Stanford Law School International Postgraduate Fellowship
Stanford Law School’s Levin Center for Public Service and Public Interest Law offers postgraduate Public Interest Fellowships which enable our graduates to work full-time for a year in a law-related endeavor designed to further the public interest. These include both international general postgraduate Stanford Law School fellowships on any public interest issue and those targeting specific substantive areas (e.g., international, criminal defense, criminal justice, and environmental law, education law, or youth law). The subject of this page is the international fellowship. There are slightly different eligibility requirements for each program, but there will be one joint application process for these fellowships. Finalists will be invited to an interview with the selection committee.
Please review the FAQ on our Fellowship Program and direct questions regarding the international fellowship to Titi Liu.
Eligibility
2 available in 2023-2024.
All members of the current graduating class of SLS JD and advanced degree students and the prior two classes who have not previously been awarded a postgraduate legal fellowship or government honors/new attorney program position are eligible to apply for a 2023-2024 fellowship. Current students must be in good standing to be eligible.
In 2023-2024, up to two international postgraduate fellowships will be offered.
Our program allows applicants to propose placements at any international or foreign non-governmental organization that advances the public interest in a post conflict or transitional society. Graduating students or alumni seeking clerkships with international tribunals are eligible to apply for this fellowship as well. Stanford University entities (e.g., clinics, programs, and centers) are ineligible to host an SLS International Postgraduate Fellow.
SLS makes no recommendations regarding specific fellowship sponsors or guarantees that placement will be feasible and/or permitted with all potential sponsors or in all foreign jurisdictions.
All applicants for this fellowship must consult with Titi Liu, director of international public interest initiatives, by Dec. 16, 2022 before preparing your application.
Application Process
The 2023-2024 application is due Wednesday, February 1, 2023 and interviews will be held via Zoom in late February or early March. The Fellows will be selected by the end of March 2023.
Please address all questions regarding the international fellowship to Titi Liu.
There is one application for all SLS applicants interested in 16 2023-2024 fellowships (10 general, 1 Civitas, 1 criminal defense, 2 Deane F. Johnson Fellowships, and 2 international).
Each applicant should also request that their host organization submit a commitment letter. We provide a redacted sample here:
International fellowship host organization’s commitment letter
Each host agency is also expected to sign a Memorandum of Understanding outlining each party’s responsibilities.
The Selection Committee will include members of the faculty and alumni who previously served as SLS Fellows. Selection will occur by the end of March.
In reviewing each application, the committee will consider several factors, including:
- the applicant’s commitment to a career in public interest law,
- the applicant’s capacity to maximize the fellowship opportunity,
- the applicant’s contributions to the public interest community at SLS,
- the potential impact of the applicant’s work, and
- the capacity of the sponsoring organization to provide meaningful supervision to the fellow.
In evaluating these factors, the committee will look to the application and accompanying essays, law school record, recommendations, and organizational letter of support. All letters of recommendation and support should be specific to your candidacy for this fellowship. All information provided will be used only for the purpose of considering your candidacy for the Stanford Law School Public Interest Fellowships for this academic year.
The fellowship will last for one year, starting after September 1, with some room for flexibility for later start dates.
Current and Previous Fellows
In 2022-2023, Sherah Tan, JSM ’22, will engage in strategic litigation, conduct empirical research, and advocate policy reform for the rights of labor trafficking victims under the Trafficking Victims Protection Act with the Human Trafficking Legal Center. Molly Norburg, JD ’22, will join the Clooney Foundation for Justice’s new gender justice initiative, where she will use international human rights law, data-driven strategic litigation, and legal advocacy to combat discrimination and sexual violence in domestic systems.
In 2021-2022, Katelyn Masket, JD ’21, worked with Accountability Counsel to amplify the voices of communities around the world whose environmental and human rights are threatened by internationally financed projects. Christie Wan, JD ’21, joined the Center for Justice and Accountability to represent victims in actions against perpetrators of gross human rights violations, war crimes, and other atrocities through both civil litigation in U.S. courts and legal advocacy before foreign and international judicial fora.
In 2020-2021, Emily Hawley, JD ’20, worked with the Free Yezidi Foundation in Duhok, Kurdistan Region of Iraq, a local, Yezidi-run non-governmental organization, where she served Yezidi survivors of ISIS genocide in an investigative and legal capacity. Daniela Garcia Aguirre, LLM ’20, joined AIDA‘s Mexico City office as a Legal advisor with AIDA’s “Advocating for Healthy Air” program. She provided technical support and developing policy and legal strategies to protect the rights of vulnerable groups harmed by air pollution in Latin America.
In 2019-2020, David Cornell, JD ’19, joined the Center for Justice and Accountability and brought civil actions against human rights abusers and perpetrators of atrocity crimes. Peter John, JSM ’19, contributed to Reprieve’s global advocacy efforts against the death penalty through outreach, research, and strategic engagement with the United Nations in New York.
In 2018-2019, Gilat Bachar, JSD ’18, joined the Center for Justice and Accountability to conduct research, devise litigation strategy, and work with survivors of human rights violations. Akansha Dubey, JSM ’18, worked on issues related to land leasing and women’s land rights in India and scrutinize the progress and completion of work on the Telangana Land Law Review process with Landesa. B. Matt McConnell, JD ’18, was the lead researcher at Human Rights Watch on a research and advocacy project documenting human rights abuses associated with the operations of private entities and corporations, particularly as they relate to US immigration and border policy.
In 2017-2018, Kevin Chand, LLM ’17, worked as a legal adviser with Islands First providing legal and policy support related to climate change and oceans to small island developing state missions to the UN. Ana Cristina Nuñez, JSD ’17, conducted field and desk research on human rights developments in the Americas to document and expose government abuses, including attacks on freedom of expression, measures to undermine judicial independence, laws that limit the work of human rights defenders, and arbitrary arrests of anti-government protesters.
In 2016-2017, Swain Uber, JD ’16, worked with European Roma Rights Centre on human rights issues faced by the Roma communities in Bulgaria and throughout Europe.