Pay and Funding
Pay belongs in the conversation from the start. Compare funding, payment dates and what each offer includes.
Fund Your Summer During Law School
Look for paid law clerk and internship roles, and ask your school about funding for an otherwise unpaid placement. Some awards require you to arrange the placement first; the school and employer may have different deadlines.
- School Funding and Stevens Fellowships
Check your school's program, eligibility, award amount and rules for combining funding. Stevens fellows apply through participating law schools.
- Dan Bradley Fellowship
We offer summer support of up to $12,075 for qualifying work on rural issues or consumer rights. Review eligibility and application dates on the program page.
- PSJD: Funding and Compensation
Explore summer funding sources, postgraduate funding and compensation resources beyond the programs covered here.
Compare Your Summer Funding
Spread your confirmed funding across the weeks you’ll work.
Funding per week is before taxes. Include school and employer support once each.
Compare Fellowship Funding
- Dan Bradley Fellowship
- Up to $12,075 for the summer
- Equal Justice Works Design-Your-Own Fellowship
- A salary set jointly with the host organization, health insurance and fringe benefits, and up to $5,000 in loan repayment assistance
- FAIR Fellowship
- At least $97,344 a year, plus benefits; bar-study support up to $10,000
- Public Interest Bar Fellowship
- A $16,000 stipend, paid in three installments
- Skadden Fellowship
- A two-year salaried fellowship, with help for bar expenses, relocation and law-school loan payments on a showing of financial need
For law and aging, also explore the Borchard Fellowship. For a staff attorney role, check the employer's current posting and ask about its salary range and benefits.
A sponsor's salary support paid to a host is different from your salary or take-home pay. Equal Justice Works says the fellow and host set salary jointly. Confirm your actual compensation with the host.
Ask Before You Accept
- Is this a salary, hourly pay, a stipend or funding you must apply for separately?
- What is the amount, what period does it cover and when is the first payment?
- What benefits are included? Ask about health coverage, leave and work-related expenses.
- Does the placement depend on winning a fellowship or a grant?
- Where will you work, and what commuting, relocation or bar-related costs would you cover?
- When does funding end, and is any work afterward actually being offered?
Write down the confirmed amount and payment dates beside your own housing, transport and other costs. If funding arrives after the placement begins, ask your financial aid office what options your school offers for that gap.
Bring Loan Questions to Financial Aid
Ask your school's financial aid office about its loan repayment assistance program, often called LRAP, and how to check the current federal Public Service Loan Forgiveness rules. Eligibility depends on the program and your circumstances.
PSJD's student loan repayment resources