HLS Gay Lesbian Bisexual Transgender

Alumni/ae Committee

2010 Summer Public Interest Fellowship

Guidelines and Application Procedures

The HLS Gay Lesbian Bisexual Transgender Alumni Committee (HLS GLBTAC) will sponsor at least one Harvard Law School student to conduct legal, public policy, or other advocacy on behalf of GLBT equality in the public interest sector for the summer of 2010!  Last summer, Michael Arthus and Erika Rickard received Fellowships.  Mike worked at GLAD in Boston on a variety of litigation and legislation, including marriage, youth issues, family law, criminal law, property disputes, sports law, elder law, and constitutional law.  Erika interned in both the legal and legislative departments at the New York Civil Liberties Union.  She worked on issues related to same-sex marriage, HIV testing, student harassment in schools, and hate crimes legislation, including drafting language to amend the New York marriage bill, and working on an appellate brief in a de facto parenting case. This year, the Committee hopes to continue its commitment to supporting this important work by awarding one or more fellowships to deserving candidates.  The number of awards and amount of each award will depend on the applications received and the success of our fundraising efforts.

Selected fellows may combine these fellowships with other sources of funding, including employer stipends and HLS summer funding. There is no funding cap when combining these fellowships with outside sources of funding (such funding from employers or other scholarships).  However, students receiving summer funding through the Summer Pubic Interest Funding (SPIF) program of the HLS Financial Aid Office are permitted to supplement their SPIF funding only up to a funding cap of $6,500 for first-year students and $8,000 for second-year students.

Who is Eligible to Apply?

• All current HLS students may apply for the fellowship.

• Students must use the fellowship to work at least 5 weeks in a traditional public service job. Examples of such jobs include legal services and non-profit organizations, such as those organizations listed above where former fellowship recipients have worked.  Judicial clerkships, research assistantships for professors and political campaign work are not eligible for the fellowship.  Although internships for the entire summer (8-10 weeks) are preferred, the Fellowship Committee will consider partial fellowships for students who split the summer between two public interest organizations or between a public interest organization and a private sector group (such as a law firm).

• Recipients must work on lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender rights issues, but they may work anywhere in the U.S. or overseas.

How To Apply

• Applicants should submit an application packet that includes the following:
  • A resume
  • Description of relevant work, interests and experience;
  • Any publications or relevant documents and materials;
  • Letters of recommendation from two people who are familiar with the applicant’s work;
  • A description of the proposed placement, if already arranged.  If not arranged, submit a one-page description of two or three areas of summer work of particular interest

• Applications are due March 5, 2010. Submit your application:
  • By mail to:

• HLS GLBT Summer Fellowship

• c/o Sarah Boonin

• 120 Tremont Street, Suite 190

• Boston, MA 02108

OR

• • By e-mail to: saboonin@law.harvard.edu (Word, Wordperfect and PDF files are acceptable).  Letters of recommendation and other supporting documentation that cannot be e-mailed in the formats above may be mailed to the address above.

Selection Process

• The Committee will review each application submitted and, if time permits, also schedule informal telephone interviews with finalists.  The Committee will make its final selections based the applicants’ demonstrated commitment to advancing lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender rights and to achieving excellence in this endeavor.

• Applicants do not need a job offer to apply for the fellowship.  The Committee may award a fellowship contingent upon a grantee accepting summer employment in one of her/his stated areas of interest. However, by accepting a fellowship offer while still job-hunting, you commit to accept a job offer to work on lesbian and/or gay rights issues.