights to ensure that all people incarcerated for violent crime have access to effective legal representation and opportunities for healing. Through our unique, trauma-informed model of advocacy, we provide the space currently missing in the system for healing, accountability, and safe pathways home from prison. In developing new self-narratives, the people we serve are able to more effectively disrupt violence inside and outside prison and become leaders who change negative societal narratives about those incarcerated for violent crime. Our groundbreaking approach is changing policy and outcomes, driven by the voices and experiences of system-impacted communities.
UnCommon Law’s values include accountability, audacity, authenticity, collaboration, community, empathy, imagination, joy, liberation, and sustainability.
About the Position
The Law Clerk position provides law students the opportunity to work alongside Attorneys and Legal Assistants who represent clients in their parole hearings, as well as engage in legal research and writing projects. Law Clerks will also have the opportunity to learn about the discretionary parole process, California prisons, and the life cycle of individual journeys through incarceration and release.
The Law Clerk position is part-time (minimum 16-20 hours/week) over the quarter or semester calendar (at least 8 weeks). This position is unpaid and offers a $1,000 stipend per semester to defray some costs. A higher stipend amount is available for Law Clerks who commit to additional hours.
Examples of Duties and Responsibilities:
Abilities and Attributes:
Application Instructions
Please note that all correspondence in the hiring process will be through the BambooHR portal. Following the submission of your application, you should receive an automatic response (via email) thanking you for your application. If you do not receive this, please check your spam folder.
We receive a high volume of applications for all of our positions. Our hiring team strives to respond to all our applicants, however, if you have not been invited to interview within 4-6 weeks' time, we have likely chosen to not move forward with your application.
UCL is committed to providing an inclusive, welcoming, and culturally responsive environment for all members of our staff, volunteers, subcontractors, vendors, and clients. UCL does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion (creed), gender, gender expression, age, national origin (ancestry), disability, marital status, sexual orientation, military status, or prior contact with the criminal justice system. We strongly encourage applications from people impacted by incarceration as well as from traditionally underrepresented communities.
UCL fights to ensure that all incarcerated people have access to healing, justice, and effective legal representation.
Life sentencing is a mass incarceration problem. Today, there are too many people in prison, and too few pathways home. 76% of people in prison are serving time for a violent and/or serious crime. In California alone, 35,000 people are serving life sentences - that amounts to roughly a third of our state’s prison population. Two thirds of them are Black or Brown. The vast majority of people in prison experienced serious trauma prior to their incarceration. Research has shown that between 62% and 87% of people incarcerated in men’s prisons have experienced traumatic events at some point in their lifetime, and the rate is even higher for women and those who identify as transgender. UnCommon Law is at the forefront of changing public narratives about people serving lengthy prison sentences for violent crime. For the past 15 years, our team has fought to ensure that all people incarcerated for violent crime have access to healing, justice, and effective legal representation. Through our unique, trauma-informed model of advocacy, we provide the space currently missing in the system for healing, accountability, and safe pathways home from prison. In developing new self narratives, the people we serve are able to more effectively disrupt violence inside and outside prison, and become leaders who change negative societal narratives about those incarcerated for violent crime. Our groundbreaking approach is changing policy and outcomes, driven by the voices and experiences of system-impacted communities.
Offices: 220 4TH ST STE 103, OAKLAND, California 94607, US
UCL fights to ensure that all incarcerated people have access to healing, justice, and effective legal representation.
Life sentencing is a mass incarceration problem. Today, there are too many people in prison, and too few pathways home. 76% of people in prison are serving time for a violent and/or serious crime. In California alone, 35,000 people are serving life sentences - that amounts to roughly a third of our state’s prison population. Two thirds of them are Black or Brown. The vast majority of people in prison experienced serious trauma prior to their incarceration. Research has shown that between 62% and 87% of people incarcerated in men’s prisons have experienced traumatic events at some point in their lifetime, and the rate is even higher for women and those who identify as transgender. UnCommon Law is at the forefront of changing public narratives about people serving lengthy prison sentences for violent crime. For the past 15 years, our team has fought to ensure that all people incarcerated for violent crime have access to healing, justice, and effective legal representation. Through our unique, trauma-informed model of advocacy, we provide the space currently missing in the system for healing, accountability, and safe pathways home from prison. In developing new self narratives, the people we serve are able to more effectively disrupt violence inside and outside prison, and become leaders who change negative societal narratives about those incarcerated for violent crime. Our groundbreaking approach is changing policy and outcomes, driven by the voices and experiences of system-impacted communities.
Offices: 220 4TH ST STE 103, OAKLAND, California 94607, US
