Rising second- and third-year law students plan their summers around gaining hands-on legal experience and exploring different areas of practice. For those seeking work in nonprofits, federal and state government, judicial clerkships, legal services, and policy/impact organizations, summer fellowships funded by alumni and friends provide essential financial support.
Rising third-year student Joseph M. Colley said his award allowed him to find the best opportunity for his “growth and development as an advocate without worrying about geographical and cost of living limitations.” Thanks to the Bool Simkins Fellowship – the school’s largest annual public interest grant – he spent the summer in Seattle, Washington, working with the Northwest Immigrant Rights Project in its Violence Against Women Act Unit.
This year, the School of Law awarded $275,500 in summer grants, bringing the school’s five-year fellowship total to more than $1.4 million (an increase of more than $100,000 over last year’s five-year tally). Of the 70 students receiving funds this year, 25 worked in federal, state and county judicial chambers around the state and in U.S. District Courts in New York and Mississippi. Forty-five worked in district attorney, public defender and solicitor offices around the country and gained legal experience at organizations such as the American Cancer Society, Athens Land Trust, Project Safe, the Atlanta Sun Conference, Harvard Legal Aid and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.