PILI/COLPI PUBLIC INTEREST LAW FELLOWS PROGRAM

The Public Interest Law Initiative in Transitional Societies (PILI) at Columbia Law School, and The Constitutional and Legal Policy Institute (COLPI) in Budapest, are pleased to invite applications for the Public Interest Law Fellows Program. The deadline for applications is March 1, 2002.

The program will select seven lawyers from Central and Eastern Europe, Russia and Central Asia ("the region") for two years of study and practical work experience. Two slots in the program are specifically designated for women's rights advocates, two slots are designated for disability rights advocates, and the remaining three slots are undesignated.

Applicants with a strong commitment to human rights or public interest law, a law degree, eligibility for legal practice in his/her country and proficiency in English may apply. Criteria for selection will include the experience of the applicant, the applicant's potential to contribute to the development of the human rights or public interest law field in the region, and the suitability of the applicant's proposed role in the nominating NGO. Preference will be given to applicants under 35 years of age. Selection decisions will be made by April 15, 2002.

The Fellows will reside a total of one year in the US, consisting of one semester of study at Columbia University and two three-month internships. Fellows will return to their home countries after the first year, where they will spend at least one year working with their nominating NGO on human rights/public interest advocacy on a non-profit basis in such areas as providing legal services, strategic litigation, campaigning for reform, and human rights training/education. Upon their selection, Fellows will be required to sign an agreement with COLPI/OSI Budapest and Columbia University according to which he/she will commit to two years in the program; the first year to be spent in the US and the second year in his/her home country working with the nominating NGO.

COLPI will cover a round-trip coach airfare to the US and provide each Fellow with a monthly stipend for a period of up to 12 months, a textbook allowance, and medical insurance for a year while in the US. The amount of this stipend is carefully calculated to cover the expenses of one person in the US for the period of one year. COLPI will also pay a local salary during the second year that is equal to an amount determined to be similar to equivalent work by the nominating NGO. This amount will be provided to the nominating NGOs in the form of a grant.

Please note, COLPI and PILI cannot provide any financial or logistical assistance for accompanying family members, including securing suitable family housing. Moreover, Columbia University requires evidence of financial support for accompanying family members. In the 2001/2002 academic year, this amount was equal to $360 a month for an accompanying spouse and $350 a month for each dependent child. Providing proof of the requisite financial support for accompanying family members will be the responsibility of the applicant.

Program Description

The goal of the Public Interest Law Initiative in Transitional Societies (PILI) is to advance human rights principles through assisting the development of a public interest law infrastructure in Central and Eastern Europe, Russia and Central Asia, especially in the areas of clinical legal education and access to justice. PILI is supported by the Ford Foundation, the Mott Foundation, the European Community, and the Soros network of foundations.

The Public Interest Law Fellows Program is one of PILI's core activities. In the first semester of the program, Public Interest Law Fellows participate in a non-degree program in which they audit 3 to 5 courses at Columbia Law School, including a seminar entitled "Applied Law Reform In Eastern Europe," which is taught by Edwin Rekosh, Director of the Public Interest Law Initiative. This seminar – which pairs Fellows with a select group of full-time Columbia students – provides a practical-oriented overview of law reform issues confronting the legal systems of Central and Eastern Europe from an interdisciplinary perspective, with an emphasis on democracy-building, civil society, and enhancing the promotion and protection of human rights. Each Fellow will be expected to propose a project relating to human rights or other public interest law issues, which will be the subject of research and collaboration by teams formed with other students in the seminar. The project should be related to the needs and priorities of the applicant's nominating NGO, but may change over the course of the semester based on the input of other students in the seminar. Ideally, the result of the seminar will be a project plan that can be further modified during the remainder of the year to fit the particular needs of the NGO.

In the spring and early summer, Fellows participate in two three-month internships at human rights, legal services, or other public interest law organizations in the New York area. To the extent possible, internships will be selected according to Fellows' particular interests in the area of human rights and public interest law. Fellows will be expected to arrive in early August in order to participate in "US Legal Methods and Problems," an intensive course that starts prior to other classes and provides an academic orientation for lawyers from civil law countries.

An application for the program, and more information on the Public Interest Law Initiative, can be found on PILI's website at: www.pili.org. More information about Columbia Law School can be found at www.law.columbia.edu.

Application Procedure

Applicants must submit a completed program application form. In addition, applicants must include a nominating letter from an NGO from the region describing the need for having a lawyer working in the organization and contractually committing to COLPI/OSI-Budapest to hire the applicant for at least one year after he/she returns from the twelve-month training program in the US. The nomination letter should also indicate a monthly salary rate that will be offered to the applicant by the NGO in the event that he or she is selected for the program (which would be provided to the NGO by COLPI in the form of a grant). The applicant should also provide at least one additional recommendation. Information on the profile of the recommending NGO and supplemental recommendations are also welcome.

Applicants should also identify a project that he or she would like to design during the first semester of the program. Ideas of projects with practical significance to the nominating NGO are encouraged. Some examples of past projects include:

1. creating a gender policy institute to gather statistical information on issues affecting women, and to monitor legislation from a gender perspective;
2. reforming the law regulating guardianship for those with mental disabilities using strategic litigation, public education and the media, and;
3. establishing a human rights NGO to litigate cases focusing on minority issues, with the goal of bringing domestic legislation up to international human rights standards.

The electronic submission, via e-mail, of application materials is strongly encouraged. However, an original application must also be submitted through regular mail. INCOMPLETE APPLICATIONS WILL NOT BE CONSIDERED. If an application is submitted without one of the required components, it will be disqualified unless the applicant can justify why he/she cannot obtain the needed information.

The DEADLINE for receiving applications at PILI is March 1, 2002. For more information and an application, visit PILI's website or contact Julie Heaner Plavsic, Fellowship Program Coordinator, 44 Morningside Drive, Suite 1, New York, New York; tel: 1-212-851-1060; fax: 1-212-851-1064; e-mail: jplavs@law.columbia.edu.