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The Program in Law and Public Affairs (LAPA) at Princeton University invites outstanding faculty, independent scholars, lawyers, and judges to apply for appointments as fellows for the academic year 2008–09. Each year, through its Fellows program, LAPA brings to Princeton world-class experts on the law. Successful candidates will devote an academic year in residence at Princeton to research, discussion, and scholarly collaboration on topics broadly related to law and public affairs. Under exceptional circumstances, applications for only one semester in residence may be considered.

For 2008-2009, we plan to name five general LAPA Fellows plus one Microsoft/LAPA Fellow who specializes in intellectual property or the economic organization of society. Applicants to the program will be considered for all of these fellowships. Applying with a stated interest in the Microsoft/LAPA Fellowship will not prejudice an applicant from being considered for one of the general fellowships and vice versa. All fellows have the same salaries, privileges and conditions.

LAPA Fellows devote the major portion of their time to their own research and writing on law-related subjects of empirical and normative significance.  In addition, LAPA Fellows are expected to participate in LAPA programs, including a biweekly faculty-graduate seminar and a weekly discussion group, as well as some public lectures and conferences. They enjoy access to Firestone Library and a wide range of other activities and intellectual resources throughout the University. Some Fellows also have the opportunity to teach a course in one of Princeton’s graduate or undergraduate programs, subject to the approval of the Dean of the Faculty and the sponsoring academic department.

The Fellows program is open to all regardless of citizenship, but it does not support work toward the completion of a degree.  All applicants should already have in hand a doctorate or a professional postgraduate degree.

About LAPA

Since Princeton does not have a law school, LAPA is the primary site on the Princeton campus for law-related activity. The Program on Law and Public Affairs is housed in the Woodrow Wilson School for Public and International Affairs at Princeton and is co-sponsored by the Woodrow Wilson School, the University Center for Human Values and the University. Faculty and graduate associates of the program come from all over the university and from all disciplines in the social sciences and humanities, as well as from the engineering school. LAPA encourages its Fellows to develop ties with relevant departments and disciplines around campus.

Financial Support for Fellows

Salaries vary according to individual circumstances but will not exceed a maximum that is set each fall. Fellows from academic institutions normally receive one-half their academic-year salaries for the appointment period at Princeton up to an annually set maximum amount for those on the high end of the salary spectrum and above an annually set minimum amount for those on the lower end of the salary spectrum. Additional salary may be paid to Fellows who teach a course. In general, we anticipate that Fellows visiting from other universities will come with sabbatical support from their home institutions in order for them to maintain their full salaries, though this is not a requirement. It has generally been the case in the past that Fellows have been able to live modestly in Princeton for the year just on LAPA support without more. If applicants do not have sabbatical funds but would like to get their full salaries for the year, we recommend also applying for other sources of funds to supplement LAPA salaries.

Research Proposal

In evaluating an application, the selection committee looks particularly closely at the proposal outlining work the applicant proposes to do while in residence at Princeton. Successful LAPA applicants should demonstrate substantial expertise in law-related matters, but in explaining research projects, applicants would be well advised to write for an audience of academic generalists. LAPA is particularly interested in potential Fellows with interests in policy or in normative inquiry.

The program does not normally support, as a primary activity, off-site fieldwork, development of course materials, work in legal practice, direct advocacy of causes or residence elsewhere. The program is designed to give Fellows a year at Princeton for scholarly reflection and writing, and prospective Fellows might consider timing their applications for a year in which time devoted to reflection and writing on a substantial project would be most crucial.

Selection Criteria

The selection committee, made up of Princeton faculty associated with the program, will evaluate applicants on the basis of (1) the quality of their achievements in their field of specialization and their ability to benefit from the activities of the program; (2) the quality and significance of their proposed projects; (3) the contributions they are likely to make in the future to legal scholarship and practice; (4) their ability to contribute to intellectual life in legal studies at Princeton; and, where relevant, (5) their ability to contribute to the curriculum of the Woodrow Wilson School's graduate program and the University more generally. In any given year, the program tries to get a mix of senior and junior scholars, domestic and international scholars, and those based in law schools or in the practice of law on the one hand and those whose homes are in other disciplines on the other.

The General LAPA Fellows Program

Drawn from law schools, the social sciences, the humanities, and from the world of policy-making and legal practice, LAPA's Fellows are engaged during their stay at Princeton in cutting-edge research about the law and legal institutions, and many of the Fellows teach courses while at Princeton. The Fellows enhance Princeton's tradition of excellence in undergraduate and graduate teaching about the law, and they provide an intellectual critical mass for innovative scholarly collaborations about law and legal institutions. The Fellows also add to the group of normatively engaged scholars on campus who consider either policy or ethics as a substantial component of their work.

LAPA does not announce annual themes for its Fellows so applications on all law-related subjects are welcome for the general Fellows program. That said, the selection committee in any given year does give consideration in the last phases of the decision process to whether a particular set of Fellows would complement each other, bring synergies to the program and otherwise show signs of being more than the sum of their individual proposals. Because LAPA gets more outstanding applications than it has fellowships to award, one of the final elements of the selection process is the coherent composition of the group. Intellectual clusters are often favored, as are mixes of senior and junior Fellows, domestic and international Fellows, and Fellows based inside and outside law schools.

One of our general Fellows who will teach an undergraduate course through LAPA will be named the Martin and Kathleen Crane Fellow in Law and Public Affairs.

Microsoft/LAPA Fellow in Law, Property, and the Economic Organization of Society

Thanks to the generosity of the Microsoft Corporation, LAPA will bring to Princeton in 2008-2009 one fellow who is making important contributions to research and teaching in law, property, and the economic organization of society. While we prefer to find someone whose primary interests are in intellectual property and/or in information technology and the law, the description of the fellowship also reaches more broadly:

The law plays a crucial role in defining property rights and constituting markets. LAPA fellows appointed to this position will study important problems related to defining and regulating property. Issues related to information technology now loom especially large. Such issues embrace many areas of the law, including copyright, patent, antitrust, free speech, privacy, telecommunications law, tax law, and international trade law. LAPA will make a special effort to secure fellows who have some expertise relevant to information policy issues. The position may also support study of other topics related to the economic organization of society. For example, some countries are now seeking to establish free markets in societies dominated by distrust, corruption, or heavy regulation. Other countries must find ways to adapt institutions so that they remain competitive in the new economy of the 21st century. Whether their economies are old or new, countries must decide how to protect the interests of workers, how to ensure corporate accountability, and how to deal with the huge inequalities produced by modern capitalism.

We anticipate that the Microsoft/LAPA Fellow for 2008-2009 will be involved with the growing group on the Princeton campus interested in intellectual property and information technology. As with the general Fellows program, the Microsoft Fellow will have the opportunity to teach a course at Princeton, subject to the approval of the Dean of the Faculty and the sponsoring academic department.

All applications should be submitted through the on-line process. Please note that all materials from applicants must be received by Thursday, November 15, 2007. Letters of recommendation must arrive by Tuesday, November 20, 2007.

Princeton University is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Employer and in keeping with our commitment, encourages Women, Minorities and Persons with Disabilities and Vietnam Era and Disabled Veterans to apply.

Visit LAPA's other pages to learn more about how to apply, or about our current and former fellows.