Cooperatives Program Intern, Sustainable Economies Law Center – California
Organization: Sustainable Economies Law Center
Position Title: Cooperatives Program Intern
Location: Oakland, California
Dates and compensation: Summer 2015; SELC’s Cooperatives Program Internship does not provide a stipend. We strongly encourage applicants to pursue outside funding, but the ability to secure outside funding will not be considered as part of the hiring decision.
Application Deadline: Applications will be accepted on a rolling basis.
Description: The Sustainable Economies Law Center is seeking summer legal interns who are passionate about creating just and resilient local economies by supporting the creation of worker-owned, democratically run enterprises.
Responsibilities: Summer legal interns work collaboratively with SELC’s attorneys and legal apprentices to co-create the legal foundations of the new economy. Interns build their workload together with the Cooperatives Program Director based off organizational needs and the interns skills, capacity, and abilities. Interns are expected to provide support to all the areas within the Cooperatives Program, but will have the opportunity to concentrate their efforts on one program area. Below is a sampling of specific projects identified that will need support from legal interns during the summer internship.
Co-opLaw.org: SELC manages and curates an online legal resource library that provides legal information, best practices, and supporting tools for cooperatively owned and democratically run enterprises. We are seeking support with legal research, building strategic partnerships with legal workers around the country to build a 50 state guide, and website maintenance.
Tu Negocio Cooperativa: SELC’s half day popular education workshop, Think Outside the Boss, has been translated into Spanish and is provided at community centers around the Bay Area. We are seeking a Spanish speaking individual who will be able to facilitate a portion of the workshop as well as research areas of law related to cooperative businesses owned by undocumented immigrants.
Oakland City Policies for the Promotion of Worker Cooperatives: Currently, SELC is working on a sample city ordinance for Oakland that would lower barriers to the creation of worker cooperatives, create a revolving loan fund for worker coops, and provide funding to organizations providing incubation and technical assistance to worker owned businesses. We will be publishing the city ordinance in Spring of 2015 and building a campaign for its adoption.
Resilient Communities Legal Cafe: We provide direct legal support to enterprises building a new economy at our Legal Cafes. We’re looking for volunteers to facilitate intake, learn how to provide adequate and specialized legal consultations, and research legal issues that are brought to SELC by clients.
Worker Coop Academy: Next summer, SELC will be launching the 2nd iteration of the Worker Coop Academy, a multi-month business accelerator program for worker cooperatives. SELC is looking for interns interested in supporting and innovating the Academy’s curriculum design, legal workshops, and providing outreach.
Youth-led Cooperative at Realm Charter School: Currently, SELC is providing technical support and organizing assistance to a group of students, teachers, and parents creating a youth-led cooperatives project at Realm Charter School in Berkeley. We are seeking individuals interested in providing organizing support, legal education, and energy to develop their curriculum and project design. This project was spearheaded by one of SELC’s former interns.
How to Apply: Please submit a resume, writing sample, and cover letter to Ricardo Nuñez, Cooperatives Program Director at [email protected]. In your cover letter, please explain which program areas are of greatest interest to you.
