Monday, October 9, 2017

LAPA Fellowships

[Here is this year’s announcement for the Law and Public Affairs Fellowships at Princeton University.  Over the years, LAPA fellowships have gone to many legal historians. Previous LAPA fellows include Michelle McKinley (Oregon Law School), James Whitman (Yale Law School), Daniel LaChance (Emory University), David Lieberman (UC Berkeley School of Law), Camille Robcis (Cornell University), Steven Wilf (University of Connecticut), Christopher Beauchamp (Brooklyn Law), Susanna Blumenthal (University of Minnesota), David Sugarman (Lancaster University), Linda Przybyszewski (Notre Dame), Sarah Barringer Gordon (University of Pennsylvania), Cornelia Dayton (University of Connecticut) ; David Rabban (University of Texas Law), and Your Humble Blogger.  Lewis Grossman (Washington College of Law/American University), who is a fellow this year.]

The Program in Law and Public Affairs (LAPA) at Princeton University invites outstanding faculty members of any discipline, independent scholars, lawyers, and judges to apply for visiting, residential appointments for the academic year 2018-2019.  LAPA Fellows devote the major portion of their time to their own research and writing on law-related subjects of empirical, interpretive, doctrinal and/or normative significance.  In addition, LAPA Fellows are expected to be in residence for ten months and participate in LAPA programs, including a biweekly seminar, a weekly luncheon discussion group, as well as some public events and conferences.  The program does not support, as a primary activity, off-site fieldwork or work in remote archives, development of course materials, work in legal practice, direct advocacy of causes or residence elsewhere. (For more information on LAPA, see [here]).

Fellows may apply to teach one course in Princeton’s graduate or undergraduate programs, subject to the needs of the University, sufficient enrollment, approval of the Dean of the Faculty, and the cooperation of the sponsoring academic department. One of the fellows, who will teach an undergraduate course, will be named the Martin and Kathleen Crane Fellow in Law and Public Affairs.

Financial Support for Fellows

As a general rule, Fellows receive a research salary of one-half their ten (10) month salary at their home institution, up to a maximum set each year before selection is made.  This means that some support will be lower than one half of an actual salary for those at the high end of a salary spectrum.  Research salaries will not be set below a minimum amount specified by the University.  Fellows earn additional salary for teaching a course, but this opportunity is not guaranteed.

Fellows may also apply for funding from additional sources so long as receipt of the funds does not interfere with the LAPA requirements. 

Selection Criteria

All applicants must have received a doctorate, juris doctor, or an equivalent professional degree at the time of submission of the fellowship application. The selection committee looks particularly closely at the proposal outlining work the applicant proposes to do while in residence at Princeton.  Successful LAPA applicants should demonstrate substantial expertise in law-related matters.  The committee is composed of Princeton faculty members representing LAPA’s three funding sources, the Woodrow Wilson School for Public and International Affairs, the University Center for Human Values, and the general University.  They evaluate applicants on the basis of (1) the quality of their achievements in their field of specialization and their ability to benefit from the activities of the program; (2) the quality and significance of their proposed projects; (3) the future contributions they are likely to make to legal scholarship and practice; and (4) their ability to contribute to intellectual life in legal studies at Princeton.  In selecting fellows, the committee may consider how each individual will contribute to the fellows’ cohort as well as to the program.

For additional details regarding the application process and requested information see [here].   Fellowship applications must be submitted using the on-line application.  Additional information about current and prior fellows is found [here]

The deadline for submissions is 11:59 PM (EST) November 13, 2017.