Post-graduate legal fellowships are employment opportunities that are usually a year in length, though they may range from a few months to two or three years. Fellowships are designed to allow new attorneys to assist in addressing specific legal issues in a given community, or to research a specific area of law. Fellowships may be sponsored by a various organizations and include “project based” or “organization based” fellowships.
Project-based fellowships require two applications: one to the organization that will host you as you work on your legal “project,” and one to the organization that would provide the funding for your project. Organization-based fellowships are funded by the organization where you will work. There are also academic fellowships and government fellowships.
Examples of project-based fellowships include the Equal Justice Works and Skadden fellowships; examples of organization-based fellowships include the ACLU William Brennan First Amendment Fellowship. An important government fellowship is the Presidential Management Fellowship (PMF).
Valerie L’Herrou hosts a series of fellowship workshops each fall, beginning Monday, September 12 at 4:30 p.m., and continuing each Monday afternoon for four weeks. Contact her if you wish to sign up.
Note: The deadline for the Equal Justice Works fellowship is Friday, September 16. If you are considering applying and have not already begun the process, contact Valerie as soon as possible!
For more information:
Richmond Law’s post-graduate fellowship spreadsheet: https://websecure.richmond.edu/law/career/fellowships.xlsx
PSJD’s guide to post-graduate fellowships: http://www.psjd.org/Postgraduate_Fellowships
PSJD fellowship webinar series and tip sheet: http://www.psjd.org/Fellowships_2.0_Webinar_Series_and_Tip_Sheet