*This application will only save your information upon submittal, so it is recommended that you review the questions before beginning. If you exit the application before submitting it, then you will lose all entered information and have to restart the application.
Fellowship Overview
An essential component of The Florida Bar Foundation’s mission is to “promote service to the public by members of the legal profession by making public service an integral component of the law school experience.” In furtherance of this, the Foundation created the Civil Legal Services Summer Fellowship Grant Program. This program offers 12 Florida law students the opportunity to gain valuable legal service experience at a Florida non-profit legal service organization for an 11-week full-time paid summer fellowship. The fellowship stipend will be paid to the host organization, to be distributed to the fellow according to the regular employment practices of the organization. The organization and the summer fellow will be matched using the preferences outlined by each in their application.
Fellowship Purposes
- To involve fellowship recipients in the provision of high-quality, significant civil legal assistance to low-income Floridians, the indigent, and the working poor in critical areas of need.
- To provide an in-depth educational experience in representing low-income Floridians and working with individual clients and client groups in civil matters.
- To increase law student interest in and awareness of the legal problems of low-income Floridians, and the challenges and satisfaction of representing those who need it most.
- To promote commitment to pro bono representation of low-income Floridians.
Fellowship Details
The Florida Bar Foundation Civil Legal Services Summer Fellowship Program is seeking 12 rising second- and third-year law students from Florida law schools for placement at non-profit legal service programs throughout Florida during the 2020 summer semester. This Fellowship runs for a period of 11 weeks and is a full-time position for the summer. The monetary stipend for rising 2L's will be $6,500, and $8,250 for rising 3L's. This fellowship offers students a unique opportunity to gain meaningful legal experience while also helping those in the community who need it most. Here is the full project description.
The application process will close on February 19, 2020, at 11:59 p.m. EST. Students will be informed of application decisions in late March.
**The list of legal service organizations and their respective projects is located in two places within this application. The first place is the link below.
List of Legal Service Organizations
The second location is Section D, right before you input your placement preferences. Please review this document prior to answering questions 20-25.
Fellowship Term
The Fellowship commences with a mandatory two-day orientation for students from May 18 to 19th in Orlando. Students will begin work at the legal service organization the following Monday, May 25, 2020. The Fellowship will end on August 7, 2020.
Student Eligibility and Selection Criteria
Rising second-year and third-year law students (completed at least two semesters of law school) attending accredited Florida law schools are eligible to apply as long as they are in good standing with their law school. Students from diverse backgrounds and cultures are specifically encouraged to apply. Among the factors to be considered in selections are experience working with the low-income community, academic achievement, writing skills, and previous contact with and long-term commitment/interest in public service/pro bono work.
Questions
If you have any questions, please contact Grants Program Director Kate York at kyork@thefloridabarfoundation.org or Grants Administrator Andrea Horne at ahorne@flabarfndn.org.