Fellowship Opportunities in Law

Updated April 12, 2007.
Prepared by Mary Whisner, Reference Librarian
Women’s Law and Public Policy Fellow, 1984-85

Types of Fellowships

The structure varies:

For some (e.g., Equal Justice Works, Skadden), an applicant must have a project in mind and have the sponsorship of an organization.
For some (e.g., WLPPFP), the fellowship organization places the fellow with an organization.
For some (e.g., Georgetown University Law Center Graduate Fellowship Program for Future Law Professors), the fellowship is tied to academic work.
For an overview, see PSLawNet, Types of Fellowships.

2-year fellowships
fellow + project + host organization
Fellow gets salary, national leadership training, networking support, and loan repayment assistance
Applications become available in the summer and are due in late September. Semifinalists are selected and interviewed in the fall. Offers are extended between November and January and between January and March (organization matching fund program).
About 50 fellows per year
UW alumni who have had Equal Justice Works fellowships:
- Casey Trupin, JD 1999 (project: street youth; host: Columbia Legal Services)
- Ishbel Dickens, JD 2002 (project: mobile home parks; host: Columbia Legal Services)
- Matthew Brinegar, JD 2004 (project: Medicaid; host: Legal Aid Society of the Orange County Bar Association, Inc., Orlando FL)
Profiles of current and past fellows are on the website. Reading them is an excellent way to get a sense of the sorts of projects funded.

1-year grant for a start-up program with a host organization
Preference for Yale grads, but recent grant recipients have includes graduates of St. Mary’s (San Antonio), CUNY (Queens), Stanford, Michigan, Georgetown, SUNY-Buffalo, and UCLA.

1-year fellowships, but one is a 2-year fellowship in the Georgetown’s Domestic Violence Clinic (and leads to an LL.M.).
Fellows are placed with public interest organizations in Washington, DC, participate in program events, and may audit courses at Georgetown.
Fellows get salary and benefits
About 6 U.S. fellows per year. Sister program: Leadership and Advocacy for Women in Africa Program

2-year fellowships
Teach first-year legal research and writing
Stepping stone to academic career
Applications accepted from September through May; acceptances made on a rolling basis
6 fellows per year

This guide focuses on fellowship opportunities after graduation, but there are some fellowships for summer work.

UW seniors and graduate students; several law graduates have received Bonderman fellowships in the past few years.
$20,000 award for travel. Fellows "must travel for eight or more months, exploring six or more countries in two or more major regions of the world."

During your 1L year, as you look ahead.
During your 2L summer, if you want to apply for fellowships whose deadlines are in September.
During your 3L fall, if you want to apply for fellowships whose deadlines are in the fall.
Throughout your 3L year, as opportunities arise.
After graduation, if you are in a clerkship or you want to change focus after your first job. Many organizations welcome applications from recent graduates.
For a list of deadlines, see PSLawNet's Calendar of Deadlines.

It depends on the program. Some programs receive hundreds of applications for a few slots; others are less competitive.

You may be a very desirable applicant!

As they say in the lottery ads: You have to play to win!