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Fellowships

A number of excellent fellowship opportunities are available to law students over the summer months each year.

Information on fellowships

Fellowships can be a source of funding for students who want to engage in work that might not otherwise be remunerated. Fellowships are offered which fund opportunities for students to work on social justice topics or with public interest organizations. Others are available for students wanting to work with small law firms or sole practitioners. Fellowships must be applied for in advance and typically the selection process is quite competitive.  Fellowships are typically granted based on both the strength of the applicant and the quality of the project/work being proposed.  

All fellowship opportunities are advertised to students as the deadlines approach. Typically, applications will be due in March each year. Detailed information about each fellowship opportunity will be published in The Source Document Library as well as on Brightspace under “Bourse de stage | Fellowship” section which can be found on your home page.

For more information on any of our fellowship programs do not hesitate to contact Anna Jeffery, Professional Development Counsellor by e-mail at [email protected]

group looking at laptop

Fellowships

A fellowship can be a source of funding for students who want to engage in work during the summer that might not otherwise be remunerated. Some fellowships fund opportunities for students to work on social justice topics or with public interest organizations; others are available for students wanting to work with small law firms or sole practitioners. 

Fellowships must be applied for well in advance of the summer and typically the selection process is quite competitive.  Fellowships are granted based on both the strength of the applicant and the quality of the project/work being proposed. 

Typically, applications will be due in late March each year and the selection of successful candidates will be complete in early April each year. 

Detailed information about each fellowship opportunity will be published in The Summer Fellowship Handbook which will be available in the Source Document Library in late December as well as on Brightspace under “Bourse de stage | Fellowship” section which can be found on your home page. The purpose of this handbook is to assist students in the preparation of their Fellowship application.

Here is a list of the type of fellowships offered in past years. Keep in mind that the number of fellowships and type of fellowships available each year depends on the funding secured. 

  • Public Interest Fellowship
  • Feminist Public Interest Fellowship
  • International Social Justice Fellowship
  • Hennick Business Law Fellowship
  • Hennick Entrepreneurial Law Fellowship
  • Amatul Rahman Malik Justice Fellowship
  • Bourse de stage fonds Nicole LaViolette
  • Small Firm or Sole Practitioner Fellowship
  • Directed Access to Justice Fellowship – Ticket Defence Program
  • Directed Access to Justice Fellowship – A2J Lab & Avant Law
  • Directed Access to Justice Fellowship – Prison Law Clinic
  • Directed Fellowship – Law Commission of Ontario
  • Directed Fellowship - Food Law

A number of excellent fellowship opportunities are available to law students over the summer months each year.

For more information on any of our fellowship programs do not hesitate to contact Anna Jeffery, Professional Development Counsellor by e-mail at [email protected]

Student Testimonials - Summer Fellowship

Name: Hanaa Ameer

Year and Program: 2L, English Common Law  

Fellowship: Amatul Rahman Malik Justice Fellowship  

Host Placement: Legal Affairs Department at the National Council of Canadian Muslims (NCCM) 

Testimonial:

As the recipient of the Amatul Rahman Malik Justice Fellowship, I spent my summer working in the Legal Affairs Department at the National Council of Canadian Muslims (NCCM). The NCCM is a non profit organization with a mission to protect Canadian human rights and combat Islamophobia. I have an interest in human rights law and the fellowship allowed me to explore this area early in my legal career. Notably, I assisted my supervising lawyer in drafting a community impact statement for a mosque in Mississauga, Ontario where congregants were attacked during prayer. I highlighted the need to protect and uphold the Charter protected right, freedom of religion, explaining how the attack affected Muslim communities across Canada. Through this experience I witnessed the injustices that Muslims across Canada face everyday while learning about the legal and non-legal remedies available to help them. The fellowship allowed me to enhance my legal writing and research skills while understanding how access to justice initiatives can change the lives of people across the country. I would highly recommend the Amatul Rahman Malik Justice Fellowship to any student interested in advancing human rights for Muslim communities in North America. 

Hanaa Ameer

Name: Rutvi Patel 

Year and Program: 2L, English Common Law  

Fellowship: Amatul Rahman Malik Social Justice Fellowship 

Host Placement: The South Asian Legal Clinic of Ontario (SALCO) 

Testimonial:

I received the Amatul Rahman Malik Social Justice Fellowship and spent the summer working at the South Asian Legal Clinic of Ontario (SALCO). During my time at SALCO I was able to gain valuable client facing skills by working with individuals to build their case from the ground up. I was also able to build on my legal research and writing skills by learning how to draft motion briefs, produce demand letters, and research complex legal questions in several different areas of the law. As an aspiring litigator, the highlight of my fellowship was being able to attend multiple hearings before the Social Benefits Tribunal where I got to see advocates in action!  As a first-generation immigrant, I aspired to be a lawyer because I saw the hardships my parents faced when trying to access legal help. I will forever be grateful for receiving this fellowship because it gave me the opportunity to help so many individuals who also had difficulty accessing legal aid. The hands-on learning experience I gained at SALCO has taught me how to be a client- centered lawyer, helped strengthen my analytical thinking.  

Rutvi Patel

Name: Dalia Dadi 

Year and Program: 2L, French Common Law Program 

Fellowship: Bourse de stage Fonds Nicole LaViolette 

Host Placement: l’Association Nationale Femmes et Droit (ANFD)

Testimonial:

Fonds Nicole LaViolette Internship Grant enabled me to complete an extremely rewarding internship with the Association Nationale Femmes et Droit (ANFD), an organization whose vision and values I share, and to gain legal experience in my first year of law school. Experiences in the legal field are rare for first-year students, and many of these opportunities are with non-profit organizations that don't have the funds to offer their interns a salary. Thanks to the Fonds Nicole LaViolette internship scholarship, I didn't have to choose between my financial situation and uplifting work experience.

Dalia Dadi

Fellowships Guidelines FAQ

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Sponsor a fellowship program

If you’d like more information on how you can sponsor any of these Fellowship programs please contact Anna Jeffery, Professional Development Counsellor.
Contact Anna Jeffery