Summer Public Interest Fellowship

WashU Law is committed to supporting a range of substantive law-related public service summer employment under the supervision of a legal professional in various settings, including non-profit, government, NGO, and private public interest firms. Although many of these positions are unpaid, they provide valuable experience for students. To ensure that students can take advantage of these opportunities, through Summer Public Interest Program (SPIP) funding, WashU Law provides guaranteed funding of $3,000 (less taxes) to first-year law students so that they can accept summer public interest jobs that might otherwise be financially prohibitive.

Many second-year law students receive funding through a competitive application process. Such funding is awarded by an external panel of alumni to second-year students who have a demonstrated commitment to public service and pro bono work. While this funding is not guaranteed, a high percentage of second-year students who apply for a Summer Public Interest Fellowship with qualifying positions are awarded one. In addition to general funding, there are typically six second-year students who receive an award as either a Becker Fellow or a Becker/Oelbaum Fellow.

In recent years, students have completed summer public interest fellowships throughout the U.S., Chile, South Africa, and Australia. Examples of recent summer public interest fellowships include first-year and second-year students who have worked with the following legal organizations:

Domestic:

  • U.S. Department of Justice (National Courts Section)
  • U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of New Jersey
  • San Francisco City Attorney’s Office
  • Legal Services of Eastern Missouri
  • South Carolina Commission on Indigent Defense – Capital Trial Division
  • U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission
  • Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office – Special Prosecutions Bureau
  • United Steelworkers
  • Maricopa County Office of the Public Defender
  • Great Lakes Environmental Center
  • Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office
  • The Bronx Defenders – Criminal Defense Practice
  • Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law

International:

  • FIMA in Santiago, Chile
  • Legal Aid Board in Durban, South Africa
  • Legal Resources Centre in Durban, South Africa
  • Australian Centre for International Commercial Arbitration in Sydney, Australia
  • FIDA-Ghana
  • Global Public Interest Law Fellow in Durban, South Africa