Post-Graduate Public Interest Fellowships

There are a variety of grants and fellowships available, to law graduates and practicing attorneys, funding work in different areas of the law.

For more information on fellowships and the fellowship application process, download the Career Services Post-Graduate Public Interest Fellowships Handbook.

Equal Justice Works Felloship Applications Now Available

Equal Justice Works Fellowship Applications are now available online. The deadline to submit completed applications is September 18, 2007. Funding would be for post graduate employment starting in the fall of 2008.

Important Reminders:

Review the application ASAP. Prospective candidates should review the online application form as soon as possible to familiarize themselves with how it works and to consider the necessary items required to apply.

Begin working on the application early. The online application does not have spell check capability, so candidates are advised to draft their application text in a word processing program. There are character limits noted for each text box, and character counts may differ between a word processing program and the application. It is therefore important for candidates to paste the text into the application well in advance of the deadline to ensure that the text fits in the allotted space.

If you are planning on submitting an Equal Justice Works Fellowship Application, it is recommended that you make an appointment with the Public Interest Law Coordinator for application review, and tips regarding this competitive process! To make an appointment contact him at wcpenn@lclark.edu, or (503) 768-6890.

Fellowship FAQ's

1. What are fellowships?

A fellowship is a broad term that can describe a number of different programs. In its most basic sense, a fellowship is money that is granted to you to work on a specific project or for a specific organization. Fellowships typically are granted for short-term work (one to two years). Due to the scarcity and competitive nature of full-time public interest positions, a fellowship can be a great resource for a new attorney wanting to gain entry into an organization. A fellowship is also a great resource for graduates who have a specific project (for an unmet legal need) they would like to tackle.

2. Why apply for a fellowship?

A fellowship is a chance to develop your “dream job.” It is an opportunity to work on cutting-edge or developing legal issues, and is an avenue into paid public interest work.

3. What is typically funded and for what duration?

Fellowships differ, depending upon the sponsoring organization or funding source. Some fellowships offer a salary or living stipend, loan repayment, and additional funding for benefits much like a “regular” position. Others offer minimal remuneration or a token stipend award. Fellowships may last as little as three months, or as long as two years.

4. Who is eligible to receive fellowship funding?

Fellowship funding is available for law school graduates. Depending on the nature of the funding and the job/project being applied for, you may also need to have passed the bar exam.

5. When should fellowship funding be applied for?

Deadlines can vary broadly depending on the funding source. That being said, the majority of fellowships have deadlines in the early fall. For example, if you were to graduate in May 2007 and wanted to begin fellowship work in September 2007, the deadline for that funding would be September 2006. This means that deadlines will be coming up around the first few weeks of fall semester of your third year of school. The ideal time to be doing fellowship research and application preparation therefore, is during the Spring and Summer before your third year of school.

6. What is involved in the application process?

As with any other job, the application process will differ from funder to funder. However, most fellowships do not fund existing positions. Instead, they fund new, innovative projects or ideas for a limited duration of time. Many grantors have a list of current interest areas that they will fund. Therefore, it is important to develop an understanding of the current status of the law; the “hot” topics within an area of the law; the community need within that area of law; and the type of project that would address the identified need in this area of law. It’s also important to determine what efforts are already being undertaken by other organizations or individuals so you are not proposing a project that duplicates or competes with another project. Many funders want individuals to work under the supervision of a non-profit organization and rely on the individual to find the organization once funding is provided - others provide funding to an organization and rely on the organization to hire the person best suited to carry out the project objectives. In either case, you will need to identify the key organizations providing services in your legal area of interest and work cooperatively with them throughout the application process.

7. Is applying for fellowship funding a competitive process?

Yes - very. This is not said to dissuade you from applying for fellowship funding, but rather to highlight how important it is to take the time to put together a quality application. The competitive nature of fellowships makes them very prestigious. Receiving a fellowship will open many doors in the public interest law field. The care and effort you put into your application(s) will be time well spent.