The Center for Reproductive Rights – Columbia Law School Fellowship – Deadline November 1, 2010

From Diana Hortsch, Director of the Law School Initiative at the Center for Reproductive Rights, this notice of a fellowship at Columbia Law School:

The Center for Reproductive Rights – Columbia Law School Fellowship (“CRR-CLS Fellowship”) is a two-year, post-graduate fellowship offered by the Center for Reproductive Rights (“the Center”) and Columbia Law School (“the Law School”). The Fellowship is designed to prepare recent law school graduates for legal aca­demic careers, with a focus on reproductive health and human and human rights. Fellows will be affiliated with the Center and the Law School and will participate in the intellectual life of both programs.

The CRR-CLS Fellowship is a full-time, residential fellowship for up to two full years starting in June, July, or August 2011. The Fellow will be a member of the community of graduate fellows at the Law School and will be integrated into the legal and policy work of the Center. They will have work space at both locations. The Fellow will also have access to law school facilities, including the library and on-line research resources, and faculty events. It is expected that the Fellow will work closely with an assigned Law School faculty mentor.

Fellows will pursue independent research and scholarship in preparation for entering the legal academic job market at the conclusion of their first Fellowship year. During their Fellowship tenure, Fellows are expected to produce a work of publishable legal scholarship that is related to reproductive rights. Fellows will also have responsibility for a range of work at CRR, including planning and hosting of academic conferences or roundtable discussions, drafting blog posts and/or other short advocacy pieces, and creating curricular materials. The scope and details of the Fellows’ work will be agreed upon in consultation with their faculty mentor and the Center for Reproductive Rights.

STIPEND AND BENEFITS: The Fellow will receive a stipend of $55,000 per year for each full year in residence. The Fellow shall be responsible for purchasing and maintaining her or his own health insurance. The Fellow may purchase insurance through Columbia University.

ELIGIBILITY: Applicants must show exceptional promise as a legal scholar and a commitment to entering academia. A strong interest in reproductive or sexual rights, women’s rights and/or human rights is required, although extensive experience in the field is not essential. Applicants will be evaluated by the quality of their application materials, and by their record of academic and professional achievement. A J.D. from an accredited law school in the United States is strongly preferred.  In some exceptional cases, we may consider those with foreign law degrees. Fellows are not required to be graduates of Columbia Law School.

APPLICATION: Completed applications must be received by the Law School by November 1, 2010. Please note that it is preferred that application materials, other than the transcripts and letters of recommendation, be submitted electronically. A complete application must include:

1. CRR-CLS Fellowship Application Form (biographical and contact information);
2. Curriculum Vitae;
3. Unofficial transcripts from college, law school and any graduate schools attended;
4. Statement of Scholarly Interest and future academic projects, including a discussion of how the fellowship will help the applicant in pursuing those interests and realizing those projects;
5. A paper or other writing sample that demonstrates the applicant’s writing and analytical abilities and ability to generate interesting original ideas. This can be a draft rather than a publication;
6. A 1-2 paragraph statement of why you want to pursue a career in the legal academy;
7. Three letters of reference. At least two letters should be from professors who can speak to the applicant’s potential as a future legal academic.

Transcripts and letters of recommendation should be mailed or delivered to:

CRR-CLS Fellowship Program
Professor Carol Sanger
Columbia Law School
435 W. 116^th Street
New York, NY 10025

ATTN: Margaret Symuleski, Faculty Assistant

Other application materials should be sent via email to: msymul@law.columbia.edu

-Bridget Crawford