Ford Foundation Announces 2013 Summer Public Interest Funding for Four Top Law Schools

Good news for public-interest minded students at Stanford, Harvard, NYU and Yale law schools! Today, the Ford Foundation announced a commitment to fund 2013 summer public interest placements for about 100 law students from these prestigious law schools.

From the National Law Journal:

Public interest fellowships typically pay stipends just large enough to cover basic costs. By contrast, the Ford fellows will receive $15,000 for summer work at an array of high-profile public interest organizations, including the Brookings Institution, the Environmental Defense Fund and the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund. The foundation has committed $1.75 million for the inaugural year.

“This program opens up a new pathway for law students to gain practical and transformative experience working on many of the defining social justices issues of our age,” said Ford Foundation president Luis Ubiñas. “We believe it will offer them invaluable knowledge and understanding that will inform their careers, whether public or private, while bringing fresh talent to organizations working to advance fairness and freedom.”

The fellowships will go to “high performing” 1Ls and 2Ls at the designated law schools, which were selected because of their history of partnership with the Ford Foundation, he said.