Government Law Center at Albany Law School Introduces Restructured and Expanded Public-Service Fellowship
Blend of first-year exploratory opportunities, second-year coursework, and third-year experiential project prepares students
for public-service careers
[In February 2020, Professor Ava Ayers announced that she is transgender. This article has been edited to reflect her gender identity. Read more here.]
The Government Law Center at Albany Law School introduced today a restructured and expanded Government Law Center Fellowship program to further support and prepare law students for careers in public service. Through the Fellowship, students gain practical experiences and formal preparation for careers in government and government-related practice.
The restructured Fellowship offers different stages in each of the three years of law school. First-year Fellows are given extracurricular opportunities to explore whether public service is right for them. Second-year Fellows take specific courses that will help prepare them for public service. And third-year Fellows undertake an experiential capstone project, either at the Government Law Center or at an external placement, that helps prepare them directly for practice.
Other benefits include connecting Fellows to practicing attorneys working in government and other public-service settings, and providing a rewarding and positive sense of community for Fellows both during and after law school.
Ava Ayers, the Director of the Government Law Center, said, “Anyone who graduates as a Government Law Center Fellow will be uniquely well-prepared for public service. Albany Law School has a special connection to government, and the Government Law Center is proud to help advance that connection by ensuring that future generations of attorneys in public service are thoroughly prepared to serve our communities.”
The Government Law Center Fellowship program was established to provide professional development and career guidance to the next generation of public-service attorneys. More than 75 talented Albany Law School students interested in public-service professions have participated in the program since it was established in 2015.
All current students and prospective students starting in the fall of 2019 will be eligible to apply to the program. A “Guide to the Government Law Center Fellows Program” and the Government Law Center Fellowship application are available on the Government Law Center website. Interested current and prospective students are encouraged to contact: Jordyn Conway, Administrative Director for the Government Law Center, jconw@albanylaw.edu, 518-445-3207.
About the Government Law Center
Founded in 1978, the Government Law Center at Albany Law School provides nonpartisan legal research and analysis that state and local governments need to better serve their communities. By bringing together a diverse and inclusive group of lawyers, students, scholars, and community partners, the Government Law Center prepares students for careers as skilled and leading attorneys in public service while informing nationwide conversations on government and the law. Follow the Government Law Center on Facebook and Twitter. Subscribe here to receive the Center’s monthly email updates. Visit albanylaw.edu/GLC.
