Public Interest Summer Funding

King Hall is pleased to announce the availability of summer funding fellowships for students carrying out public service legal work at a non-profit organization or government agency this summer. Current 1L and 2L students can apply for each of the following summer fellowship opportunities by submitting a single application. 

  • Summer Public Service Law Fellowships
    • Number of Fellowships: dependent on funding
    • For: Otherwise unpaid legal work at non-profit organizations or government agencies (judicial externships are not eligible. Court-based legal assistance, such as Family Law Facilitators’ Offices and Self-Help Centers, do qualify.)
    • Maximum Possible Award: $4,000(1Ls) and $4,500(2Ls) (see fellowship eligibility rules for details)
    • Selection Process: King Hall faculty and/or staff members will review and score the applications.  Summer Fellowships will be awarded in turn until fellowship funds are exhausted.
  • The John Paul Stevens Public Interest Fellowships
    • Number of Fellowships: 6 
    • For: Otherwise unpaid legal work at non-profit organizations or government agencies (judicial externships are not eligible. Court-based legal assistance, such as Family Law Facilitators’ Offices and Self-Help Centers, do qualify.)
    • Award: $6,000
    • Selection Process: King Hall faculty and/or staff members will review and score the applications.  The six highest cumulative scores will receive Stevens Fellowships.
  • The King Hall Legal Foundation (KHLF) Fellowships
    • Number of Fellowships: dependent on funding
    • For: Otherwise unpaid legal work that raises the economic, educational, and social levels of under-privileged and underrepresented individuals and groups. Note: KHLF does not provide funding for prosecutorial work.
    • Maximum Possible Award: Dependent on funding. 
    • KHLF grant recipients must disclose to KHLF the sources and amounts of all other summer funding. Any amount received in any form from their organization, including, but not limited to, stipends, transportation, and other expenses, and the amount received from all outside sources, including but not limited to, grants and scholarships must be reported. Grant recipients may not receive more than a total of $10,000 of total funding for the summer (including the KHLF summer Grant). Any amount above this cap will be refunded to KHLF accordingly.
    • Selection Process: KHLF is an independent, student-directed non-profit organization.  You must be a member of KHLF to be eligible for funding. Each applicant’s proposal is evaluated anonymously by a selection committee. The KHLF Board of Directors has developed the selection criteria in accordance with the organization’s mission. KHLF awards grants to those applicants receiving the highest overall scores tallied from each of the members of the selection committee.
  • Additional Funding Available for Summer 2022
    • Underserved Communities Fellowship - $5000 available for 1 student who is working in legal services, public defense, or any work that serves low-income and underserved communities.
    • Water Resources Fellowship - $6000 available for up to 3 students who are working on water resources issues (water sheds, water law, river protection, etc.) this summer.
    • Both of these additional fellowships will have the same eligibility as UCOP and will use the same application. Selection will be awarded to the highest cumulative scores that are doing eligible work.

Informational Session

Slides from the presentation are available here. Recording of presentation available on intranet here.

Other Summer Funding

There are other sources of funding beyond those offered by King Hall and KHLF. Students should look to bar associations, foundations, affinity groups, etc. Learn more about funding opportunities by checking out PSJD's Funding Sources page. Below is an example of some potential external funding sources, but there are more out there!