NOTICE: The staff of Equal Justice Works recognizes that Hurricane Ike will have an impact on communities in the Gulf Coast, particularly the Houston area. In light of the evacuation and probable power outages, we understand that this will probably pose problems for those trying to meet our September 16 application deadline. If you are an applicant who is from Texas and impacted by Hurricane Ike, please contact the Fellowships staff at fellowships@equaljusticeworks.org. If you cannot access email, please phone us at (202) 466-3686 ext. 202. The Equal Justice Works staff will work with you beyond the deadline in order to ensure that you have a fair opportunity to complete your online application and letters of recommendation. We are keeping all of those impacted by Hurricane Ike in our thoughts.

The Equal Justice Works Fellowships 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

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 104 Fellows in the field: 50 Fellows who began in September 2006 and 54 new Fellows who began last fall.

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.