The Bridge to Practice Postgraduate Public Service Fellowship program provides stipends of $5,000 each to graduates who, over a ten-week period, contribute to the public good by doing legal work in public sector law. This initiative helps the most recent graduates to gain a first-hand appreciation of the importance of lawyers in shaping American public life and an opportunity to contribute to the public good either before they commence permanent employment or while they are exploring professional opportunities in the private and public sectors.
Stipend awardees work in an array of city, state, or federal agencies; local, state, federal, or international judge’s chambers; non-profit public interest organizations; and private law firms with a predominantly public interest practice in which the stipend awardee works solely on public interest matters (and where the firm will not seek compensation for the graduate’s work) .
This Program, only in existence since 2005, has historically awarded stipends to twenty-five graduating Cardozo students per year and requires a stringent application process. Selected graduating students must secure an unpaid position in the public service law sector that consists of legal work under the supervision of an attorney. In 2010, we were able to fund 71 graduates.
The need is great and we seek to increase not only the number of graduates who receive the stipend but also the size of the stipend. Alumni, parents, and friends are invited to contribute to the Postgraduate Public Service Fellowship Fund which will support graduating students.
For more information, please contact Patricia Weiss, Associate Dean, Institutional Advancement and Alumni Affairs, at (212)790-0270.