Equal Justice Works is committed to recruiting attorneys who represent a variety of experiences and backgrounds and to providing them with a strong foundation on which to build a public interest career. Equal Justice Works Fellowships seek to develop the public interest law leaders of the future, whether they continue to work in the nonprofit arena or become pro bono advocates in the private bar.

• Terms of the Fellowship
• Components of a Fellowship
• Key Steps in the Selection Process

Terms of the Fellowship

All Equal Justice Works Fellowships require a two-year commitment from the Fellow, the host organization and the sponsor(s) to complete the Fellowship term, which runs from September 2011 through August 2013.

Equal Justice Works Fellowships do not have a set salary level. Equal Justice Works instructs each host organization to set the Fellow's salary commensurate to what an attorney with similar experience and/or responsibility would receive at that organization. Equal Justice Works will provide up to $39,000 toward that salary level. If the salary exceeds $39,000, then the organization must provide the remaining amount out of separate funds. Salary must be agreed upon prior to submitting an application. It is that agreed upon salary amount that should appear on the Certification Form of the application. In addition, each Fellow is eligible to apply for the generous Equal Justice Works loan repayment assistance program (LRAP).

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Components of a Fellowship

There are four components of an Equal Justice Works Fellowship: a project, a candidate, a host organization and a sponsor.

A project is a carefully designed initiative that involves innovative, effective legal advocacy on behalf of individuals, groups or issues that are not adequately represented by some aspect of the legal system. Because the goal is to create new public interest positions, Equal Justice Works Fellowships are not used to fund general staff attorney positions within existing organizations. Instead, they should provide Fellows with the opportunity to exercise leadership on a distinct project. Individuals and host organizations work together to generate project proposals.

A candidate is a third-year law student, recent law graduate or experienced attorney with a demonstrated commitment to public interest law who has the relevant skills and initiative to carry out the goals of the project. Fellowship applicants must be third-year law students or graduates from a 2010-2011 Equal Justice Works law school. A list of schools will be posted in July, or you can check with your Career Services Office to determine whether your school has joined Equal Justice Works. A third-year law student must be able to graduate and begin the Fellowship by September 2011.

A host organization is a nonprofit that has been granted 501(c)(3) status by the Internal Revenue Service. The host organization is the Fellow's employer. Its role is to provide training, supervision, benefits and other support that enables the Fellow to successfully carry out the goals of the project.

A sponsor is a law firm, corporation, foundation or individual that contributes to partially or fully funding one or more Fellowships. Equal Justice Works recruits sponsors on a rolling basis. These sponsors sometimes have restrictions or preferences as to the projects they will fund. For instance, a law firm based in Washington, D.C., may express strong interest in funding a project based in the District, so that the firm can be connected with the Fellowship by contributing pro bono hours to the project. We provide this information for applicants' consideration on a rolling basis on our website. Please note that the list is not exhaustive, as sponsors are committing to Equal Justice Works on an ongoing basis, and some do not express any project preferences.

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Key Steps in the Selection Process

1. Equal Justice Works obtains sponsors to fund Fellowships.

Fellowships are made possible by funding partnerships that combine support from a sponsor — a law firm, corporation, foundation, bar association or individual — with a matching grant from Equal Justice Works resources. Host organizations are responsible for providing support to the Fellow, including benefits (health insurance required), any difference between $39,000 and the Fellows actual annual salary, overhead and supervision/training.

2. Applications are evaluated and candidates are invited to interview.

A completed application includes a project proposal, a Fellowship candidate to carry out the project, and a nonprofit public interest organization identified to host the project. To be considered, applications must be submitted online through the Equal Justice Works website no later than 5 p.m. EDT on Sept. 15, 2010. The Certification Form and up to two letters of recommendation are also due online by that date.

Applications will be judged according to the selection criteria described herein. Semifinalists will be interviewed on a rolling basis at regional locations throughout November, December and January, and Fellows will be chosen by Equal Justice Works staff and/or the sponsors. Equal Justice Works will make an effort to conduct the interviews in a location convenient to the candidate but will not cover travel expenses if incurred.

3. Offers are extended on a rolling basis throughout November, December and January.

For more information, please review the Equal Justice Works offer policy.

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