Skip Links

The American Bar Association’s Legal Education Police Practices Consortium (“Consortium”) is pleased to invite applications for its ABA Policing Practices Fellowship Director.

The Director position is a one-year position for a faculty or staff member from a Consortium-member school who will oversee the law school fellowship program, one post-graduate fellow and development of an annual symposium. The Director will be responsible for recruitment and vetting for the fellowship and the post graduate fellow. The faculty or staff member’s law school will serve as host of the symposium. This is an opportunity for a faculty or staff member to develop scholarship in the policing sphere and to have practical impact on local and national policing policy.

This position may be renewed with approval from the Advisory Committee.

FELLOWSHIP DETAILS:

The Fellowship will consist of up to twenty students from law schools currently member to the Consortium across the country. Throughout the year, they will research a topic related to policing (to be determined in coordination with the Director), which will culminate in the in-person presentation of that research at the fellowship’s annual symposium. Fellows will virtually meet with the Fellowship Director and post-graduate fellow once a month to discuss their work and any support that they need. In addition, the fellowship may meet virtually for special events throughout the year to discuss special topics in the area of policing. Fellows will also collaborate with each other to provide feedback and develop their research further.

The Fellowship Director should assist with providing resources to fellows, facilitating fellows’ communication with each other, and making fellows aware of their obligations to the fellowship. Where possible and appropriate, resources will be uploaded to the existing Consortium website to encourage greater access to useful information on issues related to policing and public safety.

At the end of each semester, the Fellowship Director, the post-graduate fellow, and all fellows will meet to give a preliminary presentation of the research and discuss how to move forward. In the fall of each year there will be a symposium for final presentations of fellows’ work, along with speakers from the community and other stakeholders in the realm of policing. This will also potentially serve as the bridge from one fellowship director and class to the next.

APPLICATION INFORMATION:

The Selection Committee is charged with selecting a Fellowship Director willing to oversee a post-doctoral fellow and twenty law school fellows from throughout the United States. The faculty or staff member must also be capable of organizing a symposium for the engagement of local stakeholders in dialogue on policing practices and policies.

The successful applicant will receive a course buyout from the ABA up to a maximum amount of $30,000 annually, plus a $10,000 stipend.

Application materials should include:
1. a cover letter that explains the candidate’s interest in the directorship to include existing and proposed scholarship in the field of policing and/or public safety, and how the candidate fits the needs of the program including experience supervising students in practical work;
2. a resume; and
3. a letter from the faculty or staff member’s Dean confirming the school’s commitment to host the annual symposium.

Applications are due on or before July 12, 2024, and should be sent via e-mail with attachments in pdf or Word format to Jessalyn Walker at jessalyn.walker@americanbar.org.