Public Interest Law Fellows Program

Columbia University School of Law

(2005-2007 Session)
 

The Public Interest Law Initiative (PILI) is pleased to invite applications for the Public Interest Law Fellows Program at Columbia Law School. The deadline for applications is April 4^th, 2005. The program will select lawyers from Central and Eastern Europe, Russia, the Caucasus and Central Asia for two years of study and practical work experience. In the past, Fellows from these countries have been joined by Fellows from China sponsored by the Ford Foundation. The program endeavors to target leaders in the fields of Roma Rights, women’s rights, environmental justice and other fields of public interest advocacy of particular relevance to the region.  Criteria for selection will include the experience of the applicant, the applicant’s potential to contribute to the development of the human rights or public interest law field in the region, and the suitability of the applicant’s proposed role in the nominating non-governmental organization (NGO). Applicants must have a minimum of two years relevant work experience outside of law school. Preference will be given to applicants under 35 years of age. Minorities, especially Roma, are strongly encouraged to apply. Selection decisions will be made by May 15^th, 2005. 

The Fellows will reside a total of ten months in the US, consisting of one semester of study at Columbia University and two ten-week internships. Fellows will return to their home countries after the first year, where they will spend at least one year working with their nominating NGO on human rights/public interest advocacy on a non-profit basis in such areas as providing legal services, strategic litigation, campaigning for reform, and human rights training/education. Upon their selection, Fellows will be required to sign an agreement with Columbia University according to which he/she will commit to two years in the program; the first year to be spent in the US and the second year in his/her home country working with the nominating NGO.

PILI will cover the cost of a round-trip coach airfare to the US and provide each Fellow with a monthly stipend for a period of up to 10 months, a textbook allowance, and medical insurance while in the US. The amount of this stipend is carefully calculated to cover the expenses of one person in the US for the period of one year. PILI will also provide a grant to the nominating NGO during the second year of the program to cover, in whole or in part, the Fellow’s salary and wage-related taxes and payments.

Please note, PILI cannot provide any financial or logistical assistance for accompanying family members, including securing suitable family housing. Moreover, Columbia University requires evidence of financial support for accompanying family members. In the 2004/2005 academic year, this amount was equal to $700 a month for an accompanying spouse and $350 a month for each dependent child. Providing proof of the requisite financial support for accompanying family members will be the responsibility of the applicant.

Program Description

The mission of the Public Interest Law Initiative (PILI) is to advance human rights principles by stimulating the development of a public interest law infrastructure in Central and Eastern Europe, Russia and Asia.  PILI is supported by the Ford Foundation, the Open Society Institute, the Mott Foundation, Rockefeller Brothers Fund, the Kellner Foundation, the UK Department for International Development, the European Commission, and the Soros network of foundations. The Public Interest Law Fellows Program is one of PILI’s core activities.

Fellows will be expected to arrive in early August in order to participate in “Comparative Introduction to American Law,” an intensive course that starts prior to other classes and provides an academic orientation for lawyers from civil law countries. In the first semester of the program, Public Interest Law Fellows participate in a non-degree program in which they audit 3 to 5 courses at Columbia Law School.  As auditors, Fellows do not participate in exams and do not receive grades or credit from the law school for completing a course. All Fellows are required to participate in a course taught by Edwin Rekosh, Executive Director of the Public Interest Law Initiative, entitled Workshop on Human Rights, Law and Development. This course – which pairs Fellows with a select group of full-time Columbia students – provides a practically-oriented overview of law reform issues confronting the legal systems of Central and Eastern Europe, Russia, and Asia from an interdisciplinary perspective, with an emphasis on democracy-building, civil society, and enhancing the promotion and protection of human rights.  Each Fellow will be expected to propose a project relating to human rights or other public interest law issues, which will be the subject of research and collaboration by teams formed with other students in the seminar. The project should be related to the needs and priorities of the applicant’s nominating NGO, but may change over the course of the semester based on the input of other students in the seminar. Ideally, the result of the seminar will be a project plan that can be further modified during the remainder of the year to fit the particular needs of the NGO.

In the spring and early summer, Fellows participate in two ten-week internships at human rights, legal services, or other public interest law organizations in the New York area. To the extent possible, internships will be selected according to Fellows’ particular interests in the area of human rights and public interest law.

More information about the Public Interest Law Initiative can be found on the Internet at: www.pili.org.  More information about Columbia Law School can be found at www.law.columbia.edu.

Application Procedure

Applicants must submit the following:

§         A completed program application form

§         A nominating letter from an indigenous NGO in the region describing the need for having a lawyer working in the organization and contractually committing to PILI to hire the applicant for at least one year after he/she returns from the US. The nomination letter should also indicate a monthly salary rate, inclusive of all income taxes, social security and other wage-related payments payable by the individual or organization, that will be offered to the applicant by the NGO in the event that he or she is selected for the program (up to $10,000 of this amount for the period of one year will be provided to the NGO by PILI in the form of a grant). 

§         At least one recommendation from an individual outside the nominating organization

§         A description of a project that the applicant would like to work on during the first semester of the program, ideally with practical significance to the nominating NGO. (Some past examples include: developing a strategic litigation strategy to address discrimination against women in the workplace; drafting a model mental health care law with a detailed implementation strategy; establishing a legal aid program, and promoting freedom of expression and religion through litigation and public education.)

§         Information on the nominating NGO and additional recommendations are also encouraged, although not required.

The electronic submission, via e-mail, of application materials is strongly encouraged although materials may also be submitted via facsimile or through regular mail. INCOMPLETE APPLICATIONS WILL NOT BE CONSIDERED. If an application is submitted without one of the required components, it will be disqualified unless the applicant can justify why he/she cannot obtain the needed information.

The DEADLINE for receiving applications at PILI is April 4^th, 2005.  For more information and application forms, please contact David Caughlin, Fellowship Program Manager, 435 W. 116^th St, Mailcode 3525, New York, New York; tel: 1-212-851-1060; fax: 1-212-851-1064;

e-mail: dcaugh@law.columbia.edu.

Click on the following link for more information about PILI’s Public Interest Law Fellowship Program and to download an application >>>