New Skadden Fellows, First After Trump Deal, Remain Progressive

The Skadden Fellowship program has actually grown in the wake of the firm’s settlement with the Trump administration.

Skadden Arps (photo by David Lat).

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A version of this article originally appeared on Bloomberg Law, part of Bloomberg Industry Group, Inc. (800-372-1033), and is reproduced here with permission.

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On Monday, the Skadden Foundation announced its 2026 class of Skadden Fellows, the latest recipients of high-profile fellowships supporting public-interest work. And despite a controversial agreement with the Trump administration that raised the possibility of an ideological shift, the program appears to have kept its progressive bent. The biggest change relates to the size of the program, which will support 34 new fellows next year—an increase of more than 20 percent.

Skadden Fellowships, which I’ve previously called the public-interest world’s version of Supreme Court clerkships or Rhodes Scholarships, are highly prestigious. Awarded annually by the Skadden Foundation and funded by the Skadden Arps law firm, the fellowships often serve as springboards into long-term careers in public-interest law. The Skadden Foundation, which was launched in 1988 to commemorate Skadden’s 40th anniversary as a firm, has awarded more than 1,000 fellowships to date.

As part of its settlement with the Trump administration in March, Skadden Arps committed itself to “funding no fewer than five Skadden Fellows each year dedicated to the following projects: assisting veterans, ensuring fairness in our justice system, combating antisemitism, and other similar types of projects.” The firm also pledged that the fellows “will represent a wide range of political views, including conservative ideals” (which struck me as so vague as to be unenforceable, since “conservative ideals” are in the eye of the beholder).

When Skadden’s promises relating to the program became public, many former Skadden fellows reacted negatively.

“I have concerns that the fellowship will be taken away from its core mission of providing desperately needed legal services to people who cannot otherwise afford access,” said Leigh Goodmark, a 1995 fellow who is now an associate dean at University of Maryland’s Francis King Carey School of Law.

Skadden has “given up on the rule of law in a fair and free society, where one can champion the issues and the causes that one cares about without fear of retribution from the government,” said Lauren Koster, a 2020 Skadden fellow who now runs a public-interest boutique.

Kathleen Rubenstein, a former Skadden Fellow herself, resigned as executive director of the Skadden Foundation. In a LinkedIn post, she wrote that this “moment in history calls on us to provide more and better support for public-interest lawyers”—and opined that Skadden hadn’t yet “risen to that challenge.”

Last week, Skadden shared with me a list of the 2026 Skadden Fellows. I’ve been covering Skadden Fellowships for more than 15 years, dating back to 2010, so I have a good sense of the program.

Here’s my bottom line on the new class: it’s the same as the old classes, for the most part. Folks who were concerned about or critical of Skadden’s announced changes to the fellowship program should be relieved.

The projects that the 2026 fellows will work on during their fellowships focus on issues that are mainstays of the Skadden program, such as poverty, homelessness, and workers’ rights. The fellows will work with familiar client populations, including low-income communities, migrants, and individuals with disabilities.

The host organizations are also typical, including legal aid societies, immigrants’ rights groups, and projects or affiliates of the ACLU. You’ll look in vain for a libertarian public-interest organization such as the Institute for Justice or the Pacific Legal Foundation—to say nothing of a socially conservative nonprofit such as the Alliance Defending Freedom.

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During President Donald Trump’s second administration, large law firms have changed the type of pro bono work they’re willing to do, presumably to avoid incurring Trump’s ire. But in terms of its fellowships, Skadden appears to be staying the course. The projects of the 2026 fellows include several advancing immigrants’ rights and one protecting transgender students—not subject matters favored by the Trump administration.

Charlie Gillig, executive director of the Skadden Foundation, told me in an interview last week that the foundation didn’t change its factors for selecting fellows.

“We had an exceptional group of candidates—even larger than last year’s applicant pool—and we didn’t do anything differently this time around,” he said. “We selected the fellows based on our traditional criteria, focusing on the needs of the client populations.”

Size may be the most significant difference between the 2026 class and the last few classes of Skadden Fellows, as noted above. The foundation awarded 34 new fellowships, six more than usual. Five of the new fellowships are being funded by Skadden, while a sixth is being funded by a generous bequest from Ron Tabak—a longtime leader of the firm’s pro bono program, who passed away earlier this year.

I noticed two differences that might have been prompted by the Trump deal, which requires the firm to support projects that will help veterans, promote fairness in the justice system, or fight antisemitism.

First, four of the 2026 fellows will work on projects serving veterans—a significant increase from the 2025 class and the 2024 class, which each featured only a single project targeting veterans.

Second, one 2026 fellow will work on a project targeting antisemitism. At least in the five most recent classes of Skadden fellows (2021–2025), no projects had centered on antisemitism.

So there are at least five projects that clearly satisfy the terms of Skadden’s settlement with the administration. Five is also the number of additional fellowships that Skadden funded in the new class—which I’m guessing is no coincidence.

Imagine a critic of the Skadden-Trump deal who views projects focused on veterans or antisemitism as insufficiently tied to the fellowship program’s mission of “address[ing] unmet civil legal needs of people living in poverty in the United States.” Because Skadden funded five additional fellowships, the firm could respond as follows: “We funded an extra five fellowships this year. Even if you set aside or ignore the veteran- and antisemitism-oriented projects, we still funded 28 fellowships in other areas—the same number of fellowships we’ve funded in recent cycles.”

On a more big-picture level, some progressives might argue that the Skadden fellowship program, by providing a reputational benefit to the firm, whitewashes the work of a large corporate law firm that serves the rich and powerful. This argument could have been made before Skadden’s settlement, but it may carry additional force in an age where the firm, according to some critics, “roll[s] over” for Trump.

But as someone who doesn’t share such a negative view of Biglaw and sees the Skadden fellowship program as a good thing, I think Skadden handled this year’s fellowship class well. The firm seemingly found a way to comply with the Trump deal while honoring the fellowship program’s core values.

Charlie Gillig—a 2011 Skadden fellow himself, who has spent his entire legal career doing public-interest work—told me he’s very pleased with the first class of fellows picked during his tenure as executive director.

“Our focus was on selecting a terrific class of Skadden fellows for 2026,” he said. “And I’m proud to say that we did.”

Below please find lists of (1) the ten law schools that have produced the most Skadden Fellows over the past 15 years, (2) all law schools that have produced Skadden Fellows over the past 15 years, and (3) the 2026 Skadden Fellows and their sponsoring organizations.

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TOP 10 LAW SCHOOLS FOR SKADDEN FELLOWS (2012-2026 FELLOWSHIP CLASSES)

1. Harvard – 73
2. Yale – 64
3. NYU – 41
4. UCLA – 23
5. Stanford - 21
6. U. Penn. – 19
7. UC Berkeley — 18
8. Georgetown – 16
9. (tie) Columbia – 14
9. (tie) Northeastern – 14

LAW SCHOOLS WITH SKADDEN FELLOWS (2012-2026 FELLOWSHIP CLASSES)

American University – 4
Boston College – 2
Boston University – 3
Case Western – 1
Chicago – Kent – 2
City University of New York – 9
Cornell – 2
Columbia – 14
Denver – 2
DePaul – 4
Duke – 3
Emory – 1
Florida International University – 1
Fordham – 4
Georgetown – 16
GW – 3
Harvard – 73
Hofstra - 1
Howard – 1
Indiana – 3
John Marshall (Chicago) – 1
Loyola (Chicago) - 3
Loyola (Los Angeles) – 2
Michigan State – 3
Northeastern – 14
Northwestern – 6
NYU – 41
Ohio State – 1
Roger Williams – 1
Rutgers – 3
Seattle – 1
Stanford – 21
Suffolk – 1
Tulane – 1
UC Berkeley – 18
UC Davis – 2
UC Irvine – 4
UCLA – 23
U. Chicago – 5
University of Colorado – 1
University of Connecticut – 1
University of Houston – 1
University of Illinois – 1
University of Iowa - 1
University of Kansas – 2
University of Maryland – 3
University of Miami – 1
University of Michigan – 10
University of Oklahoma – 1
U. Penn. – 19
University of South Carolina – 1
University of Texas – 3
University of Tulsa – 1
UVA – 4
University of Washington – 1
Valparaiso – 1
Vanderbilt – 3
Villanova – 1
Washington & Lee – 2
Wash U. – 4
William & Mary – 1
Yale – 64

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SKADDEN FOUNDATION — 2026 SKADDEN FELLOWS

Zoe Ades
Georgetown Law Center
ACLU Trone Center for Justice and Equality / New York, NY
Challenge local and state laws criminalizing panhandling and homelessness as violations of First Amendment free speech protections.

Carola Aisenberg
Houston Law Center
Anti-Defamation League – Houston / Houston, TX
Combat antisemitism and discrimination in K–12 education by enforcing existing legal protections for low-income Jewish communities.

Vedan Anthony-North
NYU School of Law
ACLU Foundation / New York, NY
Contest federal grant terminations targeting public-health initiatives designed to address health disparities, and provide representation to providers serving low-income populations that have lost funding.

Jonathan Bertulis-Fernandes
Boston College Law School
ACLU of Massachusetts / Boston, MA
Contest post–Grants Pass criminalization of homelessness and expand statewide capacity to safeguard unhoused people’s rights.

Joelle Besch
NYU School of Law
ACLU Women’s Rights Project / New York, NY
Protect low-wage immigrant women working in New York City hotels from wage theft, trafficking, and harassment by holding hotels accountable for abuses by their subcontractors.

Elizabeth Bird
Colorado Law School
Northwest Immigrant Rights Project / Seattle, WA
Challenge unlawful immigration detention for low-income immigrants by filing individual habeas petitions and expanding habeas advocacy and impact litigation.

David Boord
George Washington Law School
ACLU of Alaska / Anchorage, AK
Secure safe, habitable housing for low-income Alaska Natives and other rural residents by enforcing state constitutional guarantees of health and welfare.

Jayden Boudreau
Indiana - Maurer School of Law
ACLU LGBTQ & HIV Project / New York, NY
Protect transgender students in K–12 public schools in rural, low-income regions by challenging the growing wave of laws that restrict their rights.

Paolo Ciancio
Denver University Strum College of Law
Rocky Mountain Veterans Advocacy Project / Denver, CO
Support low-income survivors of Military Sexual Trauma in rural and tribal lands in the Mountain West by providing legal representation in discharge upgrades and VA benefits appeals to ensure access to veterans’ and public benefits.

Jessenia Class
Harvard Law School
Rights Behind Bars / San Francisco, CA
Expand access to legal representation for indigent detained immigrants by bringing Petitions for Review and training partners to replicate this model nationwide.

Jasmine Crain
Cornell Law School
National Veterans Legal Services Program / Arlington, VA
Help wounded, ill, and injured service members and veterans obtain disability retirement, combat-related and public benefits by challenging benefit denials.

Bill De La Rosa
Yale Law School
Florence Immigrant Rights and Refugee Project / Tucson, AZ
Provide universal representation for detained immigrants in Eloy and Florence, Arizona, representing primarily indigent clients against deportation and building a coalition to sustain its expansion.

R. Elliott DeRiso
Harvard Law School
ACLU of Southern California / Los Angeles, CA
Protect marginalized immigrants with cognitive and developmental disabilities from unlawful arrest and detention by challenging unconstitutional practices in detention facilities.

Brandon Dodds
Emory School of Law
Pine Tree Legal Assistance / Bangor, ME
Preserve housing stability for low-income mobile home park residents in rural Maine through eviction defense, affirmative habitability litigation, and enforcement of Maine’s right-of-first-refusal law.

Jacalyn Goldzweig Panitz
CUNY School of Law
Legal Aid Society / New York, NY
Enforce sanctuary city laws to protect low-income immigrants from unlawful arrests, detainers, and transfers through impact litigation and rapid-response representation.

Megan Hess
Michigan Law School
Children’s Law Center / Washington, DC
Expand a pediatric medical-legal partnership to safeguard low-income families from public benefits loss and health care instability.

Siddharth Jejurikar
Harvard Law School
ACLU Immigrants’ Rights Project / New York, NY
Address discriminatory barriers that low-income immigrant and mixed-status families face in the rental housing market through direct representation and strategic litigation.

Eric Johnson
Ohio State Moritz College of Law
Legal Aid Society of Southeast and Central Ohio / Columbus, OH
Represent low-income tenants pursuing rent escrow in urban and rural Ohio, helping tenants enforce their right to a safe and habitable home.

Vatsala Kumar
Chicago Law School
MacArthur Justice Center / Chicago, IL
Enforce Illinois’ Pretrial Fairness Act, which eliminated cash bail, to ensure that the public and legal organizations understand the empirical outcomes of the Act for low-income individuals and any disparities in pretrial outcomes.

Evan Lehmann
Stanford Law School
Community Economic Defense Project / Denver, CO
Ensure safe, healthy conditions in rural Colorado mobile home parks by representing low-income homeowners and resident associations in affirmative litigation

Anna Luttrell
Northeastern School of Law
Tennessee Justice Center / Nashville, TN
Expand free legal services and address systemic barriers to improve and increase access to SNAP benefits for the lowest-income Tennesseans.

Mack Makishima
Northeastern School of Law
Greater Boston Legal Services / Boston, MA
Preserve affordable housing among financially distressed, low-income tenants and homeowners at risk of debt-driven eviction or foreclosure.

Rose Mendelsohn
Northeastern School of Law
Justice at Work / Boston, MA
Help low-wage construction and cleaning workers recover stolen wages through direct representation and providing trainings on workplace rights and fair contracting.

Danielle Miles-Langaigne
NYU School of Law
Brooklyn Defender Services / Brooklyn, NY
Provide direct representation to indigent New York City parents excluded from educational decisions for their children placed in the foster system.

Bryce Morales
Yale Law School
Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law / Washington, DC
Combat private voter suppression of low-income individuals by challenging schemes using digital disinformation to deceive, defraud, and disenfranchise marginalized communities.

Jennifer Morgan
Columbia Law School
A Better Balance / New York, NY
Ensure access to Temporary Disability Insurance and Paid Family Leave benefits for pregnant, postpartum, and caregiving low-wage workers in New York.

Lindsay Nicholas
Loyola Chicago School of Law
Ascend Justice / Chicago, IL
Ensure the safety of low-income children during caregiver arrest, immigration detention, or domestic violence by expanding the use of short-term guardianship agreements.

Susie Powell
Georgetown Law Center
Centro de los Derechos del Migrante / Baltimore, MD
Protect temporary migrant workers from exploitative practices and coercive techniques commonly used by both employers and recruiters.

Lucas Rodriguez
Harvard Law School
ACLU Voting Rights Project / Washington, DC
Represent low-income voters of color and organizations serving their interests to use state voting rights acts to consolidate off-cycle elections with state and federal ones.

Douglas Smits
Case Western Reserve School of Law
Legal Aid Society of Cleveland / Elyria, OH
Deliver legal representation and clinics to low-income veterans seeking discharge upgrades in Northeast Ohio.

Wesley Streicher
Harvard Law School
ACLU Criminal Law Reform Project / New York, NY
Protect low-income children from excessive and illegal police encounters by enforcing children’s Fourth and Fifth Amendment rights during interactions with law enforcement.

Ariel Vasser
Virginia School of Law
Bazelon Center for Mental Health Law / Washington, DC
Protect low-income people with mental health disabilities from expanded involuntary commitment and other coercive treatment.

Jett Watson
Harvard Law School
Legal Aid Chicago / Chicago, IL
Expand a medical-legal partnership to the largest regional VA facility, providing legal representation for low-income veterans with disabilities.

Eve Zelickson
NYU School of Law
Community Service Society of New York / New York, NY
Protect low-income New Yorkers from Medicaid coverage loss and medical debt through legal representation and enforcement of hospital financial-assistance rules.

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