For immediate release

The John Paul Stevens Foundation today announced its 2025 class of Justice John Paul Stevens Public Interest Fellows (Stevens Fellows). The 158 Stevens Fellows in 2025 were selected by 38 law schools and 3 nonprofits across the country. The Stevens Fellows come from a wide variety of backgrounds and experiences. Of the Fellows, 54% identify as being BIPOC (Black Indigenous, and People of Color), 65% identify as female, 30% identify as LGBTQIA+, and 56% identify as first-generation attendees of professional or graduate school. 

The 2025 Stevens Fellows are working at 135 host organizations—local, state, and national nonprofits and government agencies—located across 25 states and the District of Columbia, contributing over 50,000 hours of critical legal advocacy toward causes including civil rights, criminal justice, housing and homelessness, immigration, and workers’ rights. Over 100 law firms, corporations, private foundations, and individual donors have generously supported the important work of our Fellows this year. 

The 2025 class adds to the impact of over 1,100 Alumni Stevens Fellows since 1997, the majority of whom continue to contribute to public interest work after graduating from law school. Each year, Stevens Fellows provide vital services and advocacy that empower clients and strengthen nonprofit and government agencies that are critical to addressing unmet legal needs. In doing so, Stevens Fellows advance the Stevens Foundation’s mission to building a more just and equitable society. 

Click here for the 2025 Fellows Report.

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About the John Paul Stevens Foundation – Advancing a Legacy of Justice
The John Paul Stevens Foundation seeks to build a more just and equitable society. As a living tribute to United States Supreme Court Associate Justice John Paul Stevens, the Foundation works to protect and promote democracy and the rule of law, access to justice, and equality by supporting law students, lawyers, and others working in the public interest. The Foundation was established in 2010 in honor of Justice Stevens’ retirement from the U.S. Supreme Court by a group of his former law clerks. An independent nonprofit organization based in California, the Foundation provides a formal home for the Justice John Paul Stevens Public Interest Fellowship Program.

About the Justice John Paul Stevens Public Interest Fellowship
The Justice John Paul Stevens Public Interest Fellowship was created in 1997 at Northwestern Pritzker School of Law, Justice Stevens’ alma mater, to support law students who spend the summer working in otherwise unpaid public interest law internships. The Fellowship Program reflects Justice Stevens’ deep belief that a dynamic and effective justice system depends on a cadre of trained and committed lawyers committed to public interest work. Over the past nearly 30 years, the Stevens Fellowship has supported over 1,250 law students, of whom 73% have gone on to work in the public interest after graduating from law school. In summer 2025, the Stevens Fellowship will support a cohort of 158 Fellows working in a wide range of public interest placements, serving a variety of communities. 

Media Contact:
Jenny Chung Mejia, Interim Executive Director
jenny@jpstevensfoundation.org