OPICS Public Interest Public Interest Leaders in Residence Program

The Office of Public Interest and Community Service will welcome six public interest lawyers to be members of the OPICS Public Interest Public Interest Leaders in Residence program in the 2026-27 academic year. The program deepens the connection between the Georgetown Law public interest community and practitioners who are making significant contributions to important and emerging areas of public interest practice. 

Responsibilities and Funding

Each Leader in Residence will complete a 3-day residency during the 2026-27 academic year at Georgetown Law’s campus in Washington, D.C. During their residency, they will provide career-related professional development and advising to the public interest scholars and other public interest-minded students through scheduled one-on-one advising meetings, group learning sessions, and on-campus speaking engagements, including leading a session of the Public Interest Law Seminar.

Leaders in Residence will also collaborate with public interest scholars and the Office of Public Interest and Community Service on practice-area specific resource development, to ensure that Leaders’ insight and expertise is available to the broader Georgetown Law community.

Leaders in Residence will receive a $1000 honorarium and funding support for lodging, meals, travel, and transportation. 

The Leaders in Residence Program is open to applicants who must participate virtually. 

Eligibility

Applicants to the program should be lawyers with a substantial public interest legal career and leadership experience. The Leaders in Residence Program views leadership broadly. Leaders often contribute to public interest practice in meaningful ways that are not evident from a particular job title or level of seniority within an organizational structure. There are no minimum years of practice and applicants should discuss in their application their meaningful contributions to and changemaking in public interest practice. Current Georgetown Law staff and faculty are not eligible to serve as leaders in this program.

Selection Process

The application is open for the 2026-27 OPICS Public Interest Leaders in Residence Program.
Applicants must fill out the online application form by Friday, February 27, 2026 at 11:59 PM EST.

• Resume
• One letter of recommendation from a person that the applicant has mentored and/or advised, and a list of two additional references.

Applicants will be selected by a committee that includes the Public Interest Scholars, OPICS Staff, and Georgetown Law Faculty. Applicants may be asked to speak briefly with a member of the Selection Committee as part of the selection process. Applicants will be selected based on their demonstrated commitment to public interest lawyering, their potential contributions to the Leaders in Residence program, and their capacity to advise, mentor, and collaborate. The program will update applicants on their status by May 2026.

Inspired by Harvard Law School’s Wasserstein Fellows program, the Leaders in Residence program is made possible by a generous donor who wishes to remain anonymous.

If you have any questions, please email opicsleadersinresidence@georgetown.edu.