Law School Fellowships Common Application

This is a common application for the fellowships available through the Yale Law School. Applications for the following fellowships should be made via this common application: Bernstein, Gruber, Heyman, Liman, Robina, YLJ, and YPIF.

The Law School is committed to providing robust support to students and alumni seeking jobs in public interest law. Our help includes assisting students in identifying and applying for funded positions in public interest organizations and in government, both domestically and internationally. In addition, the Law School provides several fully funded fellowships per year for post-graduate public interest work, and in some years we have been able to provide more than thirty. These fellowships give students important opportunities to launch their careers, join professional networks, and develop skills and expertise in service of the public interest. It is because of the Law School’s commitment to both the success of its students and the advancement of public interest that we require fellowship applicants to submit thoughtful, well-developed, and concise applications for funding.

To this end, applicants are required to consult with the appropriate fellowship program directors in formulating their proposals.

Applicants for Liman should consult with Jennifer Taylor Applicants for Gruber should consult with Mindy Roseman Applicants for Bernstein and Robina should consult with Hope Metcalf Applicants for Heyman, YLJ and YPIF should consult with Norma D'Apolito

Finally, applicants are strongly encouraged to consider the fellowship process as part of a larger process of identifying and pursuing opportunities for public interest employment, including through non-YLS fellowships and paid staff attorney positions. In short, we aim to help you pursue the career you want and to find as many routes to doing so as possible.

Yale Non-Discrimination Policy and Your Host Organization Your fellowship host organization must certify compliance with Yale Law School’s Non-Discrimination Policy. For instructions on confirming organization compliance, please click here.

Please Note: If you apply and for any reason need to withdraw your application, please do so online but also email your program administrator.

Application Information: A complete application will comprise the following elements:

Note: see item #3 below for a variation in the Liman application and #8 below for a variation in the Gruber Application.

1. Personal statement (500 words maximum) describing the applicant’s experiences with and commitment to public interest, public service, and/or human rights, aspirations for future work, and the ways in which the fellowship will help achieve the applicant’s aspirations.

2. Concise summary (1 paragraph) of the proposal that includes the place in which the applicant will work and the goals of the project the applicant will undertake.

3. Proposal (1500 words maximum, 3000 words maximum for Liman application)

Project proposal: (a) to pursue a project designed by the applicant in partnership with a sponsoring organization; or (b) to work on an existing project with a host organization. The proposal should address: 1) the problem or need that the project seeks to address; 2) the project's specific goals and how the applicant will meet those goals within the one-year fellowship period (a proposed timetable should be included); 3) a discussion of any relevant background information – legal, historical, factual – necessary to understanding the need for and the goals of your project, as well as any challenges that you anticipate.

Staff positions: The proposal should address: 1) nature of the fellowship position and the organization that will host the fellow; 2) type of work the applicant expects to do in the fellowship position, including any particular project the applicant intends to carry out; and 3) a discussion of any relevant background information – legal, historical, factual – necessary to understanding the need for and the goals of the fellowship position, as well as any challenges that you anticipate.

a) Depending on the fellowship or fellowships for which you are applying, you may seek funding for either a specific project or a staff position. You should consult the individual fellowship descriptions for further information.

b) For Liman, the project description must reflect how the project would engage with the relevant legal regime and may include an additional 1500 words, for a total of up to 3,000 words in the project description (including footnotes).

c) Please note that the proposal, whether for a project or a staff position, should not be an essay akin to a substantial or supervised analytic writing, nor is mastery of the area of law expected. Rather, the goal is to explain how you hope to use or change the relevant law or otherwise contribute to the human rights or well-being of others. We ask that you provide sufficient legal, historical, and factual context for us to understand the need you seek to address, the nature of the work you propose, and the impact you intend that work to have.

4. Statement of other fellowships or public interest positions to which the applicant has applied or plans to apply and, if none, an explanation (for example, a gap year, unusual geographic or project-specific need, and so on). Applying for external funding is not a requirement for receiving a YLS-funded fellowship, but is strongly encouraged, absent extenuating circumstances.

5. A resume.

6. Unofficial YLS Transcript.

7. Two letters of recommendation: One from YLS faculty and one from a supervisor or employer.

8. STRONGLY RECOMMENDED: An additional letter of recommendation from YLS faculty. Note: Gruber requires you to submit 3 letters of recommendation. For current students, at least two recommendation letters must be from Yale faculty. Alumni must include at least one Yale faculty recommendation and at least one letter of recommendation from a current or former employer

9. List of people, including current or former fellows, whom the applicant consulted. The purpose of some of the fellowships is to connect you to a field and to learn from people close to it. We therefore expect that before you craft a proposal, you have talked to some of those working in the arena. We will provide a list of current and former fellows and their fields so that you may consult with them. We recommend that you discuss the project with 2-4 people in the field, whether on the list we provide or not, who can help you think through it.

10. Letter from the host institution, detailing: 1) organization's purpose and function; 2) a description of how the fellow’s proposed work fits with the host organization’s activities; 3) a description of the supervision the fellow will receive, including identification of the fellow’s immediate supervisor; 4) the resources that will be provided to support the project (e.g., office space, computer, malpractice and/or other insurance, if needed); 5) a statement addressing the potential for the organization to retain the fellow as a full-time member of the organization’s staff beyond the fellowship year. NOTE: Post-fellowship retention is not a requirement; and 6) Your fellowship host organization must certify compliance with Yale Law School’s Non-Discrimination Policy. For instructions on confirming organization compliance, please click here.

Special Eligibility Requirements: Note for Heyman Fellowships, consult the full Heyman Fellowship description with particular attention to the special IPA Requirements.