The Constitutional and Legal Policy Institute (COLPI),
an affiliate of the Open Society Institute (OSI-Budapest),
in collaboration with the Public Interest Law Initiative in Transitional
Societies (PILI) at Columbia Law School,
is pleased to invite applications for the Public Interest Law Fellows
Program.
The deadline for applications is March 1, 2001.
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 10,
2001.
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
area 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 one
time 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 security suitable
family housing. Moreover, Columbia University requires evidence of financial
support for accompanying family members. In the 2000/2001 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 support human rights principles through assist
the development of public interest law communities in the countries
of 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 Open Society
Institute-New York and the Soros network of foundations, including COLPI.
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.
More information about the Public Interest Law Initiative can be found
on the Internet at: http://www.pili.org/.
More information about Columbia Law School can be found at: http://www.law.columbia.edu/.
Application Procedure
An application
form is attached. 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). In addition,
the applicant should 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 listed in the application, 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, 2001.
For more information and application forms, please contact
Julie
Plavsic, Fellowship Program Coordinator
44 Morningside Drive, Suite 1
New York, New York
tel: 1-212-851-1060, fax: 1-212-851-1064