MINELRES: Public Interest Law Fellows Program: Columbia University School of Law

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Original sender: European Roma Rights Center <errc@errc.org> 



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