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In the United States, at least 50% of Americans face a civil legal challenge each year, and this statistic jumps to 70% for low-income folks. These are problems which impact daily life, including eviction, landlord disputes, child custody battles, domestic violence, immigration status, and more. Unfortunately, there is a massive access to justice gap — as many as 90% of litigants come to civil courts without a lawyer. 

This issue begs several questions about the future of our state civil court systems and solving civil legal problems at large: Does every problem really need a lawyer? What kind of non-lawyer roles can be developed to accommodate for the masses of self-represented litigants? Do we know what type of assistance people want and how best to provide it? Can we design early intervention models that are fair and just for self-represented persons? How should we consider community input when creating innovative programs? What potential does AI have in performing legal tasks and providing legal support to self-represented litigants and legal service providers? Given the environmental impact of AI data centers, as well as the privacy risks associated with AI, does the usage of AI in A2J actually hurt the communities it seeks to serve? How do we bring A2J innovations to scale? What role should the courts play in making justice more accessible?

The Center on Civil Justice Access to Justice (A2J) Fellowship enables highly motivated rising 2L and 3L students to develop their research and writing skills to consider questions like these that will advance our understanding of and solutions to access to justice issues. 

Key Projects:

• Write a policy paper on an A2J issue, with direction, guidance, and mentorship from CCJ Leadership & Affiliates to ensure it addresses key policy/practice debates. The final policy paper will be published on the CCJ website and spotlighted on the A2J page. 
• Present the findings of their policy paper at the Access to Justice Summer 2026 Research Symposium, a 1-hour long lunch event hosted at NYU Law School. 

Eligibility:

• NYU Law students who will be 2L or 3L in the academic year 2026-27
• Superior writing and research skills
• Commitment to bridging academic research and public impact
• Strong interest in access to justice, civil courts, public interest work, poverty law, and public policy 

2-3 A2J Fellows will be chosen for the Summer 2026 cohort. Fellows will receive a stipend of $750 to complete the policy paper and symposium presentation from May 19, 2026 to August 14, 2026. To apply, interested rising 2L and 3L students are asked to submit the following materials to Camille Luong (cl5676@nyu.edu) with the subject line “Access to Justice Fellowship Application”: 1) Resume, 2) Cover letter, 3) Unofficial transcript, and 4) 200-250 word policy paper proposal on a state court A2J issue of their choosing. Deadline to apply is Sunday April 26, 2026, 11:59pm.

See Google Doc version here.