Part-Time Fellowships

Faculty Division Part-Time Research Fellowship 2024-2025

The Federalist Society may award one or more part-time fellowships designed to assist prospective legal academics to develop their scholarship on a part-time basis over the course of one year. Our objective is to help the part-time fellow develop publishable papers while remaining employed in a law firm or the government. To that end we are soliciting proposals from interested applicants.

The core deliverable for the fellowship is a publishable paper. Participating in the program therefore primarily involves committing a certain amount of time (either hours per week or a percentage of the fellow’s work time or a leave from the fellow’s regular job, or some combination) to writing and completing the paper. In addition, fellows will be expected to participate either in person or virtually in an interactive workshop series offering peer and faculty feedback to help participants develop their scholarship.  They will also be expected to participate in an introductory workshop at the beginning of the fellowship as well as a job talk workshop. Fellows will also receive mentoring from faculty in their area of expertise.

Fellows will receive a small stipend either in installments or upon completion of a draft paper. The amount of the stipend will vary in part depending on the amount of time the fellow commits to the fellowship, with a substantial amount of the stipend payable upon completion of the paper. In preparing proposals, fellows should bear in mind that the annual stipend for a full-time fellowship is generally on the order of $70,000 annually. As a result, stipends in this program will generally range from $5,000 to $25,000, depending in part on the fellow’s time commitment. In addition, fellows will receive access to research accounts and law journal submission accounts, likely by arrangement with a local law school or the school from which they received their J.D. The Society will also endeavor to arrange an affiliation with such a school that will allow the fellow to participate in workshops and the like.

Applicants should possess a J.D. and strong academic qualifications, dedication to teaching and scholarship, commitment to the rule of law and intellectual diversity in legal academia, and show promise as a legal scholar and teacher.

All those who believe they fit the criteria are encouraged to apply. Proposals should include the following:

Research project overview:

  • A summary of your research project.
  • A proposed timeline, including an estimate of how much time you plan to commit to the Fellowship.
  • A proposed stipend.

Applicants should also submit the following additional information:

  • A resume and law school transcript.
  • A brief description of your interest in the program: why you are submitting a proposal and your intention to teach law.
  • Academic writing sample(s) with a 50-page limit on the total number of pages submitted.
  • Two references are required. These should be people who can speak to your academic potential, generally law professors or, if you are doing interdisciplinary work, someone who can speak to your work in that area. Letters of recommendation from these people are welcome but not required.  You may also include additional references with phone numbers. 

Applications should be received no later than March 15, 2024.

Applicants will be notified in mid-May 2024.

 

Any further questions should be directed to Justin Drewer, at [email protected].

 

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