Described as “a legal Peace Corps” by The Los Angeles Times, the Skadden Fellowship was established in 1988 to provide greater funding for graduating law students who wish to devote their professional lives to providing legal services to the poor, the elderly, the homeless and the disabled, as well as those deprived of their civil or human rights. Since the inception of the program, almost 90 percent of the Fellows have remained in public interest or public sector work.
Nisha Agarwal began her legal career as a Skadden Fellow and is now Director of the Health Justice Program at New York Lawyers for the Public Interest. Nisha advocates for racial justice and immigrant rights perspective in issues concerning language rights in pharmacies, racial discrimination in hospitals, medical deportation, and the closure of community hospitals and clinics in medically under-served areas.
As an Skadden alum, Nisha also just received a $10,000 Flom Incubator Grant to establish the Center for Popular Democracy, a new national organization to promote equity, opportunity and democracy through grassroots capacity building and strategic policy work for new immigrants.
The Skadden Fellowship is a 2-year fellowship that provides a salary and fringe benefits. Candidates must create their own projects at public interest organizations with at least two lawyers on staff before they apply. Read more here.