Summer Funding

The Law School provides $8,000 in guaranteed summer funding to JD students who work full-time in public interest jobs in the U.S. during their law school summers. The funding is available for students doing legal work supervised by an attorney for non-profit or government agencies. To be eligible for guaranteed funding, students must complete 20 pro bono or public service hours during the academic year prior to applying. Detailed information about summer funding and the summer funding application will be available in March.

Named Fellowships

Thanks to generous gifts from alumni, the law school offers several named fellowships to support public interest students with summer funding. Application information for all summer fellowships will be made available during spring semester.

Justice John Paul Stevens Fellowship

This fellowship was established in 1996, in honor of U.S. Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens (JD '47), Skip Paul, a friend of the law school, generously established the Justice John Paul Stevens Public Interest Fellowship Program. Stevens Fellowships provides $8,000 in financial assistance to students who have secured volunteer public interest summer jobs. The number of available fellowships varies each year.

Kleiman Public Interest Fellowship

This fellowship was established in 2008 by David Kleiman (JD '82) in honor of his father, Bernard Kleiman (JD '54). The Kleiman Fellowship is for work in any non-profit legal agency or the general counsel’s office of a union, with a priority given to those working on labor-related issues. The fellowship provides financial assistance to a student who has secured a volunteer public interest summer job. One fellowship will be awarded in the amount of $8,000.

Nussbaum Public Interest Fellowship

This fellowship was established in 2008 by William (JD ’83) and Susan Nussbaum (JD ’83). The fellowship is for public interest work in a non-profit or government agency. The Nussbaum Fellowship provides financial assistance to a student who has secured a volunteer public interest summer job. One fellowship will be awarded in the amount of $8,000.

Rosen Bien Galvan & Grunfeld Public Interest Fellowship

This fellowship was established in 2010 by the partners of the law firm in an effort to support Northwestern Law students interested in pursuing public interest law. As a student at Northwestern Law, Michael Bien and his classmates started the Student Funded Public Interest Fellowship (SFPIF). The fellowship provides financial assistance to a student who has secured a volunteer public interest summer job. One fellowship will be awarded in the amount of $8,000.

Global Public Interest Fellows Program

This program provides $9,500 in funding for up to six JD students per year to work abroad during the summer for an approved governmental or nongovernmental organization active on legal issues. For questions or more information regarding the Global Public Interest Fellows program please reach out to Professor Juliet Sorensen.