Apply for a Youth Justice Alliance Fellowship!

This application is for graduating high school seniors with a strong interest in pursuing a legal career who can demonstrate that their voice is needed in the legal community.

If you apply to our program, you will be evaluated based on your demonstration of a passion for pursuing legal careers, your explanation of why the legal profession needs your voice, and your status as an aspiring first-gen attorney. You are NOT evaluated based on your GPA, standardized test scores, immigration status, or admission to a four-year college or university unless YOU choose to highlight one of these components through the artifact portion of the application. We recognize that for many of our potential fellows, the same experiences that may motivate them to serve their neighbors and change the legal profession might be the same experiences that impacted their academics and higher education pursuits.

For the fellows who are selected, our fellowship offers four years of programming intentionally planned to help address the most common barriers to the legal profession. It begins the first summer after high school graduation with an intensive residential Summer Institute that includes rigorous and relevant legal instruction from leading attorneys, visits to the courthouse for trial observations, meetings with local judges, and recreational programming for joy as well as cohort bonding. For completing this training, fellows receive a $500 stipend. We also provide a $200 gift card for professional clothing so that every fellow can feel confident heading into a courtroom regardless of financial resources. The second summer, fellows earn $15/hr for an 80-hour judicial internship coordinated by Travis County District Court Judge, Karin Crump. The third summer, fellows earn $17/hr for a 100-hour internship with a legal non-profit selected based on their interests and professional goals. Finally, the fourth summer, fellows receive $1,500 toward an LSAT course. Between our summer programming, we offer career guidance, lunches with lawyers, mentorship, and cohort reunions.

TIP: Complete the essays in a separate word document and then paste them here to avoid losing your work if there are internet/website problems.

For additional guidance, watch this video: https://youtu.be/bTP0dqAd8v8 (the questions are almost identical, even though the platform has changed)