APPLICATION DEADLINE: Friday, December 4, 2026

AWARD: $10,000 ($7,500 for the student and $2,500 for the organization)

FELLOWSHIP DETAILS: The WLALA Foundation’s Fran Kandel Public Interest Fellowship is available to a public interest law organization that wishes to hire a first- or second-year law student (full or part-time) for the summer to work on a social justice-oriented project with a tangible outcome (e.g., brochure, guide, training manual, or PowerPoint). Strong preference will be given to an organization that has a specific project in mind and is committed to supervising the student during the summer and ensuring completion of the project by the end of August 2027.

The purpose of the Fran Kandel Public Interest Fellowship is to:

• Provide help to the disadvantaged by funding original projects that will directly benefit the under-represented in the greater Los Angeles area;
• Educate and expose law students to legal concerns affecting the disadvantaged; and
• Encourage the legal community’s involvement in public interest law by funding students who show the capability of and commitment to assisting those in need.

The WLALA Foundation will select the fellowship project by January 2027 and accept student applications in February 2027. The WLALA Foundation will then partner with the selected organization to conduct student interviews in February or March 2027.

Examples of Past Projects: Recent past recipients have created brochures, sample letters for clients, toolkits, and training manuals in areas such as immigration rights, access to healthcare, lactation accommodations, and domestic violence prevention. Past Fellows have externed with Neighborhood Legal Services of Los Angeles County, the Survivor Justice Center, the ACLU, the National Health Law Program, the LA Center for Law and Justice, the Central American Resource Center, and Legal Aid Foundation, among many others. You can view past projects below.

APPLICATION INSTRUCTIONS: To apply, please send a letter by email to wlalapublicinterestfellowship@gmail.com by December 4, 2026, with the subject line “Kandel Application – [YOUR ORGANIZATION NAME].” Please include all of the following information in the letter:

• Name of the organization;
• Name, title, email address, and phone number of the person submitting the application;
• Name, title, email address, and phone number of the person at the organization who will supervise the project (if different from the applicant);
• A description of the project in 500 words or less, including:
  • (i) general information about the organization’s background, mission, practice area, and clients;
  • (ii) the goals and intended tangible results of the project;
  • (iii) the target population and what need(s) the project will meet;
  • (iv) the activities that will accomplish the project’s objective;
  • (v) what makes the project worthy of funding;
  • vi) other similar materials currently available in the greater Los Angeles area and how this project’s intended tangible results differ; and
  • (vii) a proposed project timeline.

Please also confirm in the letter that:

• The student will work on the project during the summer of 2027 and will be able to complete the project by August 31, 2027;
• The organization is not receiving any other funding for this project;
• The student’s summer externship with the organization will be unpaid; and
• A representative from the organization who is familiar with the project and the organization’s expectations for the externship will participate in student interviews with the Co-Chairs of the WLALA Foundation’s Fran Kandel Public Interest Fellowship Committee in February or March 2027.

If you are unable to confirm all four of these points in the letter, please explain why.

If you have any questions, please send an email to the Fran Kandel Public Interest Committee Co-Chairs at the gmail address above.