Elon Law's new Advocacy Fellows Program provides scholarships and full-time, stipend-supported law practice experiences for highly qualified applicants who seek to become exceptional trial and appellate advocates.
The Advocacy Fellows program is designed to provide students with the essential knowledge, skills and practical, hands-on experience necessary to become exceptional trial and/or appellate advocates on behalf of their clients. In addition to the experiential learning opportunities provided to Advocacy Fellows detailed below, the Fellows program also provides:
- a summer externship in a judicial, governmental or law firm setting, such as a position clerking for a trial or appellate judge, an Attorney General, United States Attorney, District Attorney, Public Defender, a firm involved in civil or criminal litigation;
- a stipend covering the tuition cost and a portion of the living expenses for the summer externship;
- an Advocacy Fellows Scholarship toward tuition during the academic year, renewable for 2.5 years assuming continued participation in the Advocacy Fellows Program.
Integrated across Elon Law’s 2.5 year curriculum, the Advocacy Fellows program equips future attorneys with the knowledge and skills necessary to become lawyers who will be able to analyze their client’s legal issues and advocate effectively on their behalf through written and oral arguments to trial and appellate courts.
“Exceptional advocacy is both a fundamental obligation and a highly valued skill of lawyers,” said Alan Woodlief, senior associate dean and associate professor at Elon Law. “We are excited to add the Advocacy Fellows program to our array of personalized learning opportunities for students to master advocacy, including moot court, mock trial and trial practice programs. Prospective law students interested in careers as litigators or in simply achieving overall excellence as lawyers are encouraged to apply to Elon Law and to the Law School’s new Advocacy Fellows Program.”
How to Apply
To be considered for the Advocacy Fellows program, both the application for admission to Elon Law and an Advocacy Fellows application must be submitted.
Information about applying to Elon Law is available here.
The Advocacy Fellows Application is available here.
The deadline for submission of this application is Friday, March 11, 2016. Finalists for the Advocacy Fellows program will be invited to the law school to interview on April 8, 2016.
Visit the Tuition and Financial Planning page for information about other scholarship opportunities and financial aid programs at Elon Law.
Highlights of Elon Law’s Advocacy Fellows Program
Each Advocacy Fellow will take a core curriculum of advocacy courses, such as Evidence, Trial Practice & Procedure, Negotiations, and Appellate Litigation. In addition, Advocacy Fellows will have learning experiences outside the classroom, including:
- A summer externship in a judicial, governmental or law firm setting, such as a position clerking for a trial or appellate judge, an Attorney General, United States Attorney, District Attorney, Public Defender, a firm involved in civil or criminal litigation;
- Opportunities to meet with esteemed judges and leading trial and appellate litigators through an annual speaker series;
- Visits to state and federal trial courts in the area, as well as an annual trip to view arguments at the North Carolina Court of Appeals and/or Supreme Court and meet Judges and Justices from these Courts;
- Opportunities to engage with the practicing bar through participation in activities such as Inn of Court, Greensboro Bar Association and North Carolina Bar Association meetings and continuing legal education (CLE) programs related to advocacy;
- Opportunities to compete in the school’s Intramural Moot Court Competition and Mock Trial Program Tryouts, as well as assist with these competitions and the Billings, Exum & Frye National Moot Court Competition;
- Opportunities to represent clients in trial and appellate litigation through the school’s Guardian ad Litem Appellate Advocacy Clinic and other clinics;
- Opportunities to mentor future advocates by volunteering to work with local college and high school mock trial and moot court programs.
Elon Law’s Advocacy Fellows Program joins two other existing fellows programs at the Law School: the Business Fellows Program and the Leadership Fellows Program.
Information of interest to prospective Elon Law Advocacy Fellows:
Elon Law Trial Practice Program
Elon Law Legal Method & Communication Program
Elon Law: Home to the North Carolina Business Court