Public service fellowship program receives support for 2020-21

UC Davis School of Law has received funding for 2020-21 for the highly successful Public Service Law Fellowships program offered through the University of California Office of the President.

UC President Michael V. Drake confirmed this week that UC Davis Law will receive support for the program’s summer and post-bar fellowships. The program provides $4,000-$4,500 to first- and second-year students to spend their summers working for nonprofit organizations or government agencies in positions that otherwise would go unpaid. Post-graduate fellowship recipients receive $45,000 plus a $2,500 bar-study stipend for yearlong positions.

“Public service is fundamental to Martin Luther King Jr. Hall,” UC Davis Law Dean Kevin R. Johnson said. “We are pleased to be able to continue a program that allows students to receive important real-world experience while assisting some of the most vulnerable among us.”

The Public Service Law Fellowships program began in 2016 under then-UC President Janet Napolitano, in response to a proposal by Johnson and deans from three other UC law schools. The program since has supported more than 300 King Hall students and graduates in public interest positions. For the past few years, UC Davis Law has approved all summer applicants.

Fellowship recipients have worked for leading public interest employers, including Legal Services of Northern California, the California Rural Legal Assistance Foundation, Bay Area Legal Aid, Legal Aid Foundation of Los Angeles, and public defender’s offices in several California counties. More information here.