Blackstone Legal Fellowship
Blackstone Legal Fellowship is not a culmination . . . it is a beginning
Blackstone Legal Fellowship is a leadership training program that brings together exceptional Christian law students and prepares them for careers marked by integrity, excellence, and leadership. Since 2000, Alliance Defending Freedom has trained more than 2,600 law students from more than 230 law schools in 30 different countries.
The Fellowship begins with a summer-long leadership training program, which includes three weeks of seminars on topics such as legal philosophy, constitutional law, practicing with integrity and excellence within the legal profession, and career development and cultural engagement. Interns also spend the summer engaged in legal internships across the world, working with nonprofits, governmental entities, and boutique law firms, among others.
The summer program represents a beginning, not a culmination, as Interns emerge with a professional network, enduring friendships, and a foundation of knowledge that will serve them throughout their careers. Those selected to become “Fellows” at the end of the summer also receive ongoing training, resources, and support through an international community.
Learn More and Apply
Help Fund the Next Blackstone Class
This year, we are hoping to fund nearly 200 students from the best law schools in our country. However, the Blackstone Legal Fellowship relies heavily on financial support from people like you, as there is no financial burden for the students who attend. Your gift will help train the next generation of Christian leaders, and ensure that this expanding community continues to defend our most important freedoms against the challenges ahead.
Blackstone Legal Fellowship – Frequently Asked Questions
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The program is named for Sir William Blackstone (1723-1780), a contemporary of the framers of the U.S. Constitution and Declaration of Independence. An English judge who went on to become the first Vinerian professor of law at Oxford University, Blackstone is best known for his Commentaries on the Laws of England.
The Commentaries were the original foundation for legal education in America and a work that would dominate the common law legal system for centuries. Indeed, they had a pervasive and profound impact on the United States Constitution and whose concept of absolute rights formed the basic premise of our Declaration of Independence.
In the Commentaries, Blackstone explained that the basis upon which English Common Law resides is a higher law, the law written by God and found in His scriptures and the created order. Blackstone says, “when the Supreme Being formed the universe, and created matter out of nothing, he impressed certain principles upon that matter, from which it can never depart, and without which it would cease to be.” Because of this, William Blackstone argues, “the first and primary end of human laws is to maintain . . . these absolute [i.e. God-given] rights of individuals.” Accordingly, man lacks authority to write a law that contradicts God’s law. Blackstone called this concept “ultra vires,” which means it is beyond the authority of man to write a law that violates God’s law. Blackstone also said that law is fixed, it is uniform, and it is universal. It does not change based on who the President is, or who holds judicial positions. It is the same law for everyone at all times and in all places.
Blackstone’s influence on American law can hardly be overstated. His writings trained nearly every American lawyer until the mid-19th century. Unfortunately, his influence and the Christian worldview have since been virtually eradicated from American law schools. For this reason, Alliance Defending Freedom named its prestigious law student program the Blackstone Legal Fellowship, representing a new generation of lawyers, men and women of Christian conviction, passion, and intelligence, being equipped to serve as leaders within the legal culture, proposed by Blackstone’s vision of the law to foster legal systems that fully protect our God-given rights.
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The Blackstone Legal Fellowship seeks accomplished law students who are committed to their faith and are dedicated to impacting the law-profession culture. To learn more and apply, visit www.BlackstoneLegalFellowship.org.
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Criteria for selection include: strong academic performance; leadership skills, both exhibited and potential; maturity of faith and character; and commitment to legal and cultural engagement.
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The 2023 class included 192 Interns. We anticipate the 2024 class will be a similar size. To learn more and apply, visit www.BlackstoneLegalFellowship.org.
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The Blackstone Legal Fellowship is a ministry of Alliance Defending Freedom.