Equal Justice Works Fellowships

The Equal Justice Works (EJW) Fellowship funds a broad array of public interest legal work. For the last several years, over 50 fellowships were awarded annually.

All fellowships run for a two-year period and include participation in a national training program. Each fellow earns the salary of an entry-level attorney at the sponsoring organization (called the host organization in EJW's application materials), up to a maximum of $39,000 per year plus loan repayment assistance. (Fellows can actually make more than $39,000, but EJW will pay only up to that amount.) Sponsoring organizations must pay fringe benefits.

Applications for 2009 EJW fellowships are due Tuesday, September 16, 2008. All applications must be submitted online. Hard copies, emails and faxes will not be accepted. Semifinalists will be selected and interviewed between October and December 2008, and fellowship offers will be extended on a rolling basis beginning in November 2008.

EJW funds only domestic-based projects, and sponsoring organizations must have 501(c)(3) tax status. Basic criminal defense work is not eligible, but death penalty work and projects involving innovative strategies challenging the fairness or adequacy of the criminal justice system are.

EJW prefers projects that involve a combination of legal work, including litigation, grassroots organizing, public education, and community outreach. It also gives preference to projects designed to have broad societal impact, those that can be replicated in other communities, and those in rural locations or poor communities.

Differences between Equal Justice Works and Skadden Fellowships Grades are one area in which the Skadden and EJW fellowship programs differ. Skadden definitely places more importance on academic performance. A second distinction between the programs lies in the project descriptions. EJW applications ask for very detailed project proposals and timelines, while Skadden only requires one-page project descriptions. This does not mean, however, that Skadden applicants do not need to have concrete project proposals. Applicants selected for Skadden interviews are asked very detailed questions about their projects. Finally, Skadden encourages applicants to call about potential sponsors and projects, whereas EJW staff prefer to communicate with candidates via email correspondence.

 

Selection criteria & evaluation process
In assessing individual candidates, EJW places a premium on demonstrated commitment to public interest law and relevant experience. Generally, the most competitive candidates are those who have undertaken significant public interest work or other activities before and/or during law school. Preference is given to candidates with a "personal history and identification" with communities to be served by their projects. The application packet explicitly states that "traditional measures of academic achievement," such as grades and law review, are not relevant. Organizations are evaluated based on their accomplishments, how the project fits into their mission and objectives, the type of training and support they can provide, and their ability to provide standard employee fringe benefits.