Equal Justice Works News Release

	news release
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: May 22, 2008 CONTACT: James Carroll (202) 466-3686 ext. 102	jcarroll@equaljusticeworks.org www.equaljusticeworks.org
EQUAL JUSTICE WORKS FELLOWSHIPS NAMES CLASS OF 2008
WASHINGTON, D.C. - Equal Justice Works Fellowships, the largest postgraduate legal fellowship program in the U.S., announced the names of 54 lawyers who will begin two-year projects this fall. Each year, thousands of law students graduate with a desire to work on behalf of underserved communities and causes. Those who apply to Equal Justice Works Fellowships are given the opportunity to design their “dream jobs” working with nonprofit organizations which have agreed to host applicants who are awarded a fellowship. Many Fellows are sponsored by law firms or corporations whose interests may intersect with the proposed project. Fellow projects range across a wide spectrum of issues, from protecting immigrant children to protecting the environment, from helping communities rebuild torn neighborhoods to helping survivors of domestic violence rebuild their torn lives. More than 275 lawyers submitted applications for the Class of 2008. The new Fellows represent 36 Equal Justice Works member law schools and will be working at organizations in 15 states and the District of Columbia. In the fall, the new Fellows will join 54 other lawyers already in the field—the Class of 2007—for a total of 108 Equal Justice Works Fellows. Equal Justice Works also engages 35 lawyers as AmeriCorps Legal Fellows and 350 law students as members of the Summer Corps program each year. “Our goal is to create a sustainable pipeline of lawyers entering public service,” said Cait Clarke, Director of Public Interest Law Opportunities at Equal Justice Works. “We are enormously proud of the accomplishments of all of our Fellows and of the fact that more than three-quarters continue public interest work after their two-year fellowship terms.” The application period for the 2009 class of Equal Justice Works Fellows begins in July. For more information about Equal Justice Works Fellowships and other public interest law opportunities, visit http://www.equaljusticeworks.org/programs. - end - Equal Justice Works, a nonprofit, nonpartisan 501(c)(3) organization, was founded in 1986 by law students dedicated to working for equal justice on behalf of underserved communities and causes. Today, Equal Justice Works is the national leader in creating summer and postgraduate public interest opportunities for law students and lawyers as well as in urging more public interest programming at law schools. For more information, visit www.equaljusticeworks.org.
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