Description

The Defender Services Office is pleased to announce its 2026 – 2028 Non-Capital Fellowship Program. The Fellowship Program seeks to enhance the quality of representation provided under the Criminal Justice Act (CJA) by creating a pathway for diverse attorneys to become qualified to join federal defender organizations (FDOs) and CJA panels. For more information about Defender Services and the Fellowship Program, please see: https://fellowship.fd.org/

Designed for graduating law students and attorneys early in their careers, the non-­capital program will place a fellow in the Office of the Federal Public Defender for the Western District of Pennsylvania for a two-year term, beginning September 2026, during which the fellow will gain federal criminal defense training and experience and work among dedicated and collaborative colleagues in both the Trial and Appeals & Non-Capital Habeas Units. 

Each fellowship class will have opportunities for joint training, mentorship, and other group activities. Non-capital fellows are employees of federal defender organizations and will receive a salary and benefits package comparable to other post­ graduate, public interest legal training programs.

The Office of the Federal Public Defender for the Western District of Pennsylvania is committed to fostering the development of early-career attorneys through comprehensive training, supervision, and mentorship.  We have a strong culture of providing growth opportunities to those attorneys (including fellows), who routinely serve as primary counsel at hearings and oral arguments, in addition to building client relationships and determining case strategy. The selected fellow would be able to work not only on trial level cases, but also on appeals and post-conviction matters such as non-capital habeas and compassionate release, if those are areas of interest.

Eligible applicants: 3L and 4L students graduating this school year (2025-2026) and recent law school graduates. Successful candidates must take the bar in the relevant jurisdiction within the first year of fellowship, be eligible to practice (pro hac vice), or be barred.

Compensation:  JSP 11/1 – 13/1 ($77,211 - $110,047) salary range, commensurate with experience

Application Link: https://fellowship.fd.org/node/50

Application deadline: January 29, 2026

Fellows begin: September 2026