ANNOUNCEMENTS
- Now accepting applications for 2011 Fellowships. Jump start your career in public interest law!
- Application now available for the Civil Legal Assistance Attorney Student Loan Repayment Program.
- Elena Kagan’s commitment to public interest law
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Equal Justice Works Across America
A state-by-state, point-and-click roster of Members and Fellows
Equal Justice Works Fellowships
The Equal Justice Works Fellowship Program creates partnerships among public interest lawyers, nonprofit organizations, law firm/corporate sponsors and other donors in order to afford underrepresented populations effective access to the justice system.
Fellowship Timeline
| July 5, 2010 | The 2011 application is available here |
| Sept. 15, 2010 | The application and supporting paperwork are due to Equal Justice Works by 5 p.m. EDT |
| Nov. 2010 | Interviews begin for selected candidates |
| Dec. 2010 and Jan. 2011 |
Interviews continue; Fellowships are offered on a rolling basis |
| Sept. 2011 | Class of 2011 Fellows begin service |
About Equal Justice Works Fellowships
The Equal Justice Works (formerly NAPIL) Fellowships Program was launched in 1992 to address the shortage of attorneys working on behalf of traditionally under-served populations and causes in the United States and its territories. Recognizing that many obstacles prevent committed attorneys from practicing public interest law, including the dearth of entry-level jobs and daunting educational debts, the program provides financial and technical support to lawyers working on innovative and effective legal projects. The two-year Fellowships offer salary and generous loan repayment assistance; a national training and leadership development program; and other forms of support during the term of the Fellowship.
In 1997, with the support of a substantial matching grant from the Open Society Institute (OSI), the foundation created by financier and philanthropist George Soros, the Fellowships Program was expanded to encourage partnerships between law firms, corporations and public interest organizations to fund Fellowships. As a result, in 1998, the Fellowships Program, then called NAPIL Equal Justice Fellowships, became the nation’s largest postgraduate legal fellowship program by supporting 86 fellows working on domestic violence, homelessness, community economic development, immigration, civil rights, juvenile justice, employment rights, access to health care, consumer fraud, environmental justice and other critical issues. Equal Justice Works is currently supporting 100 Fellows in the field in the classes of 2008 and 2009.
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.
QUESTIONS?
Join the discussion at the Equal Justice Works forum.
IMPORTANT DATES
2011 Fellowship Application opens
Monday, July 5, 2010
2011 Fellowship application deadline:
Wednesday, September 15, 2010
IN THE NEWS
Woodland resident and Fijian immigrant to be allowed to stay in U.S.
Times are much better these days for Rashmir Kaur, a Fijian immigrant and Woodland resident who was nearly deported twice because of her paperwork. Kaur said her lawyer, Equal Justice Works Fellow Cassandra Lopez, is working on moving up her status hearing so she can secure her green card and start working again. Kaur was a nurse's assistant at Woodland Skilled Nursing Home; she said the home wrote a letter to ICE supporting her and will give her her old job back, once her status is fixed.