The Student Public Interest Law Fellowship (SPILF) is a non-partisan student organization that aims to encourage students to consider careers in public interest law; to support and advocate for students who have chosen public interest careers; and to raise money to provide grants to law students who accept summer internships with public interest employers in lieu of more lucrative summer employment.
Fellowships
Application Process: During the spring semester, students who have secured or are still attempting to secure a public interest job may apply for a summer fellowship. A committee of SPILF officers and members will conduct interviews with applicants and choose recipients. To receive a summer fellowship, a student must have given time to SPILF activities during the school year. The committee also considers the applicant's financial need and summer position.
Fellowship recipients are notified before the end of the school year and receive payments during the summer.
A Sample of Past Fellowship Recipient Organizations:
- Public defenders, prosecutors, and Legal Aid offices in several states
- U.S. Department of State, Division against Human Trafficking
- U.S. Attorney's Office
- Federal Trade Commission
- U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission
- Ohio EPA
- The Center for Law and Education (Washington, DC)
- Free the Slaves
- Human Rights Watch
- Office of the Child Advocate (Wilmington, DE)
- Appalachian Research and Defense Fund (Prestonburg, KY)
- Kickapoo Indian Nation (Kansas)