Post-graduate fellowships are wonderful opportunities for students to have more choice in pursuing the public interest employment of their dreams. Post-graduate fellowships are entry-level, time-limited positions, and are often the only avenue to do entry-level work at prominent national non-profit organizations.
Post-graduate fellowships take many forms. One model, usually called "project-based fellowships," are when a third party funds fellowships for fellows to work at other organizations. Equal Justice Works and the Skadden Fellowship Program are the two largest of this type for law graduates. Applicants must develop projects to do during their one- or two-year fellowship period.
A second model is the "organization-based fellowship." These are provided by the non-profit organizations themselves and there are hundreds of these around the country. Applying for these is more like applying for most jobs; you submit a cover letter, resume and references, but do not have to create a project.
A third model is often called "teaching fellowships," and these can be divided into several different types. One type provides a degree in clinical teaching. Georgetown Law Center offers the largest such program. Fellows can work in nine or so different clinics. They will receive instruction in teaching and in the subject matter of the clinic, act as an instructor in the clinic and an attorney for the clinic's clients, receive a salary and benefits, and receive an LL.M. at the end of the two-year program. Many law schools offer fellowships to prepare lawyers for academic careers. Other fellows work at law school clinics and centers, or in public interest work, or research and writing, and this work may or may not lead to an LL.M. degree.
Government honors programs could be considered "government fellowships." Examples of this type of fellowship program are the Presidential Management Fellows Program, the White House Fellows Program, and the Supreme Court Fellows Program.
"Entrepreneurial fellowships" could take two forms: 1) you could write a grant to raise funds so that an organization could hire you; or 2) you could create your own 501 (c) (3) non-profit organization. This latter is probably the most complicated approach to a fellowship.
"Firm-sponsored fellowships" are increasing and take many forms: 1) the firm places the fellow with a non-profit organization, such as legal services, for a set period, with or without a commitment or expectation that the person returns to the firm; 2) the fellow works within the law firm in a designated position on a law firm pro bono project; or 3) a public interest law firm hires an entry-level attorney with a commitment to a limited period of employment, similar to "organization-based fellowships."
Students who know they will be interested in applying for a post-graduate fellowship are encouraged to begin the process early. Many of the deadlines are very early the 3L year so your application should be almost complete when you return to school. Some students start the process as early as their first year by choosing as their first summer employer someone whom they think might be a good sponsor for their application.
The process of searching for post-graduate fellowships has been greatly aided by PSLawNet, which publishes an on-line fellowship database with hundreds of fellowship programs and indispensable resource guides that explain the application process in detail. Most of the fellowships are for new law graduates or up to ten years out. Duke Law School subscribes to PSLawNet for use by Duke Law students and alumni. To use the Fellowship Guide, visit http://www.pslawnet.org/ and register as a Duke Law student or alumni. Once in, be sure to see the list of application deadlines, the database, and the resource guides for both domestic and international fellowship opportunities.
Students interested in applying for post-graduate fellowships should be sure that the Office of Public Interest and Pro Bono as well as the Career Center know about your plans. You should seek assistance from them in the fellowship process and, if you are seeking a "project-based fellowship," the organization you are applying to can also give you a great deal of help on your application once they have decided to sponsor you.
Interested Duke Law alumni and students are invited to join Duke Law's post-graduate fellowship listserv for the latest news on fellowship opportunities.
Some of the Duke Law Post-Graduate Fellowship Recipients
Kim Bart '02 - After a couple of years in private practice, Kim became a Federal Legislation Clinic Teaching Fellow at the Georgetown Law Center. She finished her fellowship in spring 2006 and was awarded an LL.M. During the fellowship she received a salary, taught law students how to lobby and worked on national legislation for Catholic Social Charities. Kim is now head of a domestic violence clinic at the University of Alabama School of Law.
See generally the Georgetown Law Clinical Graduate Fellowships.
See the Federal Legislation Clinic.
Emilia Beskind '08 is in the Prettyman Fellowship program. This Georgetown Law fellowship provides about $150,000 in tuition, fees and stipends over two years as the fellow works toward her LL.M in Advocacy. It is considered the most prestigious fellowship in the country for anyone who intends to practice criminal law or be involved in criminal justice clinical education. Emilia will study and practice criminal law in the DC courts the first year. The second year she reduces her caseload and also supervises Georgetown Law students in their criminal clinics. (We are informed that Duke Law had at least one previous Prettyman Fellow, Tom Meehan '65.)
See generally the Georgetown Law Clinical Graduate Fellowships and the Prettyman Fellowship.
Rodney Bullard '01 was a White House Fellow and now works at the Pentagon as an Air Force Legislative Liaison to the House and Senate Armed Services Committees. He is an active duty Major in the United States Air Force. Rodney has served as a special prosecutor with the Air Force Legal Services Agency.
See the White House Fellows Program.
Elizabeth Catlin '94 - Elizabeth received a Women's Law and Public Policy Fellowship in DC and now runs her own wealth management business. At Duke Law, she founded the Domestic Violence Assistance Project (DVAP, and now called DVSAAP) and was one of the founders of the Gender Journal.
See the Women's Law and Public Policy Fellowship.
Emily Friedman '98 - Emily received a Skadden Fellowship to do legal aid work relating to day care and welfare-to-work in Chicago. She now works for Oprah Winfrey's Harpo Foundation.
See the Skadden Fellowship Program.
Maya Horton Harris '99 - Maya received an Equal Justice Works (then known as NAPIL) Fellowship to work on equal financing for public schools in New Jersey. After the two-year fellowship, she continued her fellowship project theme with two jobs focusing on public school financing. She now works for the Council on Foundations in DC. She has experience screening applications for Equal Justice Works.
See the Equal Justice Works Fellowship Program.
Sebastian Kielmanovich '04 - Sebastian received an Everett Fellowship to work with a designated legal aid office in North Carolina. Two are awarded each year. His was to do domestic violence work in Wilmington, NC. Since then, he has been an Assistant District Attorney in Wilmington and Raleigh, NC, and is now in the NC DOJ. Sebastian@alumni.duke.edu or semastian.kielmanovich@law.duke.edu
See the Everett Fellowship Program.
Amanda McRae '09 - Amanda received the Alan R. and Barbara D. Finberg Fellowship, a one-year fellowship with Human Rights Watch in its New York, D.C., or London office. This fellowship is open to graduates (at the Master's level) in the fields of law, journalism, international relations, or other relevant studies, and fellows work on a country- or topic-specific international human rights project during their year to expand the work of Human Rights Watch.
Emily Marroquin '04 - Emily received fellowship offers from both Equal Justice Works and Fair Trial Initiative. In spring 2006, she finished up her two-year fellowship with the Fair Trial Initiative in Durham, NC and is now working for the Federal Defender's Office in Charlotte, NC.
See the Fair Trial Initiative Fellowship Program.
(The Fair Trial Initiative Fellowship was created by Duke Law graduate Zepher Teachout '99.)
Jennifer Mellon '02 - Jennifer completed a two-year fellowship with Fair Trial Initiative.)
See the Fair Trial Initiative Fellowship Program.
Leah Nicholls '07 - Leah is the 2008-2009 recipient of the Supreme Court Assistance Project Fellowship with the Public Citizen Litigation Group in DC. Her job is to find and screen Supreme Court cert petitions to see whether Public Citizen would be interested in working on them, and then be the contact person/public face of the organization in any resulting assistance. She also works on briefs, research, and preparation for oral arguments. The Litigation Group's attorneys specialize in cases involving health and safety regulation, consumer rights, access to the courts, class actions, open government, and the First Amendment, including Internet free speech. Its attorneys litigate cases at all levels of the federal and state judiciaries and have argued over 50 cases in the U.S. Supreme Court. Before the fellowship, Leah clerked for a federal judge in Texas.
See the Supreme Court Assistance Project Fellowship Program.
Kisha Payton '05 - Kisha received the first fellowship offered by the Duke Endowment, which is based in Charlotte, and now works with Citizens Schools in Boston, MA.
See the Duke Endowment Fellowship Program.
Dimitri Varmazis '04 - Dimitri received an Everett Fellowship to work with Legal Aid of North Carolina - Charlotte and continues to work there.
See the Everett Fellowship Program.