Fellowships, Scholarships & Internships
Enabling dedicated law students and lawyers to pursue and remain in careers in legal aid
This is one of the core elements of the CBF’s larger strategy to ensure equal access to justice in our community. Thanks to our generous donors, the CBF has created a number of scholarship and fellowship programs designed to help make it possible for committed attorneys to pursue their chosen line of work despite the often overwhelming financial challenges due to skyrocketing levels of law school debt.
Current Fellowships, Scholarships, & Internships Supported by the CBF
- Anderson Fellowship
- Moses Scholarship
- Sun-Times Public Fellowship
- Marovitz Fellowship
- PILI Law Student Internships
Through the generous gift of Kimball R. Anderson and Karen Gatsis Anderson, the CBF awards public interest law fellowships to provide loan repayment assistance to outstanding recent law school graduates who are either presently working or who have accepted an offer to work for CBF-funded public interest law and legal aid organizations. Each year, the CBF awards one $25,000 fellowship (payable over 5 years) to an individual who demonstrates the following:
- A commitment to public interest work,
- Academic achievement in law school, and
- Outstanding character and integrity.
The CBF Walter H. Moses Sr. and Walter H. Moses Jr. Scholarship was made possible by a gift from Eleanor Moses in memory of both her son and her late husband, a leading and highly respected member of the Chicago bar. Currently a $60,000 scholarship, it is awarded once every three years to one of the six Chicago-area law schools by rotation (Chicago-Kent College of Law, DePaul University College of Law, UIC John Marshall Law School, Loyola University Chicago School of Law, Northwestern University Pritzker School of Law and University of Chicago Law School); the school then chooses the recipient. These funds, which are payable over three years, enable an incoming law student pursuing a public interest legal career to have a significant portion of his or her tuition covered by scholarship funding through the CBF.
Through a generous $2 million cy pres award from a case involving the Chicago Sun-Times, in 2007 the CBF created The Chicago Bar Foundation Sun-Times Public Interest Law Fellowship Program. These fellowships will provide loan repayment assistance to 50 outstanding recent law school graduates who have chosen to pursue careers in legal aid or public interest law at a CBF-funded organization or at a qualifying legal aid organization serving other parts of Illinois. First awarded in 2007, the CBF selected the last class of five fellows in 2016.
Launched in 2004, the CBF Marovitz Scholarship was made possible by a generous gift to the CBF from the late Judge Abraham Lincoln Marovitz.
The Scholarship honored Judge Marovitz’s legacy by recognizing an incoming law student who is deeply committed to public interest law and has demonstrated financial need. These funds– $40,000 over three years — were provided so the Scholar could complete law school with as little debt as possible and financial pressures would not prevent the student from pursuing a legal aid career.
Since its inception, Judge Marovitz’s generous gift has covered a portion of the law school tuition of 16 talented law students at various Illinois law schools and helped them focus on their dream to pursue a public service career. The Scholars, past and present, are an impressive and inspiring group of future and practicing lawyers who are passionate about helping vulnerable people in our community with their basic legal needs. Alums are currently working with people with disabilities, including children and youth with mental illness; tenants facing eviction; immigrant children and their families; and many other people in need. The CBF Marovitz Scholarship allowed them to better focus on law school without the distraction and stress that often accompany years of financial hardship due to student loans.
The final scholarship was awarded in 2018.
PILI Law Student Internship: The CBF has supported the Public Interest Law Initiative (PILI) since PILI’s inception in 1977. The CBF’s grant to PILI supports PILI’s Law Student Internship Program. Each summer, PILI funds 400-hour internships for first and second-year law students from across the country to work at legal aid and public interest law organizations in the Chicago area. PILI also offers a limited number of 200-hour school-year internships for Chicago-area law students. Working under the supervision of a licensed attorney, PILI Interns provide low-income people with legal assistance and also may engage in advocacy, policy-based work or impact litigation on behalf of low-income people. PILI pays each intern a stipend. The CBF’s grant covers stipends for three summer interns and two school-year interns to work at CBF-funded pro bono and legal aid organizations in the Chicago area, and also includes support for PILI’s administration of the Internship Program.
Apply for a CBF Fellowship, Scholarship, or Internship
If you are interested in applying for a CBF-sponsored fellowship, sponsorship, or internship, click on the opportunity you are interested in to learn how to apply. For general questions about fellowships, internships, and scholarships, please contact CBF Associate Director of Grants & COO Melanie MacBride at mmacbride@chicagobarfoundation.org.
Anderson Fellowship
Applications for the 2023 Anderson Fellowship are now open. Apply here.
If you have questions about the application or selection process, please view the 2023 Guidelines or contact Elise Tincher at 312.554.1207 or etincher@chicagobarfoundation.org.