Reminder: Loyola's Journalist Law School Fellowship Applicatio​ns due Monday, March 21

The Civil Justice Program at Loyola Law School, Los Angeles is now accepting applications for its sixth-annual Journalist Law School fellowship (JLS), to be held June 15-18, 2011 on Loyola Law School’s Frank Gehry-designed downtown Los Angeles campus. Applications are due by Monday, March 21, 2011. Complete details, including application information and a downloadable brochure, are available at www.lls.edu/cjp/jls.

The fellowship condenses three years of law school into a long weekend filled with courses taught by Loyola Law faculty, practicing attorneys and jurists. The core faculty members – Professors John Nockleby, Laurie Levenson, Karl Manheim and Doug NeJaime – will lecture on civil, criminal and constitutional law and other primary topics. Additional faculty will lead breakout sessions, which accepted fellows will suggest and select in advance. Topics of focus this year will include an examination of the legal issues surrounding a series of headline-dominating subjects: Wikileaks, immigration legislation, healthcare reform, same-sex relationships and the emerging environmental fallout in Japan.

JLS lectures are supplemented by speaker events featuring a variety of lawyers, judges and veteran journalists. Previous speakers include Shirley Abrahamson, chief justice, Wisconsin Supreme Court; U.S. Rep. Howard Berman (D-CA); Harland Braun, who represented Robert Blake in his murder trial, Law Offices of Harland Braun; Linda Deutsch, Associated Press special correspondent; Mark Geragos ’82, who represented Michael Jackson and Scott Peterson, Law Offices of Geragos & Geragos; George W. Greer, judge in the Terri Schiavo case, Sixth Judicial Circuit; Nora Manella, California Court of Appeal; and Jim Newton, author and Los Angeles Times editor-at-large.

Journalists with at least three years of experience who cover the law in some fashion are encouraged to apply. There is no cost to journalists; instruction, lodging and most meals are included in the fellowship. And the Journalist Law School will cover half of travel expenses up to $300. Fellows will be housed at the nearby Sheraton Los Angeles Downtown Hotel. Fellows need to arrive in Los Angeles on the morning of Wednesday, June 15, 2011 and depart on Sunday, June 19. Fellows will have one free evening to explore Los Angeles on their own. Journalist fellows, who are competitively selected, receive a certificate of completion at the end of the four-day program. More than 175 reporters, editors and producers have completed the fellowship from a wide range of local, national and international news organizations.

Loyola’s Civil Justice Program started the JLS in 2006 as a way to help journalists navigate the complexities of the legal system and enhance their coverage of it. “Journalists provide the keys to understanding the most complex institutions in our society, including the courts,” said Professor Nockleby, director of the JLS and Loyola’s Civil Justice Program. “If journalists have a deeper understanding of law and the legal system, they can help the public better understand – and critique – that system.”

Past breakout sessions include: After the Crisis: Mortgages, Credit Cards & Payday Lending; Disability Rights Law; Legal Implications of Same-Sex Marriage; Immigration Law; Employment & Education Testing & Civil Rights Law; Dynamics of the Supreme Court; Election Law; Family Law & Children; Habeas Corpus & the Death Penalty; Intellectual Property; Juvenile Law, the Law of War; Laws of Demonstrations; Legal & Judicial Ethics; Racial Discrimination and News Coverage; the Rules Governing Admission of Evidence at Trial; and Terrorists & Noncombatants: Guantanamo & Due Process.

Questions about the program may be directed to Brian Costello, deputy director of communications, at brian.costello(at)lls.edu, 213-736-1444 or 310-902-9560.

What previous fellows have said about the JLS fellowship:

“This should probably be required of all journalists earlier in their careers.”
“It’s a program that delivers on its promise: teach journalists a better, more comprehensive understanding of the law.”
“I came to the program expecting a crash course in the law and, fortunately, I got that. I really felt I was being taught by the very best legal academic minds and it both humbled me and inspired me to re-dedicate myself to better journalistic endeavors down the road. The payoff: accurate reporting and thus a more well-informed society.”
“The professors at Loyola Law School know their stuff. I can’t think of any session where I questioned the level of knowledge held by the speaker – and, as a reporter, I am paid to be skeptical of people’s words.”

Supporters of the JLS include the American Board of Trial Advocates (a founding sponsor), the American Association for Justice and the Los Angeles Press Club.