Staff Attorney Fellow

Job Description

Staff Attorney Fellow | The University of Kansas

The Tone:
This is a regular, full-time, limited-term position at The University of Kansas, located on the KU Medical Center main hospital campus in Kansas City, Kansas, with a hybrid schedule option. The KU School of Law Medical Legal Partnership (MLP) provides free legal representation to low-income, mentally ill, and marginalized patients at the University of Kansas Health System, addressing needs in income, housing, education, employment, legal status, and family stability. This Staff Attorney Fellow role offers a new or recent law graduate the chance to deliver direct legal care, improving health outcomes by removing legal barriers for a high-needs client population. The fellow will also contribute significantly to the training and supervision of law students within the MLP.

The TL;DR
• Role: Staff Attorney Fellow
• Type: Full-time, Limited-term (ends August 10, 2029), Benefits-eligible
• Location: Hybrid, Kansas City, KS
• Pay: $72000 yearly
• Team: Collaborates with the MLP Managing Attorney and healthcare partners; supervises law students.
• Mission: Provides direct legal representation to patients to improve health outcomes by addressing civil legal issues.
• Tech Stack: Microsoft Office suite, commercial client management software

What You’ll Actually Do
• Representation: Conduct applications with and provide direct legal representation to clients addressing civil legal issues that impact their health.
• Supervision: Supervise, train, and mentor law students enrolled in the MLP externship experience in their direct legal representation of clients.
• Teaching Assistance: Serve as a teaching assistant to the Managing Attorney, specifically regarding the supervision of student intern work involving applications for services.
• Outreach: Foster relationships with new and existing health providers to raise awareness of patient-client legal needs and facilitate referrals to the MLP.
• Projects: Undertake other duties and special projects as assigned to support the MLP’s mission.

The Must-Haves
• Background: Juris Doctor (JD) degree, entry-level, with eligibility to practice law in Kansas via a license, temporary permit/certification pending bar results, or a reciprocal state license application.
• Experience: Must be a current KU Law 3L/upcoming KU Law graduate (Dec 2026, May 2027) or a recent KU Law graduate (Class of 2025 or 2026).
• Skills: Ability to work full-time in Kansas City, Kansas in an administrative office within a hospital health setting; excellent computer and word processing skills using Microsoft Office suite and commercial client management software; strong communication, interpersonal, oral advocacy, and writing skills.
• Bonus: Participation in the MLP field placement at KU Law; demonstrated commitment to public service, advocacy, and social justice; demonstrated experience working with people from low-income communities, people with mental health needs, or vulnerable patient-client identities; law license to practice (or bar exam score eligibility to apply) in Missouri; second-language fluency in Spanish, Arabic, Nepali, Somali, or Burmese.