Dear Admitted Students,

Welcome to the Fordham Law School community!  Wonderful opportunities await you, and we believe you will find that your choice of Fordham is an excellent one.  If you are considering a career in public interest law or public service, please review our brochure promptly and thoroughly as our application asks your response as soon as possible.

We invite you to apply to Stein Scholars Program in Public Interest Law and Ethics at Fordham Law.  The Program operates under the auspices of the Louis Stein Center for Law and Ethics and is one of several student groups housed in our well-known Public Interest Resource Center.  The Stein Scholars Program provides support, encouragement, and guaranteed summer funding to students who are interested in working after graduation with government law offices, legal aid or legal services offices, or other non-profit organizations, such as human rights, civil rights or environmental groups.  Current and past Scholars tell us that they have benefited greatly from the Program, which creates a community of students with a shared interest in serving others.  The responsibilities of the Program have not interfered with students’ course work or with their ability to participate in other school activities such as moot court or law journals, and, indeed, Stein Scholars have taken leadership positions in many other student organizations.  The program has a strong commitment to diversity.

Please see our brochure and application here, or on Fordham Law School’s Admitted Students page http://law.fordham.edu/admitted under "First Year Students" then "Unique Opportunities" then scroll down to "Stein Scholars."   Submit your application as early as possible.  Beginning in April and continuing into August, some applicants will be invited to interview in-person at the law school or via telephone (Skype if you have it) with a panel of Stein faculty, administrators, and current Stein Scholars.  We expect to admit twenty entering students on a rolling basis before September.

The Stein Scholars Program also gives you the opportunity to develop your leadership skills. The Scholars work in committees and event groups to support the Program and to organize events and discussions with faculty and outside speakers on a wide range of topics.  Topics and projects in recent years included:

• Hurricane Sandy Relief Effort - a service project
• "Women & Minorities in Public Interest Law"
• film screening about the War on Drugs: "The House I Live In"
• "A Call to Arms? How to Reduce Gun Violence"
• "Stop & Frisk Policy or Harrassment?"
• "Finger Imaging, Food Stamps & Public Benefits Policy"
• “Human Trafficking in New York"
• "Grounds for Moving a Mosque?"
• "Juvenile Justice in New York: Transforming a Broken System"
• "The Fate of Prop 8: Strategic Concerns Amidst Perry v. Schwarzenegger"
• "Arizona SB1070"
• "Wikileaks"
• "Happy Students, Healthy Students: University Health Insurance"
• "The Battle for Harlem"
• "The Battle for Brooklyn"
• "Undocumented Youth: Access to Higher Ed, Health Care and more"
• "Rent Is Too Damn High"
• “Now Hiring – Internships & entry level jobs in Public Interest” 
• “Your Career in Government"
• “Your Career in Non-Profit"
• “Your Non-Traditional Career"
• Green Business Service Project
• Star Learning Center Mentoring Project
• Thurgood Marshall Mentoring Project
• Pakistani Flood Relief Project

If you have any questions about the Stein Scholars Program or the application process, please contact Andrew Chapin achapin@law.fordham.edu Director of Public Interest Scholars & Counseling, in PIRC.