Brief Description:

The Liman Summer Fellowship offers undergraduate students an opportunity to work at public interest organizations in the United States.

Description:

The Liman Summer Fellowship offers students an opportunity to work at public interest organizations in the United States.

Individuals who are selected to receive Summer Fellowships are required to submit final reports about their summer experiences by September 7, and they are required to participate in the annual Liman Center Colloquium held every spring at Yale Law School.

Colloquium topics have included Economic Injustice: Courts, Law Schools, and Institutionalizing Reforms; Who Pays? Fines, Fees, Bail, and the Cost of Courts, Moving Criminal Justice, and Navigating Boundaries: Immigration and Criminal Law. Our twentieth anniversary Colloquium, held in 2017, was Liman at 20: Public Interest(s). Through their involvement with the Liman Center, Summer Fellows become part of a large network of public interest advocates and scholars.

Examples of Host Organizations

Organizations throughout the United States have hosted Liman Summer Fellows. The placement organization must be a qualified nonprofit, including 501(c)(3) organizations, based in the United States. No fellowships are awarded for placements at for-profit organizations. The Fellowship is not restricted to particular substantive areas.

A host of organizations serve the public interest across a variety of practice areas, including immigrants’ rights and deportation defense, housing advocacy, labor and workers’ rights, indigent criminal defense, death penalty representation, prisoners’ rights, civil liberties, children and family services, public interest media, prison re-entry, disability rights, mental health advocacy, and education.

Application Information:

Applications must be submitted online through the Student Grants Database. Please submit all documents in PDF format. Except for your transcript, all documents must be in Courier New 12 pt font. Incomplete applications will not be accepted.

A complete application for undergraduates at Yale includes:

Your resume (no more than two pages), which should include both academic and work experiences, including volunteer work and public service projects.
A reflective essay not to exceed 1,000 words about yourself, so that the Selection Committee can learn more about you. Please do not repeat your resume, and feel free to write about topics, ideas, or projects that engage you and that help us understand your commitments.
Two letters of recommendation from Yale faculty (preferably, if possible, from ladder faculty, or faculty who have visited at Yale and now teach at another institution, rather than teaching assistants or graduate students). The recommendations should come from individuals who know your work.
A copy of your current college transcript. (An unofficial copy suffices.)
Summer host organization. You need not have secured an internship when you apply for the Liman Summer Fellowship. However, be aware that some summer internship application deadlines will pass before the Summer Fellows are selected. We therefore recommend that, if possible, you reach out to organizations in areas of interest to you to learn whether they can offer you a position and explain that you have pending applications for support. Once selections are made, you can return to those organizations you have contacted.

Special Eligibility Requirements:

Liman Summer Fellowship placements must be within the United States. International placements are not eligible. Additionally, the Liman Center sponsors two designated summer fellowships, one at the Legal Action Center in its New York City and/or D.C. office, and one at All Our Kin in New Haven. Please review each organization’s website and indicate in this section of the application whether you would like to be considered for either of these placements.

For applicants who are selected but who have not already obtained placements, the Liman Center will assist in helping to identify internship opportunities that fit the Summer Fellows’ interests.

This section of the application should include, no more than one page, a description of the organizations you have contacted or are intending to contact for summer placement.

Links to Additional Information:

The Arthur Liman Center for Public Interest Law supports Yale undergraduates and Yale Law School graduates working in the public interest. Public interest law includes a variety of types of law-related work done in furtherance of the public good. Examples of organizations doing such work include non-profit offices that provide representation for individuals who cannot afford attorneys, organizations that advocate on behalf of underserved communities, and non-profits and government offices that shape public policy.

Contact Information:

For questions about this application, please contact Jennifer Taylor at jennifer.taylor@yale.edu

Search Filters:

Current Year of Study

First-Year Student
Sophomore
Junior

Term of Award

Summer

Grant or Fellowship Purpose

Internship/Work
Community or Public Service

Global Region or Country

-- United States (North America)

Citizenship Status

U.S. citizens are eligible
Non-U.S. citizens are eligible

Begin Accepting Applications Date:

1/03/2024

Deadline Date (EST Time Zone) :

1/28/2024 11:59 PM

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