Irving R. Kaufman Fellowships
The Irving R. Kaufman Fellowships were created in recognition of Judge Kaufman's distinguished career in public service and are made possible by a generous gift from the late Honorable Walter Annenberg, philanthropist and former Ambassador to the Court of St. James.
Eligibility
The Kaufman Fellowship is intended as an award to graduating Harvard Law School students and recent alumni/ae who demonstrate the potential for outstanding careers in public service. Public interest work is defined broadly by the Selection Committee to encompass all law-related work that serves a distinct public purpose and involves a significant financial sacrifice. Examples of qualifying practice settings include poverty law in legal services organizations, public interest nonprofit organizations, public defender or criminal prosecutor associations, international organizations, private public interest law firms and government agencies. Jobs not eligible for support include judicial clerkships, academic appointments, and fellowships in academic clinical settings (with the exception of clinical teaching fellowships where the fellow will actually be practicing public interest law). Students and graduates receiving Heyman Fellowships are not eligible for monetary awards from the Kaufman. Students taking judicial clerkships upon graduation may apply for a Kaufman Fellowship during their clerkships for the following year. The Committee hopes to select a group of Fellows diverse in their career goals, job locations, and personal characteristics (ethnicity, gender, class, age, etc.).
Fellowship Awards
The Kaufman Fellowship has been restructured this year so that it is now four different grant programs. Students and judicial clerks may apply to as many of the following as necessary. Each Fellowship will require slightly different application materials as outlined below. However, for all of them you will need the following basic materials:
- A cover letter that outlines which of the fellowships below you are applying for and indicates who will be submitting recommendation letters. You should also list three names and phone numbers/emails of Harvard Law School students, faculty, administrators, alumni/ae, or public interest employers (other than those who are writing recommendation letters) prepared to speak with a Committee member concerning your candidacy.
- A resume.
- Two to three letters of recommendation concerning your experience and potential for an outstanding public interest career, including at least one Harvard Law School faculty member. 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 Alexa Shabecoff in the Bernard Koteen Office of Public Interest Advising (OPIA).
- A two- to three-page personal statement discussing your motivation for engaging in public interest work, your public interest work experiences and extracurricular activities, career goals, and employment plans for the upcoming year - if you know them, along with any other matters you wish the Committee to consider. While the general format of the statement is open, you should discuss the public service job you will hold (or the type of work you hope to obtain) during the Fellowship and how you are suited to this type of work. You should also discuss whether you plan to remain in public service work in the long-term.
- An up-to-date law school transcript.
Kaufman I – Salary Fellowships
Two fellowships will be awarded of up to $40,000 each (depending on location of the job and other factors). This will provide a one-year salary for a 3L or judicial clerk to work at the organization of his or her choice. The organization will be required to pay benefits, including health care costs. In order to be eligible for this funding, you will need to show that you have come close to exhausting your external sources of jobs/fellowships. You will also need to investigate whether the organization you plan to work for is able to accept outside funding (some organizations, typically governmental, have bars on salaries being paid by outside entities).
For this fellowship, the applicant will need to provide the following in addition to the basic materials listed above:
- Description of your efforts to date to secure a job and/or fellowship and why you think you have exhausted outside sources of funding or your ability to land the kind of job you want without Kaufman Fellowship funding.
- A description of your proposed placement and what you will be doing at that organization
- A confirming letter from your proposed host organization, stating that they will accept you, that they will provide benefits, and confirming the type of work that you will do. They should also note that they would otherwise not be in a position to hire you absent the Kaufman Fellowship.
Kaufman II - $1000 Supplemental Grants
The Selection Committee will provide $1000 supplemental grants to all selected applicants whose salary for the upcoming year will be less than $60,000. This grant is designed to help students/clerks with bar and moving costs.
For this fellowship, the applicant will need to provide the following in addition to the basic materials listed above:
- A statement of what your job will be next year and what your salary will be, if you know it, or your estimated salary.
Kaufman III – Need-based supplemental grants
There will be extra supplemental grants of up to $6,000 made for those who need extra money for bar or moving costs or have other extraordinary circumstances.
For this fellowship, the applicant will need to provide the following in addition to the basic materials listed above:
- A statement of what your job will be next year and what your salary will be, if you know it, or your estimated salary.
- A statement of how much supplemental funding you are seeking and why; this should include what your extraordinary circumstances are and a detailed budget outlining what the funding will go towards.
- A statement of why you are unable to obtain this funding from other sources, including family members.
- A signed release of information allowing Student Financial Services to share your financial information with the selection committee.
Application deadline: April 4, 2008. Awards will be announced in early May 2008. If your status changes between application and award, please notify Alexa Shabecoff. Questions should be directed to Alexa at 5-3108 or shabecof@law.harvard.edu.
For successful applicants whose employment plans remain uncertain at the time of the Committee's decisions, an award will be granted on the condition that the job accepted by the candidate matches the type of work and salary indicated in their Fellowship application. An applicant who plans to take a job different from the type of job(s) outlined in the application must discuss the job with Alexa Shabecoff in the Bernard Koteen Office of Public Interest Advising to clear whether it is an eligible position.