1.03.2013

PALS 2013 Summer Civil Rights Fellowship Program



The PALS Civil Rights Fellowship Program is designed to provide exceptional candidates, who are committed to pursuing a career in public interest, with a unique summer opportunity to work at one of three distinguished civil rights organizations. Through its generous donors, PALS will support law students of color, who are interested in becoming part of the next generation of civil rights attorneys, with an invaluable summer professional experience that includes a $5000 stipend.

What is the PALS Civil Rights Fellowship Program?
The PALS Civil Rights Fellowship Program will place three deserving law students of color with leadership potential, a commitment to social justice work, and excellent legal, written, research and communications skills, in a ten-week summer fellowship at one of the following civil rights organizations:

Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund
LatinoJustice PRLDEF
NAACP Legal Defense and Education Fund, Inc.

PALS Fellows will be supervised by attorneys at the Civil Rights Organization in which they are placed and will be responsible for legal research, memorandum writing, factual investigation, development of educational and outreach material, and discovery review. PALS Fellows may also have the opportunity to participate in client interviews and accompany lawyers to court hearings. During the summer, the Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund, LatinoJustice PRLDEF, and the NAACP Legal Defense and Education Fund, Inc., will jointly host a series of weekly brown-bag lectures on a range of public interest topics for the benefit of their summer interns. Each PALS Fellow will also have the benefit of attending these lectures. Split summers will be considered on a case by case basis, where students only work as a PALS Fellow for five weeks.

Who should apply?
Full-time matriculated law students of color considering career paths in civil rights are encouraged to apply. Although second-year law students are preferred, exceptional first-year students will also be considered. Additionally, only students attending one of the thirteen New York City metropolitan area law schools PALS serves are eligible to apply. These schools are Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law, Brooklyn Law School, Columbia University School of Law, CUNY School of Law, Fordham University School of Law, Hofstra University School of Law, New York Law School, New York University School of Law, Pace University School of Law, Rutgers University School of Law (Newark), Seton Hall University School of Law, St. John's University School of Law, and Touro College, Jacob D. Fuchsberg Law Center.

How do I apply?
Applicants must fill out the attached application and provide the additional requested supporting documents.

What is included in the fellowship?
Recipients will be granted a $5,000 stipend. Each PALS Fellow will have a designated PALS Summer Mentor and will participate in specific required events with the other Fellows and their Summer Mentors. Training will also be supplemented by PALS networking, professional development and skills workshops. At the conclusion of the program, the PALS Fellows will be asked to provide insights and a brief presentation on their respective experiences to the larger PALS community. The summer fellowships are not expected to lead to an offer for full-time employment.

Eligibility and Qualifications: To apply for the fellowship, you must
  • Be a law student of color.
  • Be a first- or second-year law student matriculated at any of the above thirteen law schools.
  • Have a strong commitment to excellence and personal and professional growth.
  • Possess outstanding academic performance and leadership capabilities in extracurricular activities.
  • Exhibit superior legal analysis and research and communication skills.
  • Be a team player and individual contributor.
  • Have a demonstrated passion of advocating for social, racial, economic, or civil rights.

The application deadline is Friday, January 18, 2013, at 11:59 p.m., EST. However, applications will be reviewed and decided upon on a rolling basis, and students are encouraged to apply early. Please see the attached APPLICATION and full DESCRIPTION.

Should you have any questions regarding the fellowship, please email the Executive Director of PALS, Paula Brown Donaldson, Esq. at executivedirector@palsprogram.org

Fellowship Sponsors
The PALS 2013 Summer Civil Rights Fellowship Program stipends are made possible by the generosity of Paul Weiss Rifkind Wharton & Garrison LLP, Sidley Austin LLP, and PALS.


For further information, visit our website at www.palsprogram.org

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