Mar. 2: NYU Reproductive Justice and Women’s Rights Fellowship

NYU REPRODUCTIVE JUSTICE AND WOMEN’S RIGHTS FELLOWSHIP

Graduating J.D. students at NYU Law are invited to apply for the NYU Reproductive Justice and Women’s Rights Fellowship with a public interest host organization in the United States or abroad.

The host organization must do legal work in reproductive justice and/or women’s rights and have the capacity to supervise the fellow and help them develop professionally. The fellow’s work at the organization must focus on the rights of women and can include practice areas such as anti-trafficking, domestic violence, employment discrimination, family defense, and reproductive justice.

Applicants must propose a legal project that they will execute at their host organization. The project does not need to be novel, but it should address a specific issue area of critical need on which their work with the organization will focus.

The fellowship is for one year and begins in the fall.  The fellowship provides a salary of $45,000.  NYU will provide the salary to the host organization, which will pay the fellow.

Applications are due no later than Thursday, March 2, 2023.

HOW TO APPLY

Application Information

In order to be considered for the NYU RJWR Fellowship, all applicants must meet with a PILC counselor to discuss their post-graduate job search and their fellowship proposal no later than Thursday, February 16, 2023. Students who have already met with a PILC counselor in the context of preparing for other fellowship applications are not required to do so again. Students who have not yet met with a PILC counselor, as well as anyone who has questions or would like to discuss the program further, should make an appointment with Katie Neilson by emailing pilc.appointments@nyu.edu.

NOTE: Your application will also be considered for the NYU Public Interest Law Center (PILC) Fellowship. You do not need to submit separate applications for both.

Applications are due no later than Thursday, March 2, 2023. Submit application packages to pilc.info@nyu.edu as one PDF file with the email subject “NYU Reproductive Freedom and Women’s Rights Fellowship,” including the following:

1. Completed Application Cover Sheet
2. Applicant’s Resume
3. Personal Statement (300-500 words) discussing
   • Applicant’s career goals and how the fellowship would contribute to those goals.
   • Applicant’s skills and knowledge, including relevant course work, clinics, internships, and student group involvement.
4. One of the following (300 to 500 words):
   • Description of the need that the project would address.
   • The goals of the project.
   • Description of the work to be undertaken by the fellow to address this issue.
5. Two Letters of Recommendation: one from a law school professor and one from a former employer. The letters should be addressed to “NYU Public Interest Law Center Fellowship Selection Committee” and can be submitted either as part of the application packet, or directly by the recommender to pilc.info@nyu.edu.
6. Commitment Letter from the host organization (300-500 words) describing:
   • The mission, current programs and staff of the organization (alternatively supplemental materials or link to a website that includes this information may be provided).
   • The training and supervision that the fellow would receive, including the name of the lawyer who would supervise the fellow and a brief description of his or her work experience.
   • How the applicant’s work would support the organization’s mission.
7. Job Search Engagement Form: List all efforts you have made to secure external fellowship funding and postgraduate employment. Include only those fellowships and jobs that you have actually applied to and the status of those applications. Additionally, please describe any restrictions in your search (i.e., geographic, type of work, etc.). Specify any offers that you have received or have turned down, including any private law firm offers. You may bring an updated worksheet at the time of your interview

Selection Process and Criteria

The selection process may include an interview with a selection committee, which would take place at the Law School. Decisions are anticipated to be made by late March.

Selection criteria include:

• Applicant’s qualifications, including commitment to public interest work.
• Quality of the work proposed to be done by the applicant and its potential impact.
• Relevance of the proposed work to the applicant’s career goals.
• Applicant’s job search and engagement with PILC.

Questions? Please contact Katie Neilson at kathryn.neilson@nyu.edu.