[ALBSA-Info] CfA: Public Interest Law Fellows Program, Columbia

[Agron Alibali]

Call for Applicants**

PILI/Justice Initiative Public Interest Law Fellows Program
Columbia University School of Law 
(2003-2005 Session)

Columbia Universitys Public Interest Law Initiative (PILI) and The 
Open
Society Justice Initiative (formerly the Constitutional and Legal 
Policy
Institute), are pleased to invite applications for the Public Interest
Law Fellows Program. The deadline for applications is March 15, 2003.

The program will select five lawyers from Central and Eastern Europe,
Russia, Central Asia and the Caucasus (the region) for two years of
study and practical work experience. One slot in the program is
specifically designated for womens rights advocates, one slot for
disability rights advocates, and one slot for a Roma rights advocate,
with the two remaining slots undesignated. 

Criteria for selection will include the experience of the applicant, 
the
applicants potential to contribute to the development of the human
rights or public interest law field in the region, and the suitability
of the applicants proposed role in the nominating non-governmental
organization (NGO). Applicants must have a minimum of two years 
relevant
work experience outside of law school. Preference will be given to
applicants under 35 years of age. Minorities, especially Roma, are
strongly encouraged to apply. Selection decisions will be made by May 
1,
2003.

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 the
Justice Initiative 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.

The Justice Initiative will cover the cost of 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.
The Justice Initiative 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, the Justice Initiative 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 2002/2003 academic year, this amount was equal 
to
$700 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 Open Society Justice Initiative (formerly COLPI) is a new
international legal program of OSI. Based in New York and Budapest, the
mission of the Justice Initiative is to contribute to the consolidation
of open societies through the development of legal policies and
practices grounded in the rule of law and the protection of human
rights. The Justice Initiative aims to provide intellectual leadership
to law reform efforts by combining practice and legal advocacy with the
accumulation and dissemination of knowledge in its areas of core 
concern
- national criminal justice reform; international justice; freedom of
information ad expression; anti-corruption; equality and migration. In
each of these areas, the Justice Initiative seeks to contribute to the
evolution and application of substantive law, and the development of
legal capacity. Justice Initiative conducts its activities in Central
and Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union, Guatemala, Haiti,
Mongolia, South, Sout
hern and West Africa, and Southeast Asia. 

The goal of the Public Interest Law Initiative (PILI) is to advance
human rights principles through assisting the development of a public
interest law infrastructure in Central and Eastern Europe, Russia,
Central Asia and the Caucasus. PILI is supported by the Ford 
Foundation,
the Mott Foundation, the UK Department for International Development,
the European Community, and the Soros network of foundations. The 
Public
Interest Law Fellows Program is one of PILIs core activities.

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. 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.  As auditors, Fellows
do not participate in exams and do not receive grades or credit from 
the
law school for completing a course. All Fellows are required to
participate in a seminar taught by Edwin Rekosh, Executive 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, Russia, Central Asia and the
Caucasus from an interdisciplinary perspective, with an emphasis on
democracy-buildi
ng, 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 applicants 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. 

More information about the Public Interest Law Initiative can be found
on the Internet at: www.pili.org. More information about Columbia Law
School can be found at www.law.columbia.edu.

Application Procedure

Applicants must submit the following:

- A completed program application form 
- A nominating letter from an indigenous NGO in the region describing
the need for having a lawyer working in the organization and
contractually committing to the Justice Initiative to hire the 
applicant
for at least one year after he/she returns from the US. The nomination
letter should also indicate a monthly salary rate, inclusive of all
income taxes, social security and other wage-related payments payable 
by
the individual or organization, that will be offered to the applicant 
by
the NGO in the event that he or she is selected for the program (the
salary amount is provided to the NGO by the Justice Initiative in the
form of a grant). 
- At least one recommendation from an individual outside the nominating
organization
- A project proposal that he or she would like to work on during the
first semester of the program, ideally with practical significance to
the nominating NGO. (Some past examples include: developing a strategic
litigation strategy to address discrimination against women in the
workplace; drafting a model mental health care law with a detailed
implementation strategy; establishing a legal aid program, and 
promoting
freedom of expression and religion through litigation and public
education.)
- Information on the nominating NGO and additional recommendations are
also encouraged, although not required.

The electronic submission, via e-mail, of application materials is
strongly encouraged although materials may also be submitted via
facsimile or 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 15, 2003. For
more information and application forms, please contact Julie Heaner
Plavsic, Fellowship Program Manager, 435 W. 116th St, Mailcode 3525, 
New
York, New York; tel: 1-212-851-1060; fax: 1-212-851-1064; e-mail:
jplavs at law.columbia.edu. An application form can also be downloaded 
from
PILI's website at www.pili.org




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