2027 Application Season

Fellowship Background

The Michigan Holistic Defense Fellowship is a paid professional opportunity for law students and social work students (and social work graduates) to spend a summer working at one of six public defender offices in Michigan engaged in the practice of holistic defense. Holistic defense is a multifaceted approach to legal representation that recognizes the many social and legal challenges that can drive an individual into the criminal legal system and the collateral or enmeshed consequences that may result from an individual’s contact with the system.

Law student candidates and social work candidates who wish to be considered must apply to the program using this website. The webpage portal to apply for the 2027 Fellowship is currently disabled and will be visible during each application period. Please read this page in its entirety to learn about our program and the application process. More program information is available in the Fellowship Manual, which can be viewed under the Program Documents page of this website.

Application Timeline for the 2027 Fellowship

The Fellowship has separate application periods for law students and social work students. The Fellowship will open the application for our next summer of Law Fellows during the 2026 Fall Semester. Students will apply during the month of October and will receive communication regarding their potential acceptance to the program during November.

The Fellowship will open the application for our next summer of Social Work Fellows during the 2027 Winter Semester. Students will be given one month mid-semester to apply and will receive communication regarding their potential acceptance to the program in the month following the close of the application period. The specific program timeline for the recruitment of social work students will be updated here closer to the application period.

Please note that the Fellowship is a competitive program. Each of our participating placement sites accept one social work fellow and 1 – 2 law fellows.

Program Fieldwork & Dates Fellows will begin their ten-week fieldwork placement during the last week of May. All fieldwork hours must be completed by the end of the first week of August; fellows work 32 – 40 hours per week depending on their individual placement site, and all fellows are required to perform a minimum of 320 hours of work at their fellowship site. Applicants who would need to miss more than two days of the Fellowship due to scheduling conflicts will not be accepted into the program and are strongly encouraged to apply during the following season.

Selection of Placement Sites

The Fellowship is an intensive, in-person experience. Candidates who apply for consideration at a placement site in a county they do not live in must be willing to relocate for the summer to a commutable distance from their site. Fellowship sites can assist fellows in finding temporary housing for the summer, and most sites offer a housing stipend in addition to a living stipend to help students afford the acquisition of summer housing. Candidates indicate which sites they are interested in being considered by in the required application form. Accepted Fellows spend the entire length of the program at their one home Placement Site.

There is no minimum or maximum number of sites that candidates may select, but applicants should not select any Placement Site where they would not seriously consider accepting an offer. Each completed application package will be forwarded only to those sites an applicant indicates they would like to be considered by. A 2027 Fellowship Placement Guide specifying the responsibilities, hourly pay, and housing stipend will be published shortly before the opening of each application period. This guide will contain all of the site-specific information that candidates need to determine which site(s) they are interested in being considered by.

2027 Placement Sites:

• Northeast Michigan Regional Defender Office (Alpena, Michigan)
• Calhoun County Office of the Public Defender (Battle Creek, Michigan)
• Genesee County Office of the Public Defender (Flint, Michigan)
• Macomb County Office of the Public Defender (Mt. Clemens, Michigan)
• Marquette County Office of the Public Defender (Marquette, Michigan)
• Muskegon County Office of the Public Defender (Muskegon, Michigan)
• Wexford Missaukee County Office of the Public Defender (Cadillac, Michigan)

Application Review Period and Placement Offers

All applications are forwarded to the Placement Sites that each candidate requests to be considered by following the close of the application period. All placement sites will conduct Zoom interviews, and it is at the discretion of each placement site to determine which candidates they are interested in interviewing based on the applications they receive. Please be aware that this is a competitive program and submission of an application does not guarantee an interview or fellowship position.

At the close of the placement review period, offers from each placement site will be sent to the Fellowship Director. The Director will then communicate the offers to applicants. Applicants should expect to receive an email communication from the Director regarding placement offers approximately four or five weeks following the close of the application period. All candidates will hear from the Director regarding whether they have been accepted into the 2027 Fellowship cohort.

Candidate Eligibility   

Law student applicants must be enrolled in an accredited law school at the time of application, and they must have completed at least one academic year of law school by May 2027. Law students who will graduate in May 2027 are eligible to apply, but please note that this is a fulltime work program and studying for the bar during work hours is not permitted.

Social Work applicants must be enrolled in a Bachelor of Social Work, a Master of Social Work program, or a Doctorate of Social Work program OR be a graduate of one of these programs. Applicants who are students at the time of application must have completed at least one academic year of social work credits by May 2027 and must be in good academic standing.

All applicants must be in good academic standing and must hold US citizenship. The citizenship requirement stems from restrictions by each of our individual placement sites and is not up to the discretion of the Fellowship Program to change. Applicants do not have to be living in Michigan or enrolled in a law or social work school located in Michigan to be considered for this program.

Academic Credit and Credentialing Hours

Fellows are permitted to receive academic credit for their participation in the Fellowship if permitted by their school. Whether a fellow receives academic credit must be determined directly between the fellow and their respective institution. The Fellowship Program is not responsible for, nor be involved in, the provision of academic credit. However, regardless of whether academic credit is received, all fellows must abide by the requirements of the Fellowship.

Compensation

Fellows will be provided a living stipend for their fieldwork by the field placement site, and most placement sites provide an additional housing stipend. Each field placement site determines the amount of the stipend as well as the amount of any compensation provided for living expenses. The Fellowship is not responsible for establishing the terms of any such arrangement, nor monitoring compliance thereafter, and any issues regarding compensation or reimbursement are solely between the fellow and the field placement. Regardless of the amount of compensation, the fellow and the field placement must abide by the Fellowship Standards and any other requirements established by the Fellowship. Failure to do so may result in removal of a fellow or field placement from participation in the Fellowship, at the discretion of the Fellowship.

Required Application Materials

All students are required to submit a one-page cover letter, resume (up to two pages), writing sample, and unofficial or official transcripts as part of their application. These materials are only accepted during the active application period; please do not submit your materials to the Director outside of the application period. Applicants may also have up to three letters of recommendation submitted on their behalf, but no letters of recommendation are required.

Documents should be in PDF format. Applicants who do not successfully submit each of these materials by the respective law or social work application deadline will not be considered. Please review the following additional information for each of the required application materials:

• Cover Letter: Your cover letter should be one page in length and should explain your interest in mitigation-type work and the fellowship. You do not need to write separate cover letters for each placement site you would like to be considered by. You may address your cover letter to “Dear Placement Partners”.
• Resume: 2-page maximum.
• Academic Transcripts: You may submit official or unofficial transcripts for this requirement. Unofficial transcripts are typically free and accessible from your school’s website. If a particular placement partner requires an official transcript after your application submission, you will be informed by the placement.
• A Writing Sample: Your writing sample can be a previously submitted work from school or a professional experience but should come to a length of at least two pages when double-spaced.
• Letters of Recommendation (OPTIONAL): You are not required to submit letters of recommendation but may submit up to three if you would like. There are no restrictions on who may write your letters, but the authors must email their letters directly to the Fellowship Director at [email protected] by the application deadline. Submitted letters of recommendation that are emailed to the Fellowship Director by applicants themselves will not be accepted.