Columbia Law School – Human Rights LLL.M. Fellowship: Be the Best Lawyer in the International Courtroom

The Human Rights LL.M. Fellowship is open for promising lawyers to be future leaders in the practice of human rights law. The fellowship offers support to those exceptional lawyers who exhibit aptitude and strong orientation towards human rights advocacies. Human rights are among the most universal rights each individual is entitled to regardless of race and gender. As reality demonstrates the situation, human rights abuses continue to haunt domestic and international courtrooms. Thus, Columbia Law School wants to train willing and exceptional lawyers to be future defender of victims of human rights abuses. The fellowship is a coordination of the law school with its Human Rights Institute. As a LL.M. Human Rights Fellow, you will be trained in a specialized manner that will prepare you to be a proactive human rights law practitioner.

Do you have what it takes to be a fellow?

It is very important that your law practice is strongly oriented on human rights law cases. This orientation is best manifested on actual work experiences on human rights practice and apparent commitments to further practice on such field. For that matter, if you have at least one year of full time experience on such practice, you will be preferred for the fellowship. Graduating law students may apply but their acceptance depends on exceptional circumstances and it will require the graduating law student to demonstrate that acceptance and subsequent completion of the program is crucial for their specific career objectives in the human rights law practice. The fellowship gives special attention to lawyers from Africa, Asia, and Latin America and those who faces actual challenges because of their sociological status. The applicant should hold a first degree in law. Usually, a first degree in law is a requisite degree for the bar examination. First degree in law earned through distance learning is not considered as a qualification for the program.

Things to Do

You must submit a completed application to the Law School Admission Council (LSAC). With the completed application, you must submit a short essay of maximum of two pages. The essay must demonstrate your qualifications, relevant experiences on the human rights practice, commitment to the field, your career objectives, and your vision for the human rights field. You must submit referred letters of recommendations. Such letters should describe your experiences and your potential as a human rights law practitioner. Given that in applying for the masters of law (LL.M.), the person writing for your recommendation may highlight your experiences on other law practice. In the event that the letters does not substantially highlights your human rights experiences, an additional letter may be submitted by a professor or human rights practitioner. Finally, you must submit a completed Application for Financial Assistance. This application form is crucial since the council will use the details embodied in the application to determine the amount of assistance.

Once you submitted your application, changes except for personal information will not be entertained.

You might want to contact the Office of the Graduate Legal Studies for additional information such as the date of the opening of the application for the next round. Contact them at gls@law.columbia.edu.

The Perks

The fellowship can provide partial to full waiver of tuition. Depending with your actual financial needs, the fellowship may provide living stipend. The fellow will receive specialized skills and career mentoring designed to transform you to a better human rights practitioner. As a fellow, you will be invited to events and researches. You will be given a chance to practice through the Human Rights Clinic.

Isn’t not exciting for the defense of humanity?