Fellowships/Scholarships

Fellowships/Scholarships

At WilmerHale, we strive to create a diverse, equitable and inclusive firm because we believe it benefits everyone: our clients, our lawyers and business professionals, and the larger legal profession. We maintain a steadfast commitment to pro bono representation and public service and are guided by an inherent obligation to ensure equal access to justice for underserved communities around the world. As an extension of these commitments, we sponsor two related fellowship and scholarship programs.

  • 1L Diversity Public Interest Fellowship Program

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    Consistent with WilmerHale’s long standing commitment to public service and organizations addressing social justice, we are pleased to sponsor our 1L Diversity Public Interest Fellowship Program for first-year law students. The recipients are awarded a $10,000 stipend for the summer between their 1L and 2L year to work in a public interest legal position or a judicial internship.

    Program Description

    WilmerHale looks for talented first-year law students who are interested in spending their 1L summer in a public interest legal organization, government role or a judicial internship. Recipients are expected to secure their own summer position.

    Recipients who interview for the 1L Fellowship and are later interested in the WilmerHale 2L Summer Associate Program may be asked to bypass the screening process and earn an automatic callback.

    Eligibility

    The WilmerHale 1L Diversity Public Interest Fellowship Program is open to all full-time, first-year law students in good standing who expect to graduate from an ABA-accredited law school in 2027. Applicants must have a minimum GPA of 3.0 from their 1st semester of law school. We seek applicants whose academic and personal record of achievement demonstrates a commitment to excellence. Students must also demonstrate commitment to the legal profession and promoting diversity, equity and inclusion in the legal community. Recipients may not accept a diversity award from another law firm if selected for this Fellowship.

    The application process opens in December and is open until the Fellowships have been rewarded. Applicants can apply via our application portal.

  • 2L Diversity Scholarship Program

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    Consistent with WilmerHale’s long standing commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion, we are pleased to sponsor our 2L Diversity Scholarship Program for second-year law students (students between their 2L and 3L year). In addition to our Summer Associate salary, the recipients will be awarded a $30,000 stipend (half at the conclusion of their summer program and the remainder upon starting as a full-time WilmerHale associate, contingent on receipt of a permanent offer).

    Program Description

    WilmerHale is looking for talented second-year law students who are interested in spending their 2L summer at WilmerHale as a Summer Associate. Recipients will participate in diversity related work and/or programming during their summer.

    Eligibility

    The WilmerHale 2L Diversity Scholarship Program is open to all full-time, second-year law students in good standing who expect to graduate from an ABA-accredited law school. Applicants must have a minimum law school GPA of 3.0. We seek applicants whose academic and personal records of achievement demonstrate a commitment to excellence in accordance with the criteria used generally in hiring our summer class. Students must also demonstrate commitment to the legal profession and to promoting diversity, equity and inclusion in the legal community. Recipients may not accept a diversity award from another law firm if selected for this Fellowship.

    The application process opens in May for the following summer and applicants can apply via our application portal.

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