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Prettyman/Stiller Post-Graduate Fellowship Program ruler
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E. Barrett Prettyman Fellowship and Stuart Stiller Post-Graduate Fellowship Program

    In 1960, Georgetown University Law Center established a pioneer legal internship program for recent graduates of law schools. The E. Barrett Prettyman and Stuart Stiller Fellowship Program combines instruction in the Law Center's graduate school with representation of indigent clients in the local courts of the District of Columbia. It trains recent law graduates in both the academic and practical aspects of courtroom advocacy. At the same time, the program contributes to the improvement of defense advocacy in the criminal justice system by providing able, devoted counsel under mature supervision for indigent defendants.

    The Fellowships are awarded to four outstanding recent law graduates selected to participate in a two-year program leading to the LL.M. degree. Three fellowships were established in honor of E. Barrett Prettyman, the distinguished former Chief Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, and one fellowship honors the advocate and lecturer, Stuart Stiller. Participation in the Fellowship is contingent upon admission to the District of Columbia Bar. The Fellowships provide a stipend (taxable) of $48,000 per year, in addition to full tuition and fees.

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Jim Smith, Abbe Smith, and Robert Lominack.
     New fellows register at the Law Center in mid-August. The first five weeks of the program are devoted to an intense, comprehensive study of criminal law, procedure, evidence, and trial practice. Thereafter, the fellows represent indigent clients in criminal cases in the local courts of the District of Columbia. Fellows begin with misdemeanor cases and later move on to felony appointments. All trial work is under close supervision of Professors John Copacino and Abbe Smith, both of whom have substantial experience in the trial of criminal cases. The fellows are supported by a professional investigator and interns in the Clinic's Investigative Internship Program.

    At the beginning of the second year, the fellows substantially reduce the number of new cases they accept and assume major responsibility for the supervision of students in the Criminal Justice Clinic and the Juvenile Justice Clinic. In these clinics, third-year law students represent defendants in misdemeanor and juvenile proceedings. The fellows also bear some of the responsibility for classroom instruction in the clinics. The program ends in July of the second year.


Applying for a Fellowship at Our Clinic

    For the past several years we have received well over 130 applications for the four fellowships. We do the best we can to give every application individual attention. We will rarely reject an applicant solely on the basis of an uninspiring transcript. Conversely, we have never accepted an applicant because of an awesome grade point average. We try instead to give weight to all of the varied experiences and talents which indicate potential as a trial lawyer and clinical supervisor.

    Unfortunately, these talents and experiences will not always be reflected in application materials unless the applicant makes a special effort to see that they are. Please provide us with as full a picture of yourself as you can and encourage your references to be as detailed as possible.

    The application deadline for fellowships beginning in August, 2008 is November 3, 2007.  We will try to notify applicants selected for interviews by the end of November.  Please make sure to include a telephone number where we can reach you in December. We interview in our office during the month of December, and we make final selections in February and March.

    Thank you for your interest in the Prettyman/Stiller Program.

    Inquiries and requests for applications should be directed to:

      Ms. Teruko R. Scriven, Executive Assistant
      E. Barrett Prettyman Fellowship Program
      111 F Street N.W., Room 130
      Washington, D.C. 20001
      202-662-9575

    Or you can email us at scriven@law.georgetown.edu.

To download a pdf version of our Prettyman/Stiller Fellowship application, click here.

Revised September 19, 2007 (MA)