Goodwin Procter LLP, a national AmLaw 50 firm, is seeking applications for its 2013 Public Interest Fellowships for Law Students of Color program, which provides awards of $7,500 to law students of color who demonstrate outstanding academic performance, leadership skills and a commitment to community service. The fellowships are designed to help support students who plan to work in public interest law positions in the summer following their first year of law school. This year, four fellowships will be awarded. Application guidelines and forms are available online. Applications are due March 22, 2013.
Launched in 2005, Goodwin’s program was created to contribute to the firm’s goal of increasing diversity in the legal profession. To date, 27 fellowships have been awarded to students from law schools including Georgetown, Harvard, Stanford and the University of Pennsylvania. Past recipients have worked for a variety of public interest organizations across the country, including the American Civil Liberties Union's Criminal Law Reform Project, Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office in Boston, Legal Advocates for Children and Youth in San Jose, CA, and the Public International Law & Policy Group in Washington, D.C. Profiles of the 2012 recipients are available here.
In addition, the firm is again partnering with client MassMutual to offer one of this year’s Fellows the MassMutual/Goodwin Procter Public Interest Fellowship for Law Students of Color. This joint fellowship awards $7,500 to a first-year law student of color to help cover expenses while he or she works in a public interest law position during the summer.
To apply, candidates must complete a Goodwin Procter Fellowship application and submit it, with a resume and a current law school transcript, to Goodwin Procter by March 22, 2013. Completed applications should be submitted online. Questions should be directed to Fellowships@goodwinlaw.com.
Candidates must be full-time, currently enrolled, first-year students of color pursuing a J.D. at an accredited law school. Candidates may not be the recipient of a similar scholarship award from another law firm for the summer of 2013. Students who are immediate family members of a Goodwin Procter or MassMutual employee, and/or are a Goodwin Procter client or employee of a Goodwin Procter client, are also not eligible.