The James B. McMillan Fellowship Fund was established in 1995 to honor the memory and example of U.S. District Judge James B. McMillan. It is a separate fund of the Mecklenberg Bar Foundation, a nonprofit corporation, and contributions are tax-deductible.
The Fund has a goal of promoting justice and innovation within the legal system in Mecklenburg County, North Carolina, by awarding fellowships to law students desiring work experience with not-for-profit or governmental agencies. Typically, fellowships are awarded for summer positions, but the Fellowship Committee will consider applications for positions during a semester of the School Year.
Guidelines for the Fund are as follows:
1) A law student must apply through a sponsoring agency that indicates an interest in employing the law student.
2) A law student must show commitment to public interest service in the legal profession.
3) The Fund Committee will look favorably on students:
- Who have lived in Mecklenburg County;
- Who intend to practice law in Mecklenburg County;
- Who reflect the cultural diversity of North Carolina and Mecklenburg County;
- Whose law school and life experiences reflect a desire to have a positive impact on the lives of others as their lives are affected by the legal system and its administration;
- Who have demonstrated good character and suitable academic performance in law school;
- Who have submitted a joint application with a not-for-profit or governmental agency based in Mecklenburg County.
Guidelines:
1) The Agency must be a non-for-profit or a governmental agency
2) The Agency must have a written plan for how to would use the services of the McMillan Fellow
3) The Agency must assure that the student's work experience will primarily occur in Mecklenburg County
4) The Fund will look favorably on plans which reflect the following:
- That the student could not be hired except for the student's being named a McMillan Fellow;
- The the student will address a need in the legal system that will otherwise go unmet, and that the student will be properly supervised;
- The the student's job will offer innovation to some aspect of the administration of justice in Mecklenburg County;
- That the quality of the student's job will encourage the student and others to enter fields of law in the public interest;
- That the work being undertaken by the student will exemplify the life work and spirit of James B. McMillan by, for example, providing greater access to the justice system for all persons, preventing the use of governmental power in an arbitrary manner, and encouraging the resolution of legal issues through resolution of the larger human and social issues which give rise to them;
- That the student and Agency will utilize funds from the Agency or from some other source to supplement the Fellowship;
- That the majority of the work performed will be done in and for residents of Mecklenburg County.
5) Fellows are permitted to "split" the summer - e.g., working with a private firm for part of the summer and working in a Fellowship-funded public interest position in Mecklenburg County the rest of the summer.
The Fund anticipates an individual grant or a contributing grant to local compensation of up to $3,000 for each fellow.
Law students considering applying for a McMillan Fellowship should first make direct contact with the public interest organization or governmental agency that they are interested in working for, so the student and the agency can submit a joint application. The local agency, not the McMillan Fellowship Committee, is responsible for any hiring decisions; and the Committee will not award a Fellowship without a commitment from the agency to hire the law student. The deadline for applications is 5:00 PM on March 15, 2010.
Prospective applicants may direct questions to Leah Reed, Mecklenburg Country Bar, at (704)375-8624 or lreed@meckbar.org or to Randel Phillips at (704)331-1048 or randyphillips@mvalaw.com. Students may also access meckbar.org for more information.
