Fellowship Opportunities
The Brennan Center is eager to partner with individuals who are interested in developing public interest fellowships, including Equal Justice Works, Skadden, and Liman Fellowships. The Brennan Center also offers the Katz Fellowship to alumni of NYU Law School. If you are interested in developing a fellowship proposal with the Brennan Center, please email a short statement describing your interest to , with the subject line "Fellowship Opportunities." For more information on postgraduate fellowships generally, visit PSLawNet.
Current Openings
Law Firm Fellow
The Brennan Center for Justice at New York University School of Law is a nonpartisan public policy and law institute that focuses on fundamental issues of democracy and justice. We work on issues that include voting rights, redistricting reform, criminal justice, racial equality, access to the courts, and ensuring that our national security policies are in line with constitutional mandates. A singular institution – part think tank, part public interest law firm, part advocacy group – the Brennan Center combines scholarship, legislative and legal advocacy, and communications to win meaningful, measurable change in the public sector. For more information about the Center, visit our website: http://www.brennancenter.org.
The Brennan Center is open to hosting law firm associates on public service fellowships sponsored by their law firms for one-year terms. We are happy to work with law firms to set up a selection process that works best for all involved. Important questions to be addressed include: coordination of benefits, supervisory costs, evaluation concerns, potential conflicts, and the provision of malpractice insurance.
The Brennan Center is especially interested in applicants who possess one or more years of experience and a demonstrated interest in public interest work. We are looking for colleagues with excellent legal research, writing and analytical skills. Relevant past experience and a particular interest in one or more of the Center’s specific initiatives will also be valued.
The law firm fellows will work alongside other staff on the Brennan Center’s public advocacy, research, and litigation initiatives. Activities may include legal and policy analysis and counseling; legislative drafting at federal, state, and local levels; administrative and legislative advocacy; public education and scholarship; and litigation in trial and appellate courts.
The Brennan Center is committed to recruiting as diverse and qualified pool of candidates as possible. Toward that end, we are interested in circulating this position description widely and appreciate your assistance in this effort.
Law firm representatives who have questions or would like more information should contact Kelly Williams at or 212 992 8152.
Applicants should send a cover letter, resume, law school transcript, two or more writing samples, and names and contact information for three references by e-mail to: with “Law Firm Fellowship” in the subject line. If you have an interest in a particular program or project, please state this in your cover letter.
The Brennan Center for Justice is an equal opportunity, affirmative action employer, which welcomes qualified applicants of all races, ethnicities, genders, and sexual orientations, including people who have been previously incarcerated.
George A. Katz Fellowship
The George A. Katz Fellowship provides the opportunity for a recent graduate of New York University School of Law to spend two years as a staff attorney at the Brennan Center for Justice. The Fellowship is generously funded by the law firm of Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz in honor of George A. Katz, an alumnus of NYU School of Law and a founding partner of the firm. In the fall of 2010, a Katz Fellow will be selected for the next fellowship period, fall 2011 – fall 2013.