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Law Program

FASPE is an intensive, two-week study program in professional ethics and ethical leadership. FASPE is neither a Holocaust studies course, nor a genocide prevention program. Rather, the curriculum is designed to challenge Fellows to critically examine constructs, current developments and issues that raise ethical concerns in their professions in contemporary settings in which they work.

FASPE Law challenges its Fellows to recognize their responsibility to act as ethical leaders in their law careers. FASPE begins by examining the actions and choices of German lawyers and judges in enabling and executing Nazi policies. FASPE then draws on this historical example to help Law Fellows grasp their role and responsibility as professionals in their communities and to lead them to identify and confront the ethical issues currently facing lawyers and the legal profession.

Each year, FASPE Law awards fellowships to 14 to 16 law students and early-career lawyers. Fellows spend two weeks in Berlin and Poland, where they visit key sites of Nazi history and participate in daily seminars led by specialized faculty. The program couples the power of place with academic rigor and many informal opportunities for creative exchange.

FASPE draws on a large pool of applicants, whose diverse backgrounds and interests enrich discussions both inside and outside the seminar room. Law Fellows travel with Business and Design & Technology Fellows, allowing them to broaden their understanding of the role of professionals over shared meals and activities and in several interdisciplinary seminars. FASPE Fellowships are fully funded so that financial ability does not affect participation.

Eligibility

FASPE Law applicants must fit into one of the following three categories: 1) be enrolled in a JD program as a 2L or 3L at the time of their application; OR 2) be working in the legal profession (including a clerkship) at the time of their application and have received a JD degree no earlier than May 2020; OR 3) for applicants from education systems where law school training does not take place at the post-graduate level, applicants should have completed their requisite legal training in the applicable jurisdiction and be working as a trainee or associate (no more senior than a 4th year associate).

Applicants must be 42 or younger as of the application deadline.

FASPE seeks Fellows who are interested in engaging in discussions with their co-Fellows and faculty, and who have the intellectual and emotional maturity to unpack difficult and controversial issues responsibly and respectfully in small group settings. FASPE seeks Law Fellows with diverse interests and backgrounds, including those pursuing careers in law firms, internal law departments, public interest law, as prosecutors or public defenders, etc. FASPE selects its Fellows on the basis of their academic background, personal and professional experiences, capacity for leadership and ability to contribute to the program and the alumni community. All applications are welcome and reviewed.

DATES FOR THE 2024 LAW PROGRAM: May 24, 2024 - June 7, 2024

To view photos of the 2023 Law program and to read about the experience, please go here.

FASPE Law Fellows examine topics such as:

• the complicity of German lawyers in the design and execution of Nazi racial laws and genocidal policies
• the difference between legal compliance and rules of ethics, on the one hand, and ethical behavior, on the other
• the ethical challenges of ambition in professional development
• ethics and government lawyering
• legal ethics in the context of technological innovations
• navigating multiple loyalties to employers, clients, systems of justice, legal frameworks and more
• tactics to address ethical issues within law firms and other institutions

International Military Tribunal in Nuremberg, 1946.Gift of Ralph Goodman, Museum of Jewish Heritage, NY

FASPE Law Fellows now practice at major law firms and corporations, serve as law clerks in state, federal and international courts, work as prosecutors and public defenders and hold various government positions. Through their shared FASPE experience, Fellows form long-lasting relationships and deep bonds that grow over time. Law Fellows participate in formal and informal networks that provide support throughout their careers.

FASPE Law was initially developed in consultation with faculty at Yale Law School.