Liman Fellowship

PROGRAMMING UPDATE (AS OF FALL 2023): The Liman Fellowship is in a transition year and will be co-administered through SPIA's Undergraduate Program Office and Program in Law and Public Policy. After this year, the Program in Law and Public Policy will be administering the Liman Fellowship going forward. An info session will be held on Tuesday, November 14 @ 12:30pm in Robertson Hall, 015. Summer 2023 Liman Fellows will join us to share their experiences. Lunch will be provided.


The Arthur J. Liman Public Interest Program honors a lawyer who personified the ideal of commitment to the public interest. Throughout his long and distinguished career, he demonstrated how dedicated lawyers in both public and private life can serve the needs of people and causes that might otherwise go unrepresented.

2024 Program Overview

Liman Fellows receive a stipend for a minimum eight week summer 2024 (ten weeks preferred) internship involving full-time public interest law-related work. The internship may be client-oriented; direct-service casework, either civil or criminal, such as enforcement work by government agencies or class-action litigation by public interest law organizations; or cause-oriented advocacy, such as nonprofit organizations’ policy development and advocacy of legislative and regulatory reforms.

Eligibility

Any freshman, sophomore, or junior undergraduate may apply for a fellowship. The summer stipend is $6,500.

To apply, you need not have located or secured an internship. If you are selected as a fellow, SPIA and the Yale Law School Liman Program can help you find an internship in an area of your interest.

Liman Fellow Requirements

Those selected as fellows must attend the Liman Public Interest Law Colloquium at Yale Law School. This two day event is currently scheduled to meet in-person in early April at Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut. SPIA will pay for your travel expenses. Fellows are required to submit a final report describing their work at the conclusion of their fellowship and to participate in a workshop for Princeton students and faculty at which they share their experiences.

Selection Process

SPIA will name up to four undergraduates as 2024 recipients of Liman Fellow stipends. The Review Committee will evaluate all applications with special attention to whether an applicant has demonstrated merit and a past commitment to public service; has an interest or involvement with the legal system; has plans or ideas for pursuing these interests in the future, including realistic goals for securing a fellowship placement; and has indicated how the fellowship will enhance the candidate’s academic and career interests.

Applications are submitted using the online fellowship application. The electronic application will close at 4:00pm (EST) on Friday, January 8, 2024.