A chance for law students to study with world-class legal experts, receive personalized career coaching, and join a community dedicated to Jewish and American ideals
A chance for law students to study with world-class legal experts, receive personalized career coaching, and join a community dedicated to Jewish and American ideals
Program Dates
June 2027
Application Deadline
Applications for the 2027 fellowship will open in October 2026.
Eligibility
Current 1L students
Partnership
The Tikvah Legal Fellowship is run in conjunction with ADF’s Blackstone Fellowship.
Since its founding, Tikvah has brought together young people to study great texts and consider pressing issues with experts in Jewish thought, the Western canon, and public affairs. Many hundreds of talented students have benefited from Tikvah’s summer seminars, college fellowships, and advanced institutes — and many have been inspired to give back to their country and their communities in their professional lives. It is no coincidence that a substantial number of Tikvah’s most exceptional alumni have gone on to pursue legal careers. Law school is a crucial gateway to effective advocacy of many of the causes Tikvah is concerned with: religious liberty, freedom of speech on campus, a strong alliance between the United States and Israel, school choice, and others. The Tikvah Legal Fellowship exists to train exceptional law students in the ideas animating these causes and the practical demands of their legal protection.
The program consists of three components:
1. The Tikvah Legal Fellowship Retreat
This is a five-day, in-person conference with the Blackstone Legal Fellowship from May 31 to June 5, 2026. Fellows will study the moral foundations and power of the law, receive mentorship from preeminent legal scholars, and meet with a vibrant and growing community of Christian law students — natural allies in the constitutionalist movement.
2. The Summer Internship
Fellows who have not already committed to a summer internship upon acceptance will be matched with legal organizations that are actively working to preserve civil liberty for Jews and other people of faith.
3. The Stipend Project (Optional)
Fellows have the option to pursue a $2,000 stipend. It will be awarded to Fellows who complete a significant project with a partner organization aligned with our mission and values by the end of their first semester as second-year law students.
We are proud to introduce the 2026 cohort of Tikvah Legal Fellows!
Tikvah is an educational institution and think-tank dedicated to advancing Hebraic ideas, strengthening the American project, deepening the bond between America and Israel, and bringing together Jews and Christians committed to the renewal of Western civilization. Through its educational programs, fellowships, media platforms, and public initiatives, Tikvah advances serious engagement with the enduring wisdom of the Jewish tradition and the great challenges facing the Jewish people, America, and the Western world.
The Tikvah Legal Fellowship aims to build and engage a community of distinguished attorneys committed to American civic ideals and Jewish excellence. With this in mind, the Fellowship is designed primarily for students who are completing their first year in law school. However, students completing their second year in law school — and in exceptional circumstances, their third year — may also be admitted to the program and are encouraged to apply.
Tikvah seeks applicants who demonstrate strong character and leadership potential. Applicants are evaluated based on their combination of academic performance; existing and emerging leadership skills; commitment to legal and cultural engagement in Jewish and public spheres; and maturity of faith and character.
We will accept between eight and twelve applicants.
Yes. And please be in touch with our programs staff directly if you have not already to let us know you are applying!
The mandatory programming for the Fellowship — including full accommodations at the Blackstone Legal Fellowship — is free of charge. An optional stipend of $2,000 is available upon request. Each project must be submitted for review and pre-approved by Fellowship staff.
The entire program will be conducted with respect for Jewish observance. Glatt Kosher food and beverages will be provided daily.
Tikvah is a non-profit ideas institution committed to supporting the intellectual, religious, and political leaders of the Jewish people and the Jewish State. Tikvah runs and invests in a wide range of initiatives in Israel, the United States, and around the world, including educational programs, publications, and fellowships. We invite you to explore some of these initiatives through the links on this page
Our animating mission and guiding spirit is to advance Jewish excellence and Jewish flourishing in the modern age. Tikvah is politically Zionist, economically free-market oriented, culturally traditional, and theologically open-minded. Yet in all issues and subjects, we welcome vigorous debate and big arguments. Our institutes, programs, and publications all reflect this spirit of bringing forward the serious alternatives for what the Jewish future should look like, and bringing Jewish thinking and leaders into conversation with Western political, moral, and economic thought.
For more information, please contact:
