Skadden Fellowship Program

Benefits & funding

• Base salary support of US$68,000 a year, paid to the host organization, plus US$5,202 toward the employer side of FICA payroll tax (Class of 2027 figures).
• Annual supplementary payment of US$2,000 where the host pays the Fellow US$70,000–72,999, or US$5,000 where the host pays US$73,000 or more.
• Full reimbursement of medical, dental, life, disability and state-mandated paid family leave premiums, including dependent medical and dental cover. Nothing for these is deducted from the Fellow’s salary.
• Reimbursement of bar exam expenses and relocation costs, plus need-based law school loan repayment assistance.
• Up to US$2,000 across the two years for trainings tied to the Fellow’s public interest work, and up to US$1,500 in travel for the Foundation’s On-site Learning Initiative.
• An annual symposium in New York City, LexisNexis access, and unlimited continuing legal education through the Practising Law Institute.
• After the Fellowship, Flom Incubator Grants of US$7,500 to write an academic article for the public interest law community, or US$15,000 to test a novel approach for clients.

Eligibility

• Open to all nationalities. U.S. citizenship is not required, but the Fellow must verify identity and eligibility to work in the United States for the host employer.
• At the time of application, be in the fall of the final year of law school (usually the 3L year), in an LL.M. program, in a clerkship, or a law school graduate of the prior two years.
• A U.S. law school is not required, but the applicant must have taken or plan to take a bar exam in the United States.
• The project must address the unmet civil legal needs of people living in poverty, and the work must take place in the United States, U.S. territories or Native American communities.
• The host must be a standalone 501(c)(3) organization with at least two full-time attorneys who spend the significant majority of their working time on civil legal advocacy, one of whom supervises the Fellow. Law school clinics and law school projects cannot host.
• The host must pay at least US$68,000 a year, or US$60,000 where a collective bargaining agreement mandates a lower salary.
• Foundation directors, officers and employees, current and former Skadden partners and employees, and their immediate family members cannot apply.

Application process

1. 1
   Pick an unmet civil legal need, design a project around it, and agree it with an eligible nonprofit host organization.
2. 2
   Complete the online application form, which opened on 22 July 2026, and upload the required documents with the applicant certification and the host organization certification.
3. 3
   Submit by 11:59 p.m. Pacific Time on 31 August 2026.
4. 4
   Interview invitations go out by 17 September 2026. Interviews run from 22 September to 13 October in Boston, Washington, D.C., New York City, Chicago, Los Angeles and Palo Alto, with travel paid by the Foundation.
5. 5
   The Advisory Committee selects Finalists, who are notified by 16 October and then go through a social media review.
6. 6
   The Selection Trustees meet in November to choose the Fellows. Those selected complete criminal and credit background checks.

Program timeline

1. Application form opens

   22 July 2026

2. Application deadline, 11:59 p.m. Pacific Time

   31 August 2026

3. Interview invitations sent

   17 September 2026

4. Interviews in six U.S. cities

   22 September – 13 October 2026

5. Finalists notified

   16 October 2026

6. November 2026

   Selection Trustees choose the Class of 2027

7. Two-year Fellowship begins, start date agreed with the host

   Fall 2027