Cherry blossoms in front of Columbia University's Low Library

Social Justice Initiatives

Letter from Dean Smock

Social Justice Initiatives (SJI) provides career services and programming for students and graduates interested in public interest, international human rights, public service/government, and legal volunteer work. SJI also implements and oversees Columbia Law School's Pro Bono Program, which connects students with attorney-supervised projects in the public good, as well as the Law School's Guaranteed Summer Funding Program.
Fellowships
Summer Funding
Pro Bono
Public Interest/Public Service Fellows Program

News from SJI

Ezra vs. Goliaths

Ezra Young ’12 is a leading figure on the frontlines of the transgender rights movement. He has worked as director of impact litigation for the Transgender Legal Defense and Educational Fund and as a founding board member and co-chair of the National Trans Bar Association. 

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“Children Were Traumatized,” Professor Elora Mukherjee Tells Congressional Panel

Mukherjee said of her visit to a detention facility run by the U.S. Customs and Border Protection: “One 6-year-old girl, detained all alone, could only say, ‘I’m scared. I’m scared. I’m scared'...Not being able to do anything for her broke my heart.”

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Lexi Studwell '19 Wins Millstein Fellowship to Work in Financial Regulation

She will serve as an attorney in the majority’s office of the U.S. House Committee on Financial Services, chaired by Rep. Maxine Waters of California.

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Student Voices

Patricia Okonta '18 on Joining Columbia Law's Cohort of Leaders
Patricia Okonta ’18 on Joining Columbia Law’s Cohort of Leaders
Jacob Bogart ’18 on his Human Rights Work at Columbia Law
Jacob Bogart ’18 on His Human Rights Work at Columbia Law
Yasmin Theodros Dagne ’18, on Studying Human Rights, Public Interest Law
Yasmin Theodros Dagne ’18 on Studying Human Rights, Public Interest Law

Upcoming Events

SJI Welcome Back Mixer

Reconnect with your public interest/public service/human rights friends and make new ones!

Book Talk and Reception: IMBECILES: The Supreme Court, American Eugenics, and the Sterilization of Carrie Buck

Join SJI, BLSA, and NLG for a discussion of the summer reading book, Imbeciles: The Supreme Court, American Eugenics, and the …

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