I think this program is great, and I believe we've had a Skadden Fellow or two over the years at IJ. That being said, it's not great that almost all of the organizations these fellows are placed with are left or left-aligned groups. A couple are not terribly ideological and some of the immigrant groups perhaps aren't left or right. But the overall tilt is pretty strong. I think it would do the program a lot of good to sponsor more people to places like Pacific Legal or the various state-based conservative legal groups. Maybe conservatives or libertarian grads don't apply so this just reflects the applicant pool? Maybe, though I doubt it having run into so many law students who want to work for free market-oriented organizations. But even if that is true, it might be because those students don't feel it's worth trying with this program.
One issue, which I raised in a Twitter thread after someone had a similar comment after last year's announcement of the new fellows, has to do with the scope of the program. Here's how the Foundation's website describes it:
"Skadden Fellowships address the civil legal needs of people living in poverty. Your project must be legal in nature, and serve poor clients, though we do not have a strict test of poverty."
While I could imagine a right-of-center project that could get funding—e.g., IJ trying to help some poor people with a certain skill get out from under some onerous licensing regime that prevents them from earning a living—you can see why it's tougher. Litigation to defend property rights or religious freedom—or free speech, although I don't consider that only a "conservative" value—isn't often focused on "the civil needs of people living in poverty."
Thanks, that's helpful, and makes the list a bit more understandable. But it wouldn't be a stretch for many right-of-center orgs--especially some of their focuses--to fit that criteria.
As a former Skadden Fellow myself, I love that you cover this, David. It's really an incredible program - most of the Fellows I know are deeply committed, super serious, badass lawyers doing great work to provide legal services for people and communities that can't afford lawyers.
I also think it's interesting that schools like Northeastern or American are well-represented among Skadden Fellows. These schools have really innovated in creating clinical programs - I've been very impressed with lawyers coming out of these schools. US News rankings don't capture the diversity of legal education out there.
I think this program is great, and I believe we've had a Skadden Fellow or two over the years at IJ. That being said, it's not great that almost all of the organizations these fellows are placed with are left or left-aligned groups. A couple are not terribly ideological and some of the immigrant groups perhaps aren't left or right. But the overall tilt is pretty strong. I think it would do the program a lot of good to sponsor more people to places like Pacific Legal or the various state-based conservative legal groups. Maybe conservatives or libertarian grads don't apply so this just reflects the applicant pool? Maybe, though I doubt it having run into so many law students who want to work for free market-oriented organizations. But even if that is true, it might be because those students don't feel it's worth trying with this program.
One issue, which I raised in a Twitter thread after someone had a similar comment after last year's announcement of the new fellows, has to do with the scope of the program. Here's how the Foundation's website describes it:
"Skadden Fellowships address the civil legal needs of people living in poverty. Your project must be legal in nature, and serve poor clients, though we do not have a strict test of poverty."
While I could imagine a right-of-center project that could get funding—e.g., IJ trying to help some poor people with a certain skill get out from under some onerous licensing regime that prevents them from earning a living—you can see why it's tougher. Litigation to defend property rights or religious freedom—or free speech, although I don't consider that only a "conservative" value—isn't often focused on "the civil needs of people living in poverty."
https://twitter.com/DavidLat/status/1600570271542427653
Thanks, that's helpful, and makes the list a bit more understandable. But it wouldn't be a stretch for many right-of-center orgs--especially some of their focuses--to fit that criteria.
As a former Skadden Fellow myself, I love that you cover this, David. It's really an incredible program - most of the Fellows I know are deeply committed, super serious, badass lawyers doing great work to provide legal services for people and communities that can't afford lawyers.
I also think it's interesting that schools like Northeastern or American are well-represented among Skadden Fellows. These schools have really innovated in creating clinical programs - I've been very impressed with lawyers coming out of these schools. US News rankings don't capture the diversity of legal education out there.