Holmes Public Service Fellowships

Description and Eligibility 

The Holmes Public Service Fellowship funds one year of public service work for graduating 3Ls during 2010-2011. These fellowships will pay up to $35,000 to support a year of law-related work at a nonprofit or government agency, or the international equivalent, chosen by and choosing to sponsor the applying student. Sponsoring agencies can include designated in-house HLS clinical programs.  The fellowship will support students engaged in either special projects or staff attorney work at sponsoring government agencies and nonprofit organizations.

Priority in awarding the Holmes Public Service Fellowships offered for 2010-11 will be given to support public service work by HLS graduates who face particular challenges in this period of financial instability. Students who have accepted jobs with deferred starting dates may apply but priority will be given to students who have not secured any funding or job. In that spirit, students will be asked to show efforts they have made to obtain alternate employment or funding and to disclose acceptance of any offer of employment or funding. Fellowship awards will be made in the spring of 2010.

To be eligible for the new fellowships, students must have a sponsoring organization, which may be a nonprofit, including designated in-house Harvard Law School clinical programs or a government agency. Sponsoring organizations can include international nonprofits or government agencies, including intergovernmental organizations such as the United Nations. Rules governing federal employment and fellowships are complex—those who are interested in federal work should contact OPIA for details.

The proposed work must be law-related. The application must identify the work that the recipient will do for the organization, and can include an innovative project approved by the sponsoring organization or service as a staff attorney in the organization.

Applicants must show that they have qualifications to do the work proposed, and should indicate relevant experience such as summer job or clinical experience in the area. The application should also demonstrate how the work will benefit both the applicant and society.

The application must include a budget proposing a specific sum to request for the fellowship and showing how the applicant will use the fellowship funds to meet living expenses and obtain health care coverage (whether from the sponsoring organization, through avenues identified by HLS, or elsewhere). The selection committee will favor the most cost-effective proposals; students are encouraged to propose as low-cost a budget as possible so that the fellowship funds can be spread across the largest number of students. Students are also encouraged to propose work in geographic locations where need is great and living expenses are low. In preparing their budgets, students should bear in mind that the fellowship awards are taxable.

Applications must be submitted to OPIA, Pound 329, by April 20th, 2010.

Application Process

For this fellowship, the applicant will need to provide the following items:

•  A cover letter that (a) outlines briefly your sponsoring organization and indicates who will be submitting recommendation letters; and (b) lists three names and phone numbers/emails of Harvard Law School students, faculty (including clinical supervisors), administrators, alumni/ae, or public interest employers in addition to those who are writing recommendation letters; these three individuals should be prepared to speak with a committee member concerning your candidacy.
  
• A current resume.
•  A minimum of two letters of recommendation concerning your ability to do the proposed work, and its benefit to you and to society, including at least one from a Harvard Law School faculty member (may include a clinical supervisor). The Committee will accept copies of recommendation letters written for other purposes and audiences, provided their content is applicable. The letters may be included with the application, or recommenders can mail their letters directly to OPIA.
• A personal statement of at least two and no more than three pages. While the general format of the statement is open, you should discuss the public service job you will hold during the Fellowship and how you are qualified for this type of work. You should also discuss how the proposed work will be meaningful to both you and to society. Finally, you must disclose any other job or funding you have accepted, even with a deferred starting date, or include a detailed description of why you believe you have exhausted other avenues to obtain a job or funding.
  
• A budget proposing the sum of fellowship funds, up to $35,000, that you need and how you will spend those funds (e.g. rent, food, utilities, etc.).
  
• An up-to-date, verified law school transcript.
  
• A sponsoring letter from your proposed host organization, confirming an intention to work with you and confirming the type of work that you will do. Where appropriate, the organization should also confirm that it will pay the costs of health care coverage (if it cannot you will need to indicate how you will obtain coverage), and should also note that that the organization would not be in a position to hire you absent the fellowship support.