Students

The Lezak Social Justice Fellowship is a competitive program offering mentorship and summer financial support to current 1L, 2L, and 3L students who will return for a 4L year.  The application cycle opens annually each Spring; review the information below for eligibility and guidelines to apply. 

Summer Awards

Fellows will be given summer awards of up to $5,000. Recipients must be Lewis & Clark law students who will be returning to Lewis & Clark in the fall. Recipients may augment summer awards and salaries from other sources; however, students may not receive both a PILP Summer Award and a Lezak Summer Award in the same year. The Lezak Social Justice Fellowship Committee will select recipients from applications received following interviews with finalists.

The Summer 2024 application is now open and due by 4:00 pm on Friday, March 29, 2024. You can access the application form below and in the Career Connect posting. Email kdjohnson@lclark.edu and Cc aemerson@lclark.edu with any questions.

Mentors

The Lezak Social Justice Fellowship Committee will match recipients with mentors from the Oregon legal community. Mentors meet with their mentors regularly throughout the summer and school year - and often for many years beyond.

Recipient Obligations

Recipients are required to complete at least 350 hours of work with their host during the summer and are required to meet individually with their mentor(s) and participate in group mentor events during the summer in Portland.

Hosts and Work

Hosts must be nonprofit organizations, government offices, or tribal entities. Work must significantly utilize the student’s skills and knowledge gained as a law student; however, the work need not directly connect to legal representation. Work must be completed during the summer.

Payment and Taxes

Summer Awards may be taxable income and will be paid in a single lump sum to recipients. Lewis & Clark must report payment via IRS Form 1099-MISC. There will be no withholding, and recipients will be responsible for saving funds to pay state and federal income tax if any.

Applications

How to apply:

1. Download and fill out the application. 
2. Make a single PDF of the application form, a resume, print out of classes and grades from WebAdvisor, and a statement of no more than two pages describing the nature of the work you will be conducting over the summer, the need for that work, your connection to the work, how your background makes you well suited to the work, and/or your unique qualifications for the work.
3. Email your application to Kyle Johnson before the deadline.