The Equal Justice Works Fellowships program sponsors leadership development training over the course of the two-year Fellowship. The goal of this training is to provide Fellows with practical leadership and management skills that will help them be successful in their Fellowships and, in the long term, their careers. Built on 10 identified leadership competencies, the training offers hands-on skills development in areas such as fundraising, media relations, community organizing and strategic planning. Additionally, the training offers a great opportunity to build long-term peer networks that will last throughout the Fellow's public interest career.

Equal Justice Works provides Fellows with program support and assistance, and facilitates relationships among Fellows, host organizations and sponsors through reports, a listserv, a web site, local and regional get-togethers, site visits by staff and ongoing correspondence.

Equal Justice Works will provide each host organization with up to $39,000 annually toward a Fellow's salary. Each host organization is instructed to set its Fellow's salary commensurate with what a standard entry-level attorney with similar experience would receive at that organization. The organization must provide the difference if the salary level exceeds $39,000. Salary must be agreed upon prior to submitting an application.

Equal Justice Works provides loan repayment assistance to Fellows who qualify through its Loan Repayment Assistance Program (LRAP). The amount of assistance a Fellow will receive depends on the amount of debt, the type of loans and whether the Fellow is eligible for assistance from any other loan repayment assistance programs. Therefore, the amount of each LRAP award varies but will not exceed $10,000 per Fellow per Fellowship year.

Equal Justice Works calculates the Fellow's LRAP amount as though the Fellow's eligible educational loans were on a 25-year repayment term. The 25-year term is applied for calculation purposes regardless of the actual term of the loan. The calculation is based on the loan's original principal, so that Fellows who are not recent graduates and thus have been making loan payments are treated the same as new graduates.

The LRAP covers both graduate and undergraduate educational debt. It generally covers federally funded and private educational loans, including commercial bar loans. The LRAP does not cover nontraditional, non-commercial loans, such as those made by a relative. A Fellow's eligibility amount will be reduced dollar-for-dollar by any assistance from another program, and Fellows are required to maximize their participation in other LRAPs for which they are eligible. Assistance to incoming 2008 Fellows will commence at the time the first payment on each loan is due after Sept. 1, 2008. New graduates are required to maximize their lenders' grace periods.