J-1 Visa Legal Intern Jobs

BUDGETED SALARY RANGE: The Law School’s budgeted hourly rate for this position is: $37.15 - $41.74 per hour.

ONE-YEAR FIXED TERM

About the Center:

Through a multidisciplinary approach to teaching, research, and policy, the Rhode Center works to make civil justice more equitable, accessible, and transparent and to promote the legal profession’s commitment to the public interest.

The Rhode Center’s current work focuses on:

• reforming legal services regulation to increase innovation and access to justice;
• understanding and shaping the role of technology in law and the courts;
• protecting consumers and clients in civil litigation; and
• legal education in the 21st century.

About the Research Fellowship:

The fellow will assist in economics research on the civil justice system. The core of the role is empirical work connected to the Center's collaboration with the Superior Court of Los Angeles County. This includes descriptive research using large-scale administrative court data and causal research, including randomized field experiments conducted with the Court. The fellow will help build and clean datasets, run analyses, and prepare results for publication. Strong data skills and attention to detail are essential. Prior experience with court records or applied microeconometrics is helpful but not required.

This position reports to Professor David Engstrom.

Core Duties:

• As part of the collaboration between the Rhode Center and the Superior Court of Los Angeles County, use Judge IV methods to study the causal impacts of eviction defaults in Los Angeles. This research will lead to academic publications by the Rhode Center, be highlighted in public-facing reports, and will inform continued interventions with the Court. Work closely and be guided by an experienced research lead but will be expected to work independently as well.
• Responsible for the analysis connected to evaluating Phase 1 of a Randomized Controlled Trial (RCT) reducing barriers for eviction tenants participating in their court. Build the relevant datasets by querying Court case management systems, clean the datasets by constructing the relevant measures, and perform the econometric analysis needed to write the paper evaluating which arm of the RCT helped tenants the most. They will collaborate and be supervised by a PI.
• Help build a pipeline to extract data from court documents using R and Python, and assist in this analysis, also conducted in R.
• In phase 2 of the RCT, assist in building a triage tool that connects eviction tenants to the appropriate resources for them. These resources might include in-person help sessions, online filing tools, or attorneys who can represent them. Help ensure this tool functions properly, both from a data ingestion and algorithmic processing perspective, and is usable for tenants so that they get directed to the right resources.
• Create figures and tables that are necessary for disseminating the findings about the eviction access RCT, both for academic submissions and broader consumption. Draft the language describing those results for white papers and the technical sections of academic articles.

Core Duties:

• Plan and perform research tasks requiring initiative and judgment by applying basic knowledge and understanding of scientific theory when precedents do not provide specific guidance. General instruction provided by the supervisor as needed. May interpret study results in collaboration with supervisor or PI.
• Participate in the development and administration of survey instruments and rating scales requiring judgment in applying non-routine procedures. Analyze and summarize results for review with supervisor. Audit the accuracy and validity of data.
• Review and audit case report forms for completion and accuracy with source documents, and ensure compliance with research protocols.
• Identify, select, extract and summarize data and structured information. Present summary of findings to supervisor.
• Conduct literature searches, and write literature summaries and manuscripts, requiring preliminary judgments after the supervisor outlines conceptual approach.
• Build and organize data as requested by principal investigator or supervisor; use common statistical programs requiring the application of job control language in generating and organizing data.
• Adapt new, nonstandard methods outlined by supervisor in designing and evaluating phases of research projects, (i.e., educational materials, questionnaires, strategies for recruitment, data quality control procedures and processes). May follow up with Institutional Review Board (IRB) to ensure renewals are approved and completed, seeking guidance where necessary.
• Assist with development, communication and design of research findings to internal and external audiences, which may include web updates, social media, and/or white papers, for use in recruitment, educational, or awareness of programs, with guidance from supervisor. May orient and train new staff or students.

MINIMUM EDUCATION AND EXPERIENCE

Bachelor of Arts degree in an applicable social science related field, or combination of education and relevant experience in an applicable social science.

KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS AND ABILITIES:

• General understanding of scientific theory and methods, typically gained through completion of an undergraduate degree in a related field.
• General computer skills and ability to quickly learn and master computer programs.
• Ability to work under deadlines with general guidance.
• Excellent organizational skills and demonstrated ability to complete detailed work accurately.
• Effective oral and written communication skills.
• Ability to work with human study participants.