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Legal Aid Association of California New Attorney Pipeline

Closing next Equal Justice Works applications close September 17 in 9 days

The whole year

For law school career services

The Legal Aid Hiring Calendar for Career Services

Every published date for the four funded routes into California legal aid, what to say in each year of school, and the two points in the cycle where a student can lose a year.

A speaker stands at a lectern in a wood-paneled hearing room, addressing about fifteen people seated in rows of wooden chairs. A second person listens from a table in the foreground.
A speaker addressing advocates in a hearing room

Two gaps in the calendar

Two places the calendar works against a student

The fall of 3L, four weeks in

Skadden closes at the end of August and Equal Justice Works in mid-September. Both require a host organization to have agreed to the project before the application is filed, which means the real work happens in 2L spring. A student who first hears about them in October of 3L has missed a two-year fellowship by about six weeks.

The last month of 3L

In the 2026 cycle the Public Interest Bar Fellowship opened on April 3 and closed on April 15, after the big fellowship and staff attorney cycles are done. It is the one funded route that opens in the last weeks of 3L, for students who graduate in May, and a student who has stopped checking by April will not see it.

By year

What to tell a student in each year

The one thing that matters most in each year of school
Year What is actually urgent Dated deadlines
1L Nothing on the fellowship calendar closes for you this year. Use the summer to find out what the work feels like. 0
2L The year to line up a host organization: Skadden and Equal Justice Works both need one signed on before you apply in the fall of 3L, and that groundwork is best done in the spring. 0
3L Skadden closes at the end of August. Equal Justice Works closes in mid-September. Both need a host organization signed on before you apply. 2
After Graduation Court rules allow recent graduates the ability to provide legal services while under the supervision of legal nonprofits through California Rules of Court 9.42. 2

The calendar

Every published date, in order

Print this, or link a student straight to the fellowship page it belongs to.

Every published date, all four programs
  1. 18 March Public Interest Bar Fellowship Information session
  2. 31 March Public Interest Bar Fellowship Application questions posted
  3. 3 April Public Interest Bar Fellowship Applications open
  4. 7 April Public Interest Bar Fellowship Solo matching and interviews begin
  5. 12 April Public Interest Bar Fellowship Joint applications encouraged by this date
  6. 15 April Public Interest Bar Fellowship Applications close
  7. 27 April Public Interest Bar Fellowship Fellows notified
  8. 8 May Public Interest Bar Fellowship Paperwork due
  9. 15 May Public Interest Bar Fellowship Pre-bar requirements window opens
  10. 26 May Public Interest Bar Fellowship First Fellow learning session
  11. 30 June Public Interest Bar Fellowship Pre-bar requirements due
  12. 1 July Public Interest Bar Fellowship Bar exam blackout period
  13. 17 August Public Interest Bar Fellowship Fellows return to their host organizations
  14. 31 August Skadden Fellowship Applications close
  15. 17 September Skadden Fellowship Interview invitations sent
  16. 17 September Equal Justice Works Applications close
  17. 22 September Skadden Fellowship Interviews begin
  18. 16 October Skadden Fellowship Finalists notified
  19. 1 November Skadden Fellowship Selection Trustees meet
  20. 1 December Public Interest Bar Fellowship Fellows celebration

Magenta marks an application window opening or closing. Sage marks everything that happens to a fellow after that. An outline means the date has gone by.

Where the year bunches
  1. 0 January
  2. 0 February
  3. 2 March
  4. 5 April
  5. 3 May
  6. 1 June
  7. 1 July
  8. 2 August
  9. 3 September
  10. 1 October
  11. 1 November
  12. 1 December

Each bar is how many published dates fall in that month, across all four programs. The hairline marks half of the busiest month.

All 20 published dates, in order.

California legal aid hiring calendar
Date Program What happens Status
March 18 Public Interest Bar Fellowship Information session 3pm via Zoom Last published for 2026
March 31 Public Interest Bar Fellowship Application questions posted A PDF of the questions, so you can draft answers before the form opens Last published for 2026
April 3 Public Interest Bar Fellowship Applications open Reviewed on a rolling basis; earlier is better Last published for 2026
April 7 Public Interest Bar Fellowship Solo matching and interviews begin Runs to April 25 Last published for 2026
April 12 Public Interest Bar Fellowship Joint applications encouraged by this date The number of joint applicants approved determines how many solo applications can be funded Last published for 2026
April 15 Public Interest Bar Fellowship Applications close 5:00 pm Last published for 2026
April 27 Public Interest Bar Fellowship Fellows notified Solo matching and interviews run April 7–25 Last published for 2026
May 8 Public Interest Bar Fellowship Paperwork due Last published for 2026
May 15 Public Interest Bar Fellowship Pre-bar requirements window opens Limited pre-bar tasks, about eight hours, due by June 30 Last published for 2026
May 26 Public Interest Bar Fellowship First Fellow learning session May 26–29, mandatory Last published for 2026
June 30 Public Interest Bar Fellowship Pre-bar requirements due Last published for 2026
July Public Interest Bar Fellowship Bar exam blackout period Fellows do not work during July Day not announced
August 17 Public Interest Bar Fellowship Fellows return to their host organizations Last published for 2026
August 31 Skadden Fellowship Applications close 11:59 pm Pacific Last published for 2026
September 17 Skadden Fellowship Interview invitations sent By this date in 9 days
September 17 Equal Justice Works Applications close Extensions are not granted in 9 days
September 22 Skadden Fellowship Interviews begin September 22 – October 13, in person in 2 weeks
October 16 Skadden Fellowship Finalists notified By this date in 5 weeks
November Skadden Fellowship Selection Trustees meet The Trustees select the Fellows from the finalists Day not announced
December Public Interest Bar Fellowship Fellows celebration Placements complete October through December Day not announced

Dates come from each program's own published page; each program page on this site links to its source.