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09-Mar-2004 09:50 AM

Public Interest Law Fellows Program->Columbia University School of Law

LILKA
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Public Interest Law Fellows Program
Columbia University School of Law
(2004-2006 Session)

The Public Interest Law Initiative (PILI) is pleased to invite applications for the
Public Interest Law Fellows Program at Columbia Law School. The deadline for
applications is April 1st, 2004. The program was originated in collaboration with
the Constitutional and Legal Policy Institute (now Open Society Justice Initiative –
OSJI) and continues to be supported by OSJI and other donors. Three of the
Fellowship slots continue to be jointly administered by PILI and Justice Initiative.

The program will select lawyers from Central and Eastern Europe, Russia, the
Caucasus and Central Asia for two years of study and practical work experience. In
the past, Fellows from these countries have been joined by two Fellows from China
sponsored by the Ford Foundation. The program includes undesignated slots as well as
slots designated specifically for advocates of women’s rights, mental disability
rights and Roma rights. Criteria for selection will include the experience of the
applicant, the applicant’s potential to contribute to the development of the human
rights or public interest law field in the region, and the suitability of the
applicant’s proposed role in the nominating non-governmental organization (NGO).
Applicants must have a minimum of two years relevant work experience outside of law
school. Preference will be given to applicants under 35 years of age. Minorities,
especially Roma, are strongly encouraged to apply. Selection decisions will be made
by May 1, 2004.

The Fellows will reside a total of one year in the US, consisting of one semester of
study at Columbia University and two three-month internships. Fellows will return to
their home countries after the first year, where they will spend at least one year
working with their nominating NGO on human rights/public interest advocacy on a
non-profit basis in such areas as providing legal services, strategic litigation,
campaigning for reform, and human rights training/education. Upon their selection,
Fellows will be required to sign an agreement with Columbia University according to
which he/she will commit to two years in the program; the first year to be spent in
the US and the second year in his/her home country working with the nominating NGO.

PILI will cover the cost of a round-trip coach airfare to the US and provide each
Fellow with a monthly stipend for a period of up to 12 months, a textbook allowance,
and medical insurance for a year while in the US. The amount of this stipend is
carefully calculated to cover the expenses of one person in the US for the period of
one year. PILI will also provide a grant of $10,000 to the nominating NGO during the
second year of the program to cover, in whole or in part, the Fellow’s salary and
wage-related taxes and payments.

Please note, PILI cannot provide any financial or logistical assistance for
accompanying family members, including securing suitable family housing. Moreover,
Columbia University requires evidence of financial support for accompanying family
members. In the 2003/2004 academic year, this amount was equal to $700 a month for
an accompanying spouse and $350 a month for each dependent child. Providing proof of
the requisite financial support for accompanying family members will be the
responsibility of the applicant.

Program Description

The mission of the Public Interest Law Initiative (PILI) is to advance human rights
principles by stimulating the development of a public interest law infrastructure in
Central and Eastern Europe, Russia and Asia., PILI is supported by the Ford
Foundation, the Open Society Institute, the Mott Foundation, Rockefeller Brothers
Fund, the Kellner Foundation, the UK Department for International Development, the
European Community, and the Soros network of foundations. The Public Interest Law
Fellows Program is one of PILI’s core activities.

Fellows will be expected to arrive in early August in order to participate in
“Introduction to American Law,” an intensive course that starts prior to other
classes and provides an academic orientation for lawyers from civil law countries.
In the first semester of the program, Public Interest Law Fellows participate in a
non-degree program in which they audit 3 to 5 courses at Columbia Law School. As
auditors, Fellows do not participate in exams and do not receive grades or credit
from the law school for completing a course. All Fellows are required to participate
in a seminar taught by Edwin Rekosh, Executive Director of the Public Interest Law
Initiative on Human Rights, Law and Development. This seminar – which pairs Fellows
with a select group of full-time Columbia students – provides a practical-oriented
overview of law reform issues confronting the legal systems of Central and Eastern
Europe, Russia, and Asia from an interdisciplinary perspective, with an emphasis on
democracy-building, civil society, and enhancing the promotion and protection of
human rights. Each Fellow will be expected to propose a project relating to human
rights or other public interest law issues, which will be the subject of research
and collaboration by teams formed with other students in the seminar. The project
should be related to the needs and priorities of the applicant’s nominating NGO, but
may change over the course of the semester based on the input of other students in
the seminar. Ideally, the result of the seminar will be a project plan that can be
further modified during the remainder of the year to fit the particular needs of the
NGO.

In the spring and early summer, Fellows participate in two three-month internships
at human rights, legal services, or other public interest law organizations in the
New York area. To the extent possible, internships will be selected according to
Fellows’ particular interests in the area of human rights and public interest law.

More information about the Public Interest Law Initiative can be found on the
Internet at: www.pili.org. More information about Columbia Law School can be found
at www.law.columbia.edu.

The Open Society Justice Initiative, an operational program of the Open Society
Institute, promotes rights-based law reform, builds knowledge, and strengthens legal
capacity worldwide. Justice Initiative projects seek to shape law reform policy and
achieve concrete results through hands-on technical assistance, litigation and legal
advice, knowledge dissemination and network building, and counsel to donor
institutions. The Justice Initiative works in the following thematic areas: national
criminal justice reform, international justice, freedom of information and
expression, equality and citizenship, and anticorruption. A priority region for the
program’s activities in 2003 was Africa. The Justice Initiative has offices in New
York, Budapest, and Abuja, Nigeria.
http://www.justiceinitiative.org.

Application Procedure

Applicants must submit the following:

- A completed program application form

- A nominating letter from an indigenous NGO in the region describing the need for
having a lawyer working in the organization and contractually committing to PILI to
hire the applicant for at least one year after he/she returns from the US. The
nomination letter should also indicate a monthly salary rate, inclusive of all
income taxes, social security and other wage-related payments payable by the
individual or organization, that will be offered to the applicant by the NGO in the
event that he or she is selected for the program (up to $10,000 of this amount for
the period of one year will be provided to the NGO by PILI in the form of a grant).
For the three slots which continue to be funded by the Justice Initiative and
administered jointly, this sum will be provided by the Justice Initiative.

- At least one recommendation from an individual outside the nominating organization

- A project proposal that he or she would like to work on during the first semester
of the program, ideally with practical significance to the nominating NGO. (Some
past examples include: developing a strategic litigation strategy to address
discrimination against women in the workplace; drafting a model mental health care
law with a detailed implementation strategy; establishing a legal aid program, and
promoting freedom of expression and religion through litigation and public
education.)

- Information on the nominating NGO and additional recommendations are also
encouraged, although not required.

The electronic submission, via e-mail, of application materials is strongly
encouraged although materials may also be submitted via facsimile or through regular
mail. INCOMPLETE APPLICATIONS WILL NOT BE CONSIDERED. If an application is submitted
without one of the required components, it will be disqualified unless the applicant
can justify why he/she cannot obtain the needed information.

The DEADLINE for receiving applications at PILI is April 1st, 2004. For more
information and application forms, please contact David Caughlin, Fellowship Program
Manager, 435 W. 116th St, Mailcode 3525, New York, New York; tel: 1-212-851-1060;
fax: 1-212-851-1064;
e-mail: dcaugh@law.columbia.edu.

Click on the following link for more information about PILI’s Public Interest Law
Fellowship Program and to download an application:
http://www.pili.org/aboutpili/fellowship.html

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