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Eligibility Requirements
All Georgetown Law students entering their 2L, 2E, 3L, 3E and 4E years are eligible to apply for summer funding from EJF. Prior to applying, a student must first obtain an offer of employment from a public interest employer. EJF defines a "public interest employer" as one that engages in law-related work that has as one of its primary purposes to:
- Provide representation to individuals, groups, or interests which might otherwise lack meaningful representation in the legal system
- Work towards political or social reform on behalf of groups and interests which might otherwise lack meaningful representation in the political process
- Work on behalf of the public at a government institution
Further, the job must be unpaid or draw only a small stipend. (See Policy on Outside Funding and Split Summers for more information.)
To qualify for a full fellowship of $3,250, a student must work a total of 400 hours during the summer. EJF also offers prorated fellowships for qualifying work in excess of 200 hours, but less than 400 hours, during the summer. Please note that receiving a partial fellowship in no way alters the responsibilities of fellowship recipients. (See Responsibilities of Fellowship Applicants and Recipients for more information.)
How Fellowships are Awarded
Because the EJF fellowship program is administered completely by students, we take great pains to make the fellowship-awarding process as fair and impartial as possible. The steps in the process are as follows:
- Applicants hand in applications to EJF. Each application includes a 50-word statement, composed by the applicant, which describes the work the student will accomplish in his/her summer internship.
- All applicants' 50-word statements are posted on a large bulletin near the Fund Drive tabling area, outside the McDonough cafeteria. While the statements will list each applicant's employer organization, they will not list the applicant's name. Each statement also has a numerical code. Each day, the 50-word statements are re-ordered.
- During the weeklong Fund Drive, all members of the Georgetown Law community are invited to "preference" the projects, listed on the bulletin boards, which they would most like to see funded. The price to preference is $35 for students, $100 for staff and faculty. When a student, staff or faculty member pays to preference, they are given a "preference form" with space to list up to 20 project codes. The preferencer selects their favorite projects, and puts the preference form in a sealed box.
- Students (none of whom are applicants) tally up the preference forms. The students with the most preference votes receive fellowships, based on the total funds we have to distribute at the end of the Fund Drive.
- Recipients are notified on Wednesday, April 11th 2007. It is possible that as money continues to come in, we will be able to take unfunded applicants off the waiting list. If a student is likely to be funded in this way, they will be notified via email at the conclusion of Fund Drive.
Responsibilities of Applicants and Recipients
Students should familiarize themselves with the following responsibilities of EJF applicants and recipients prior to applying for an EJF Fellowship. Failure to fulfill these responsibilities may result in ineligibility for funding or other penalties.
Responsibilities of EJF fellowship APPLICANTS:
- Securing an offer of employment (prior to handing in completed application on March 15)
- Handing in completed application, including 50-word statement, employer letter, to EJF (located in McDonough 208H) no later than 6:00 p.m. on Wednesday, March 15, 2006. Late applications will not be accepted.
- Attending mandatory meeting for fellowship applicants on March 15, 2007 at 12:15 pm or 8:00 pm.
- Volunteering 5 hours toward the Spring Fund Drive, with at least 3 hours spent working at the phone bank*
- Signing in and out for every hour worked; securing signature of phone bank supervisor on duty
- Important ethical obligation: While an applicant may tell friends where they are working in the summer, they may not do so in the context of "campaigning" for their fellowship. For example, it is fine to mention to a friend in conversation that you are working for the ACLU this summer. It is similarly permissible for an applicant to say to friends, "I am applying for an EJF fellowship, so I'd really appreciate if you would go preference, since the more money we raise, the more likely it will be that I'll get a fellowship." However, it is not allowed for you to say "I am working for the ACLU this summer, so go vote for me at the Fund Drive table. I am code number 435." Nor are applicants permitted to "campaign" by spreading their project codes via class announcements or mass emails.
Responsibilities of EJF fellowship RECIPIENTS:
- Signing recipient contract by date in May 1, 2007.
- Handing in completed tax forms by date in May 1, 2007.
- Attending fall mandatory meeting
- Handing in employer letter part 2, which states that you worked the required number of hours
- Handing in brief description (several paragraphs is fine) describing your summer employment experience
- Volunteering 15 hours toward the Fall Auction, with at least 7 hours spent working at the phone bank*
- Signing in and out for every hour worked; securing signature of phone bank supervisor on duty
*Outside the required phone bank hours, we do our best to provide applicants and recipients with a wide variety of tasks to help them complete their volunteer hours. At the applicants'/recipients' choosing, they may also volunteer to help in tabling, soliciting faculty members, picking up auction prizes, decorating for the auction, assisting in publicity, etc.
EJF Policy on Outside Funding and Split Summers
Dear Applicants,
While many resources at Georgetown Law support and promote work at corporate law firms, the Equal Justice Foundation strives to offer students the chance to pursue alternative experiences in public interest law. To make these experiences available to as many students as possible, EJF limits the eligibility of students who "split" summers at corporate firms or corporate legal departments to also apply for EJF fellowships. In doing so, we hope to encourage all applicants to pursue public interest employment, while allowing students flexibility to earn additional income (through both non-EJF fellowships and additional, non-corporate-law-firm work) to meet their financial needs. Please see the details of this policy below. We thank you in advance for your co-operation.
The Equal Justice Foundation Executive Board
Eligibility: A student working in a law-related public-interest job this summer is eligible to apply for an EJF fellowship when the job is:
- Unpaid, or
- Draws only a small stipend. (See notes on "fellowship sums" and "stipends" below.)
Fellowship Sums: Applicants are eligible to receive full or partial fellowships worth up to $3,250, based on the number of hours they will work. (For example, a full fellowship is awarded for 400 hours of work; a half fellowship of $1,625 is awarded for 200 hours of work, etc.)
Stipends: Applicants may also receive up to $2,000 for their public interest work from either their employer or some outside funding source (i.e. local bar association, Everett Public Service Internship Program, etc.) View a list of organizations offering stipends and fellowships for public interest work. However, any money earned through outside stipends over $2,000 will be deducted from your total EJF fellowship.
For example, Sally's public interest employer pays her a stipend of $1,500 for 400 hours of work. She also wins a public interest fellowship from the California Bar Association of $1,000. Sally is still eligible for EJF funding. However, because she is earning over $2,000 in outside funding for her public interest work, her EJF award will be reduced accordingly. Here, Sally is eligible for $2,750 (in other words, a full award of $3,250 minus $500 from her other fellowships) from EJF.
Applicants are highly encouraged to seek outside sources of funding for their summer work.
Volunteer obligations: EJF volunteer obligations do not change based on the sum of the fellowship awarded. Recipients must volunteer for EJF 5 hours in the spring and 15 hours in the fall, regardless of whether they receive a full or partial fellowship.
Corporate law firm or legal department work: Between the last day of the final exam period and the first day of school in the fall, a recipient receiving either a full or partial EJF fellowship for work in a public interest job may earn no more than $1,000 per week in additional income from work at a corporate law firm. (Please note: This means that students may earn no more than $1,000 in any one week during their summer. Total earnings may not be averaged. For example, someone earning $2,000 in one week at a law firm may not divide that sum by the number of weeks in the summer (ex: 10) to claim an average weekly earning of $200.)
All other types of work: Between the last day of the final exam period and the first day of school in the fall, a recipient receiving either a full or partial EJF fellowship for work in a public interest job may earn unlimited income in any other employment outside of their EJF-funded job, excluding employment in corporate law firms. (Example: Working as a research assistant, waiting tables at a restaurant, working at a store, etc. are all acceptable outside employment.)
Questions, comments and concerns about EJF policies and procedures may be directed the Equal Justice Foundation at ejf@law.georgetown.edu.
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