Need a Host Organization? View These Opportunities for 2026 Design-Your-Own Fellowships!

The Equal Justice Works Design-Your-Own Fellowship program serves a dual purpose: to jumpstart the careers of aspiring public interest lawyers, and to build crucial capacity at legal services organizations nationwide. Equal Justice Works does not match candidates and their host organizations; instead, both parties collaborate closely to design a project and apply for the Fellowship together.  

Applications for the 2026 Design-Your-Own Fellowship are open until 11:59 PM ET/8:59 PM PT on September 10. Visit here for more details about the Fellowship, and to access resources and information about the application process. Be sure to review the Applicant Guide and Host Organization Guide. 

To identify a host organization, consider the following: 

• Prior internship/externship hosts or employers 
• Job search databases such as your law school career center’s platform, PSJD.org and Idealist.org 
• Suggestions from career advisors, experiential supervisors, faculty, etc. 
• Organization websites and LinkedIn pages 

We also recommend reviewing our Fellow archive; recent host organizations may be more likely to host a future Fellow. 

If you are a 2026 Fellowship candidate who does not yet have a host, check out listings below for organizations still seeking candidates. If you are a host organization still seeking prospective Fellows and would like your solicitation listed here, email us at [email protected] to add your listing. 

*Note: this list is not comprehensive, and the postings are subject to change. Please communicate directly with prospective host organizations for up-to-date information. Inclusion on this list does not signify endorsement of any organization or its views. 

Greater Boston Legal Services | Boston, MA

GBLS is interested in collaborating on a project with prospective Fellows on issues impacting predominantly low-income communities. The people who seek our assistance most often are women and children who need protection from abuse; families and elderly who face eviction from their homes; the homeless who have been denied temporary or permanent shelter; and single parents who have been inappropriately refused welfare, food stamps, or medical benefits. Deadline: August 1 

Georgia Legal Services Program | Atlanta, Georgia

Georgia Legal Services Program seeks to host one Fellow for the Fall 2026-2028 fellowship term. The Fellow will be based in Atlanta but will engage with communities and clients outside of metro Atlanta. The proposed Racial Justice Fellowship will focus on language rights and access. A Language Rights Fellow will work with the Respecting Individuality and Supporting Empowerment (RISE) Team and other GLSP attorneys to identify and challenge racial and national origin discrimination against persons who are English Language Learners, also called persons who are Limited English Proficient. Deadline: August 1

Georgia Legal Services Program | Georgia

Georgia Legal Services Program seeks to host one Fellow for the Fall 2026-2028 fellowship term. The Fellow will be based in one of GLSP’s regional offices but will engage with Veteran communities and clients throughout the state of Georgia. GLSP will support the fellow with relevant training, direct supervision, and opportunities for professional development throughout the fellowship. The Fellow will be sponsored by Equal Justice Works, Skadden, or other fellowship set to begin in the fall of 2026. The proposed Upgrade Brigade Fellowship will specialize in veteran legal services with a focus on assisting Veterans in discharge upgrades, character-of-service appeals, and applying for VA disability benefits. Veterans with a discharge of “other than honorable,” “dishonorable” or “bad conduct,” are often ineligible for some or all VA benefits. With a discharge upgrade, veterans can have access to VA healthcare, VA disability compensation, education benefits, home loans, and other benefits. Deadline: August 18

Disability Rights Education & Defense Fund | Berkeley, CA

DREDF works intensively with prospective fellows to develop projects that address critical disability civil rights law issues.  Our advocacy priorities include defending and advancing the rights of disabled people in: education; access to government programs and services; housing; health care including long-term services and supports; transportation; technology; parenting and the dependency system; and self-determination and decision-making. Deadline: August 1 

Impact for Equity | Chicago, IL

Impact for Equity seeks to host a dynamic and dedicated advocate as a Legal Fellow. The successful candidate will possess a commitment to racial and social justice, creativity, and leadership ability and will be comfortable working independently and within a team on multiple projects of varying complexity. When applicable, our staff will work with the candidate to develop their proposals for submission, helping tailor the proposal to address an important racial or social justice issue aligned with Impact for Equity’s mission and focus areas. Deadline: August 1 

Texas RioGrande Legal Aid | Texas

Texas RioGrande Legal Aid is eager to support thoughtful, community-driven projects that address real legal needs in the Texas border communities. As the largest civil legal aid provider in Texas, TRLA offers robust mentorship and the chance to work alongside experienced attorneys across more than 40 practice areas. If you are committed to direct advocacy and want your work to matter from the first day on the job, we will collaborate with you on developing your project and help you build a career with legal aid at the border. The need is high, the law is complex, and the impact is real. Deadline: August 1

Advocates for Children of New York | New York, NY

AFC is particularly interested in working with a candidate to craft a project to increase access to early childhood education, focused on either children living in shelter or children with autism. Deadline: July 18 

Brooklyn Defender Service | New York, NY

BDS is looking for a Fellow to join the Education Team in the Civil Justice Practice and work collaboratively with BDS to design a project focused on protecting the educational rights of parents with children in the foster system. Deadline: July 15 

TakeRoot Justice | New York, NY

TakeRoot Justice is interested in sponsoring candidates who either already have a vision for their project or would like to work with TakeRoot Justice staff to develop a new proposal. Any proposal must consider TakeRoot Justice’s model of partnering with community-based organizations. A list of our current partners can be found on our website at takerootjustice.org. Deadline: August 20 

Fair Shake Environmental Legal Services | Pittsburgh, PA   

This fellowship opportunity allows Fair Shake Environmental Legal Service to work collaboratively with a candidate to identify unmet legal needs within environmental law that you are passionate about to build your dream job. The project must have a geographic focus within the Appalachian Basin. Deadline: Rolling 

Lawyers for Good Government | Remote

L4GG will consider well-researched projects in any of its existing focus areas, including democracy and rule of law, civil and human rights (immigration, reproductive rights, LGBTQ+ rights, racial justice), and climate change and environmental justice. L4GG is also particularly interested in projects that 1) help leverage impact litigation on issues of government overreach / harm, or 2) provide transactional support to nonprofits and frontline community organizations, including assistance with congressional investigations, federal compliance, and nonprofit defense matters. The Fellow will work closely with experienced attorneys and leverage L4GG’s network of 150+ law firms and 125,000+ volunteer attorneys to mobilize pro bono support. Deadline: Rolling 

Rights Behind Bars | Washington, DC

We have two main practice areas. First, we track pro se conditions of confinement litigation and offer representation or other aid to incarcerated pro se plaintiffs on appeal. Second, we identify particularly troubling carceral facilities or practices that incarcerated people, their families, or their communities are already organizing against and use litigation as another pressure point to end them. We are open to project proposals for which an applicant has expertise or a particular passion but we are also happy to work with our selected fellow to develop a project. Deadline: Rolling 

To view current and past Equal Justice Works host organizations, click here.