LL.M. Pro Bono Fellowship Program - Introduction and Overview
Columbia Law School is pleased to announce the continuation of the LL.M. Pro Bono Fellowship for the academic year 2009-2010. The Fellowship, which was inaugurated in 2006, reflects Columbia’s commitment to the thoughtful multinational development of an ethic of professional responsibility and the belief that participation by the private sector in pro bono service is essential to achieving equal access to justice.
LL.M. Pro Bono Fellows ideally will receive an excellent legal education, combining courses and seminars at the law school with practical work experience at corporate law firms in both private matters and pro bono service. First, the Fellows will be candidates for the Master of Laws (LL.M.) Degree at Columbia Law School. The goal is that, after successful completion of their studies, the Fellows will work at a U.S. law firm or corporate law department, which has an excellent private practice and an exemplary pro bono practice. The Fellow’s assignments at their post-graduate placements will include private matters as well as pro bono work, and the Fellows will be paid commensurate with other foreign associates. (Postgraduate placement cannot be guaranteed.) Upon return to their home countries, the Fellows will assist their firms’ participation in an international network of firms committed to the development of pro bono practice.
The Fellowship Program builds upon Columbia’s traditional excellence in the education of international lawyers for private practice, our award-winning pro bono program for J.D. students, and our relationships with private practice and public interest lawyers in the U.S. and abroad. It also will benefit from Columbia’s close relationship with Public Interest Law Institute (PILI) and the Cyrus R. Vance Center for International Justice Initiatives at the New York Bar Association. They collaborate with lawyers, bar associations and NGOs in Asia, Europe, Latin America or Russia to support local efforts to promote and institutionalize pro bono legal services.
The Fellowship’s primary purpose is to contribute to the educational and professional development of young private practitioners who are committed to pro bono service. Another goal is to make a meaningful contribution to the growth of pro bono practice in the Fellows’ home law firms and legal communities. We expect the Fellowship to foster pro bono and an international network of pro bono practitioners.
Application Deadlines:
The LL.M. Pro Bono Fellowship Program application must be postmarked no later than December 15, 2009. Faxed or e-mailed applications will not be accepted.
The LL.M. Pro Bono Fellowship ideally consists of two parts: candidacy for the LL.M. Degree at Columbia Law School and a fellowship at a U.S. corporate law firm or corporate law department.
The Columbia Law School LL.M. Degree Program For general information about Columbia’s LL.M. Program, please visit: http://www.law.columbia.edu/llm_jsd/llm/standards. You may also obtain information through the Graduate Legal Studies Office:
Office of Graduate Legal Studies
Columbia University School of Law
435 West 116th Street, MC 4036
New York, NY 10027-7297
Tel.: (001 -- 212) 854-2655
Fax: (001 -- 212) 854-9742 gls@law.columbia.edu
Candidates for the Master of Laws (LL.M.) degree are required to spend one academic year (two terms) of full-time study and research in residence at Columbia Law School, commencing only at the beginning of Columbia’s academic year (in late August-early September). Participants in the LL.M. Pro Bono Fellowship Program must be full-time students and therefore may not work for compensation during their academic year of residence.
Course of Study at Columbia Law School
Like all other LL.M. students, the Pro Bono Fellows will create their own program of study to meet their educational needs, in consultation with their academic advisors. The only unique academic requirement for Pro Bono Fellows is mandatory enrollment in the Externship on Pro Bono Practice and Design for four credits. The Externship on Pro Bono will be offered to Columbia J.D. and other LL.M. students as well as the Pro Bono Fellows. It consists of (1) a seminar on the history, ethics, guidelines, practicalities and critiques of pro bono practice in private law firms and corporate law departments and (2) a practical field component in which students volunteer at not-for-profit organizations and reflect upon and discuss their experiences. The majority of the grade for the seminar will be based upon each student’s concept paper for a pro bono project to be implemented by each student for implementation after graduation. Discussion of the Fellows’ evolving project designs with their professor, classmates and expert consultants from law firms, corporate law departments and NGOs will be a major focus of the seminar.
LL.M. Pro Bono Fellows are eligible for all financial aid that is available to candidates for the LL.M. degree at Columbia Law School.
Because of the limited funding available for assistance and the high cost of attending law school in the United States, applicants are encouraged to begin seeking other sources of funds early in the application process.
Position at Corporate Law Firm or Corporate Law Department
The goal is that after successful completion of the LL.M. program, LL.M. Pro Bono Fellows will continue to learn about pro bono practice in the United States, by working as foreign associates at U.S. law firms and corporate law departments. Best efforts will be made by the LL.M. Pro Bono Fellowship program to assist each Fellow to obtain a post-graduate position with a corporate law firm or corporate law department that agrees to participate in the pilot project. However, postgraduate placement cannot be guaranteed. (Fellows who obtain a position will not be permitted to interview at Columbia’s LL.M. job fair.) The Fellows will do both corporate and pro bono work. The length of the post-graduate placement usually is 9 to 12 months but may be adjusted to satisfy the needs of the host organization and the Fellow, taking into account the Fellow’s obligations to the home law firm. The host organizations will pay the Fellows a salary commensurate with those they pay to other foreign associates with similar experience and qualifications.
LL.M. Pro Bono Fellowship Qualifications and Application Procedure
The ideal applicant will be committed to pro bono service , have at least three years of post-graduate experience in the practice of law, demonstrate leadership ability, be employed at a law firm or corporate law department with a reputation in its community for excellent private practice and a commitment to pro bono service and come from a city or country that has some tradition of pro bono practice. Only students admitted to Columbia's LL.M. program will be considered for the LL.M. Pro Bono Fellowship.
A complete application consists of:
1) An application to the LL.M. Program at Columbia Law School. The LL.M. application must be postmarked no later than December 15, 2009. Faxed or emailed applications will not be accepted.
2) An application to the LL.M. Pro Bono Program. The application for the Program must be postmarked no later than December 15, 2009. Faxed or emailed applications will not be accepted.
The Pro Bono Fellowship Application consists of:
1) A short (1-2 pages, single spaced) essay by the applicant describing the current and previous pro bono work done and goals for pro bono service for the next five years, including a statement of commitment by the applicant to return to his or her home country and to perform a minimum of 50 hours of pro bono service annually after completion of the LL.M. Pro Bono Fellowship.
2) A brief (1-2 paragraphs) description of the nature of pro bono in the applicant’s home city or country.
3) A letter of nomination by a person at the applicant’s law firm, who can comment knowledgeably about the applicant's leadership abilities, pro bono commitment and plans; and who is authorized to include the required statement committing the firm to allowing the applicant to perform a minimum of 50 hours of pro bono service annually upon return to the firm after completion of the LL.M. Pro Bono Fellowship.
4) A letter of nomination by a person who works at a not-for-profit organization or a law school public interest clinical education program, who can comment knowledgeably about the applicant's leadership abilities, pro bono commitment and plans. Ideally, this letter would be written by a person at an organization with which the applicant may perform pro service upon return home after completion of the LL.M. Pro Bono Fellowship. Persons who work at the applicants’ law firm cannot write this letter.
The application for the LL.M. Pro Bono Fellowship Program should be sent to:
Ellen P. Chapnick
Dean for Social Justice Initiatives
Columbia Law School
Box B-26
435 W. 116th Street
New York, New York 10027
U.S.A.
Faxed and e-mailed applications will not be accepted.
For more information about the LL.M. Pro Bono Fellowship Program, contact Dean Chapnick at chapnick@law.columbia.edu or 212-851-1929.
Columbia Law School's Human Rights LL.M. Fellowship supports students in its Master of Laws (LL.M.) degree program who show exceptional commitment and potential to use their education to become innovators and leaders in human rights practice or academia. LL.M. Human Rights Fellows are expected to devote a significant part of their studies to human rights. Only students admitted to Columbia's LL.M. program will be considered for the Fellowship. Applicants are expected to have at least two years of experience in human rights advocacy and/or teaching and a proven intention to do such work following completion of the program. Students are strongly encouraged to apply if they are from Africa, Asia and Latin America or their gender or sexual orientation creates impediments to education and leadership in their countries.
Full fellowships provide a full tuition waiver and a stipend to help defray living costs for the academic year. Partial fellowshops are awarded when the recipient has outside funding (such as Fulbright) or under other special circumstances. At least three fellowships will be awarded annually.
The application consists of a separate, short essay (1-2 pages) describing the applicant's current and previous human rights work and goals for activity in this area for the next five years; a resume or CV; and two letters of recommendation from professors or human rights practitioners, who can comment knowledgeably about the applicant's human rights commitment, experience and plans. (Letters of recommendation submitted for the LL.M. application should be used only if they comment on human rights work and commitment.) Submit this material to the Office of Graduate Legal Studies at Columbia Law School with the LL.M. application. Please be sure that the Human Rights Fellowship materials are clearly marked as such and that the essay clearly shows your name. The application must be postmarked no later than December 15, 2009.
For more information about the Human Rights Institute or the Human Rights Fellowship Program, contact the Human Rights Institute via e-mail or phone at:
Human Rights Institute
Columbia Law School
435 W. 116th Street, Box B-28
New York, New York 10027
Tel.: (212)854-2493 hri@law.columbia.edu
