The Legal Department of the American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations ("AFL-CIO") is offering a one-year fellowship beginning in September 2027. The fellowship offers an excellent opportunity for recent law school graduates to work with experienced union-side lawyers on a wide variety of issues.
The Legal Department works on a wide range of litigation, policy, regulatory and legislative matters, and assists with organizing campaigns, corporate governance issues, and other AFL-CIO initiatives. The Legal Department also houses the Union Lawyers Alliance (ULA), a national organization of union-side attorneys, which issues various publications and holds educational conferences on a regular basis.
The AFL-CIO Fellow will work with lawyers in the AFL-CIO Legal Department and with other union lawyers around the country on a wide variety of matters. The Fellow will assist experienced lawyers working on cases and regulatory matters that affect the labor movement and the rights of workers. The AFL-CIO's litigation caseload includes cases in the U.S. Supreme Court and the U.S. Courts of Appeals and before the NLRB and a small number of state appellate courts. In addition, the AFL-CIO Legal Department frequently presents the views of the labor movement on federal regulatory initiatives affecting workers. Whenever possible, the Fellow will be given the opportunity to participate in meetings with union lawyers and to attend oral arguments. The AFL-CIO Fellow will also participate in Union Lawyers Alliance activities, including preparation for attorney conferences, outreach to new labor lawyers and law students, and regular opportunities to attend ULA meetings and conferences.
The fellowship salary is 89,590.88. Benefits include excellent medical and dental insurance plus paid vacation.
Recent law graduates, judicial clerks, and third-year law students are welcome to apply. Applicants should have excellent legal research and writing skills and enjoy legal research and appellate work. Applicants should also have a demonstrated commitment to workers' rights and a desire to practice union-side labor law.
To Apply: Applicants should submit a cover letter explaining their interest in the fellowship, a current resume, a transcript, a short writing sample, a letter of reference, and a list of two additional references to Kasmira Pope at [redacted]. Letters of reference may also be emailed directly by the recommender to the same email address or mailed in hard copy to: AFL-CIO Office of the General Counsel, ATTN: Fellowship Position, 815 16th Street NW, Washington, DC 20006. The application process is rolling, but for full consideration, an application should be complete by Friday, October 16, 2026. Telephone inquiries are discouraged.
