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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

Ways in

Fellowships, and When Each One Closes

Four funded routes into California legal aid, and every date each one has published. Two of them close before most students have unpacked for the fall.

LAAC

Public Interest Bar Fellowship

LAAC's own bridge fellowship. It funds the months between graduation and bar results, at a legal services organization that wanted you there.

Money A $16,000 stipend paid in three installments, and $1,500 to the host organization toward onboarding, State Bar registration, training and supervision.

Commitment 400 hours over roughly six months, May or June through November or December.

Applications open April 3, Last published for 2026

LAAC

Dan Bradley Fellowship

The summer money for law students who want rural work or consumer rights, and the reason a summer at a legal aid organization does not have to be unpaid.

Money Up to $12,075 for the summer.

Commitment A summer at a LAAC member legal aid organization.

2027 cycle not yet announced

Skadden

Skadden Fellowship

You apply in the fall of your 3L year, on a project you and a host organization design together.

Money A two-year salaried fellowship, with reimbursement for bar expenses and relocation, and loan repayment assistance during the fellowship.

Commitment Two years at a public interest organization on a project you design with them.

Applications close August 31, Last published for 2026

Equal Justice Works

Equal Justice Works Design-Your-Own Fellowship

The other fall deadline. You find the host organization yourself, since Equal Justice Works does not match fellows with hosts, and design the project together.

Money A salary set jointly with the host organization, health insurance and fringe benefits, and up to $5,000 in loan repayment assistance.

Commitment Two years on a project you design with a host organization.

Applications close September 17, in 9 days

The whole year

Every published date, in order

Including the ones already behind you. A date that has passed for this cycle still tells you when to expect it next year, which is the only planning a 1L can actually do.

  1. March

  2. 18 Public Interest Bar Fellowship Information session 3pm via Zoom Last published for 2026
  3. 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

  4. April

  5. 3 Public Interest Bar Fellowship Applications open Reviewed on a rolling basis; earlier is better Last published for 2026
  6. 7 Public Interest Bar Fellowship Solo matching and interviews begin Runs to April 25 Last published for 2026
  7. 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
  8. 15 Public Interest Bar Fellowship Applications close 5:00 pm Last published for 2026
  9. 27 Public Interest Bar Fellowship Fellows notified Solo matching and interviews run April 7–25 Last published for 2026

  10. May

  11. 8 Public Interest Bar Fellowship Paperwork due Last published for 2026
  12. 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
  13. 26 Public Interest Bar Fellowship First Fellow learning session May 26–29, mandatory Last published for 2026

  14. June

  15. 30 Public Interest Bar Fellowship Pre-bar requirements due Last published for 2026

  16. July

  17. 1 Public Interest Bar Fellowship Bar exam blackout period Fellows do not work during July Day not announced

  18. August

  19. 17 Public Interest Bar Fellowship Fellows return to their host organizations Last published for 2026
  20. 31 Skadden Fellowship Applications close 11:59 pm Pacific Last published for 2026

  21. Septemberthis month

  22. 17 Skadden Fellowship Interview invitations sent By this date in 9 days
  23. 17 Equal Justice Works Applications close Extensions are not granted in 9 days
  24. 22 Skadden Fellowship Interviews begin September 22 – October 13, in person in 2 weeks

  25. October

  26. 16 Skadden Fellowship Finalists notified By this date in 5 weeks

  27. November

  28. 1 Skadden Fellowship Selection Trustees meet The Trustees select the Fellows from the finalists Day not announced

  29. December

  30. 1 Public Interest Bar Fellowship Fellows celebration Placements complete October through December Day not announced

Not a fellowship

The other ways in

A named fellowship is not the only way in. Staff attorney postings, your own school's public interest funding, and paid summer clerkships are the other routes, and they run on their own calendars.

Three people in suits sit at desks in a bright office lobby and look toward the camera, a fourth standing behind them by the window, a backpack on the floor beside them, while others talk in the background.
Advocates in a Sacramento office lobby between meetings