VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITIES

Mental Health Advocacy Services (MHAS) provides free legal services to low-income individuals with mental health disabilities in Los Angeles County in the areas of housing, public benefits, mental health law, re-entry law, and more. MHAS offers exceptional law students a paid summer clerkship through the Jim Preis Summer Law Clerk Program.

Jim Preis served as the Executive Director of MHAS for 40 years. An extraordinary advocate for people with mental health disabilities, Jim dedicated his entire career to improving our mental health systems. He particularly loved working with students, which is why MHAS’s summer law clerk program is named in his honor.

MHAS will hire three paid law clerks for the summer of 2024. This is a short-term position that does not include employee benefits such as health insurance.

Range of Legal Work: Clerks are assigned to a MHAS team and work alongside the attorneys and advocates on that team. They handle multiple client intakes throughout the summer and also work on more extensive client matters, which may include writing demand letters, negotiating with third parties, drafting administrative or court documents, or even appearing at a hearing. Clerks participate in weekly meetings with their team, one-on-one meetings with their supervisor, all-attorney case reviews, and officewide staff meetings.

Introductory and Ongoing Training: MHAS begins the summer with a series of “nutshell” trainings on topics that students are likely to encounter during the summer. These include practical topics, such as client interviewing and ethics, and substantive topics, such as mental health law, public benefits, and fair housing. Clerks are also invited to participate in trainings at other legal services organizations throughout the summer.

MHAS Culture: MHAS is proud to be the first legal services organization in Los Angeles to adopt a 32-hour, four-day work week with Fridays off. MHAS also operates mostly virtually with periodic in-person meetings. MHAS has a collegial culture and encourages frequent contact, questions, and discussion with law clerks.

Exposure to Broader Legal Community: Students have opportunities to participate in meetings that will expose them to the broader legal aid community in Los Angeles. MHAS also arranges visits to courts in action, including Mental Health Court, and, if possible, field trips to locations like the Twin Towers jail and mental health facilities.

Social Activities: To encourage a supportive working environment, MHAS offers various social activities throughout the summer. Past activities have included a pool party at our Executive Director’s house, a boat excursion in Marina del Rey, book clubs, and happy hours.

Commitment to Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion: MHAS seeks to fill all positions, including law clerk positions, with people who share our values, including our organizational commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion. We encourage all interested individuals to apply - especially people of color; women; people from low-income backgrounds; people experiencing mental health and/or physical disabilities; people who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, gender non-conforming, or non-binary; immigrants; people who have been affected by mass incarceration; and people from other underrepresented and historically marginalized groups. MHAS believes that the resulting diversity is both a source of program strength and a matter of fundamental human fairness.

Application Process: Applications are accepted from first-year law students beginning in January; second- and third-year students can apply at any time. To apply, please email your cover letter, resume, and writing sample to MHAS’s Managing Attorney, Jo Bloomfield, at jbloomfield@mhas-la.org.

MHAS is an Equal Opportunity Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration without regard to race, color, religion, sex, gender, national origin, ancestry, age, sexual orientation, veteran status, marital status, pregnancy, mental or physical disability, or any other basis protected by law.

Every director is expected to:

• Be well informed about MHAS, its mission, its operations and the transactions in which it proposes to engage;

• Regularly attend and participate in board meetings (one meeting every two months on the last Tuesday of the month at 7pm via Zoom); and

• Provide financial support to MHAS to the degree they are able, including making a personally significant gift to MHAS every year. All Board members who are able are encouraged to raise, at minimum, $5,000 through any combination of personal gift, firm gift, or funds otherwise solicited.

• Optional: Every director is invited to participate in one of five committees: Development, Finance, Membership, Pro Bono, and DEI.