Public Service Summer Fellowships
NSU Law Fellowships provide financial assistance to students who wish to work with a public interest or government organization. They are competitive and require an early application. NSU Law offers seven different summer fellowships:
Allen and Joyce Reed Public Interest Law Fellowship
The Allen and Joyce Reed Public Interest Fellowship is designed to provide funding for up to two (2) qualified law students who are spending the summer working for a nonprofit public interest organization with a demonstrated commitment to benefiting the environment, protecting public lands, and historic preservation causes in South Florida. Public service organizations for the purposes of this fellowship may include Miami Design Preservation League or other similar nonprofit organizations in Florida. Students selected to receive these fellowships must meet all the criteria.
Amount of Award
The Allen and Joyce Reed Public Interest Fellowship awards may range from $1,000 to $2,000 each, but will be determined annually based on the number of funds available and the number of eligible applications. The Fellowship Committee reserves the right to not award any fellowships to preserve the integrity of the program.
Allen and Joyce Reed were originally from Brooklyn, New York, where they married in 1964. They moved to South Florida in 1970 with their 4-year-old son, Stuart, and their son, Aaron, was born in Miami Beach in 1971. Allen Reed was an attorney in Miami for 30 years, after developing litigation skills in New York City in the 1960’s and working as legal counsel in the City’s office of urban renewal and economic affairs. Allen was passionate about the legal profession, and he managed civil litigation departments in large law firms for most of his career. He enjoyed the intellectual challenges, ethical obligations and relationships built in the profession. Joyce and Allen established deep, life-long friendships in South Florida and belonged to a number of civic organizations. They raised their two sons to be ethical, hard-working and involved in their communities. Allen Reed passed in 2000 and Joyce Reed passed in 2019. This fellowship honors their memories by giving back to South Florida, the hometown where they built their family and lived full and meaningful lives together.
Christopher T. Byrd Environmental Law Fellowship
The Christopher T. Byrd Environmental Law Fellowship is designed to provide funding for qualified law students who are spending the summer working for a nonprofit public interest organization with a demonstrated commitment to protecting the environment. Students selected to receive these fellowships must meet all the criteria. To make a donation to this fund, please visit the College of Law giving page and select "Other" and enter "Gift in Memory of Christopher T. Byrd."
AMOUNT OF AWARD
The Christopher T. Byrd Environmental Law Fellowship awards may range from $1,000 to $3,000 each, but will be determined annually based on the number of funds available and the number of eligible applications. The Fellowship Committee reserves the right to not award any fellowships to preserve the integrity of the program.
Ferroli Family Public Interest Law Fellowship
The Ferroli Family Public Interest Law Fellowship is designed to encourage law student involvement in public service legal employment for the summer by providing funding to subsidize unpaid work at a public service organization. Public service organizations for the purposes of this fellowship may include government or nonprofit organizations. Students selected to receive these fellowships must meet all the criteria.
AMOUNT OF AWARD
The Ferroli Family Public Interest Law Fellowship awards may range from $1,000 to $3,000 each, but will be determined annually based on the number of funds available and the number of eligible applications. The Fellowship Committee reserves the right to not award any fellowships to preserve the integrity of the program.
Martin A. Feinrider Summer Fellowship for International Human Rights
The Feinrider Summer Fellowship is designed to provide funding for law students who are spending the summer working for a nonprofit public interest organization devoted to international human rights. Students selected to receive these fellowships must meet all the criteria.
AMOUNT OF AWARD
The Feinrider Summer Fellowship awards may range from $1,000 to $3,000 each, but will be determined annually based on the number of funds available and the number of eligible applications. The Fellowship Committee reserves the right to not award any fellowships to preserve the integrity of the program.
For assistance finding a summer placement, and counseling regarding this and other public interest law opportunities, please visit the Public Interest Programs, Professor Jim Wilets, or Professor Doug Donoho. Successful placements include a variety of organizations, such as those handling immigration and political asylum claims, the United Nations, Amnesty International, or international human rights groups in the United States or other countries.
Professor Feinrider, who served on the College of Law faculty from 1980 until his tragic death in 1986, was an outspoken scholar and activist in the field of international law, known particularly for his commitment to the promotion of human rights and the elimination of nuclear weaponry.
Ovid and Clare Lewis Public Interest Fellowship
Ovid Lewis was an accomplished legal scholar and teacher, and the third dean of Nova Southeastern University College of Law. He later served as the fourth president of Nova Southeastern University. He believed it was an important professional obligation for all members of the bar to provide assistance to those in our society who lacked the means to hire an advocate to protect or vindicate their interests. He represented indigent defendants in their appeals when he lived in Ohio and Kentucky, and in one case had his client live in his home after he successfully argued for his release from prison. Clare, his loving and understanding spouse, always supported him in these efforts. This fellowship honors their devotion to legal education and social justice.
Dr. Ovid C. Lewis (1932-2011)
- J.D. Rutgers 1960; LL.M. Columbia 1962; J.S.D. Columbia 1970
- Case Western Reserve School of Law
- Professor of Law (1962-1976)
- Northern Kentucky University Salmon P. Chase College of Law
- Professor of Law (1976-1979)
- Associate Dean and Interim Dean (1978-1979)
- Nova Southeastern University Shepard Broad College of Law
- Dean (1979-1984)
- Professor of Law (1979-1997)
- Nova Southeastern University
- Vice President for Academic Affairs (1984-1994)
- President (1994-1997)
- President Emeritus (1998-2011)
AMOUNT OF AWARD
The Ovid and Clare Lewis Public Interest Fellowship awards may range from $1,000 to $3,000 each, but will be determined annually based on the number of funds available and the number of eligible applications. The Fellowship Committee reserves the right to not award any fellowships to preserve the integrity of the program.
Public Service Summer Fellowship
The Public Service Summer Fellowships are designed to encourage law student involvement in public service legal employment for the summer by providing funding to subsidize unpaid work at a public service organization. Public service organizations for the purposes of this fellowship may include government or nonprofit organizations. Students selected to receive these fellowships must meet all the criteria.
AMOUNT OF AWARD
The Public Service Summer Fellowship awards may range from $1,000 to $3,000 each, but will be determined annually based on the number of funds available and the number of eligible applications. The Fellowship Committee reserves the right to not award any fellowships to preserve the integrity of the program.
Rebecca Knox Public Interest Law Summer Fellowship
NSU Law's Public Interest Law Society is a student-run organization founded in 1994 to promote public interest legal employment opportunities and to overcome the economic barriers that confront future public interest lawyers. The purpose of this fellowship is to provide funding to students who serve community needs by working in a legal position in the public interest. Public interest work is defined, for the purposes of this fellowship, as work for a non-profit organization that serves a low-income, underfunded and/or underrepresented community. Preference will be given to students who choose to work for Legal Aid or Legal Services agencies. Students selected for this fellowship will positively reflect the goals and objectives of the Public Interest Law Society and NSU Shepard Broad College of Law and will have demonstrated an interest in serving the public interest community. Students selected to receive these fellowships must meet all the criteria.
AMOUNT OF AWARD
The Rebecca Knox Public Interest Law Summer Fellowship awards may range from $1,000 to $3,000 each, but will be determined annually based on the number of funds raised during the annual Public Interest Law Society Auction and the number of eligible applications. The Fellowship Committee reserves the right to not award any fellowships to preserve the integrity of the program.
Rebecca Knox graduated from NSU Law in May of 2004. While at NSU she was president of The Public Interest Law Society. She also performed over 780 hours of pro bono service at Coast to Coast Legal Aid of South Florida, where she later became an attorney representing victims of domestic violence. Rebecca passed away on August 20, 2006. This fellowship is supported by donations in her memory.
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION AND ASSISTANCE IN FINDING A SUMMER PLACEMENT
For assistance finding a summer placement, and counseling regarding this and other public interest law opportunities, please visit the Public Interest Programs.
For an application, visit our Resources page.