Apply for the ’26-28 RJ Fellowship!

The Reproductive Justice Fellowship Program (RJFP) is a two-year program for emerging lawyers who are interested in gaining practical experience putting reproductive justice principles into direct legal service and action. As criminalization and surveillance of our pregnancies and bodily autonomy increase, we need more trauma-informed, client-centered lawyers who can fight state violence within the legal system, change policy, and meet people’s human needs. Fellows are placed at host organizations, where they receive hands-on experience with direct legal services, policy advocacy, organizing, harm reduction, and client-centered lawyering. Placement organizations include family defense, public defense, and public policy programs. Fellows receive mentoring, professional development, skills-based training, and networking and community-building opportunities alongside their Fellowship cohort throughout the program term.

The RJ Fellowship is one of If/When/How’s longest running programs and has jumpstarted the careers of over 100 lawyers since its inception in 2010. Past Fellows have gone on to work in civil rights litigation, reproductive rights public policy, direct legal services, and more. This newest phase of the Fellowship program aligns with our new strategic plan to mobilize a network of lawyers ready to challenge state violence with a reproductive justice lens.

→ For more information about past RJ Fellows and placement organizations, visit the RJ Fellowship page.

→ Download application information here.

2026-28 Reproductive Justice Fellowship Application

Thank you for your interest in If/When/How's Reproductive Justice Fellowship Program (RJFP). This is the online application form for the 2026-28 RJ Family Defense and Youth Access Fellowships. In addition to filling in this online form, you will need to upload documents listed at the bottom of this page.

For full details about the supporting documents and application requirements for the RJFP, be sure to review our resource on everything you need to know for the 2026-28 RJ Fellow Application.

First name

Last name

Pronoun(s)

Phone

Permanent email

Law school email

Which email would you prefer If/When/How to use when contacting you?

Permanent emailLaw school email

Current Address

Street Address	City
Country	State
ZIP

Current Position & Employer

Please provide information about your employment if you are not currently a student (Optional)

Fellowship Interest

Fellowship program preference(s):

Note: Candidates will be considered for all fellowship placements and If/When/How will take candidates' preferences into consideration throughout the selection process, but we cannot guarantee that a Fellow will be placed with a specific placement organization or program. We encourage applicants to provide information about their interest in a specific program to help guide us in matching candidates with prospective placement organizations.

Check all that apply:

RJ Family Defense FellowshipRJ Youth Access Fellowship

Fellowship Interest Supplemental Questions

RJ Family Defense Fellowship:

Briefly describe your interest in the RJ Family Defense Fellowship. Please include any relevant experience or connection you have (professional, academic, and/or personal) with the family regulation system and related reproductive health, rights, and justice issues.

250 word limit

RJ Youth Access Fellowship:

Briefly describe your interest in the RJ Youth Access Fellowship. Please include any relevant experience or connection you have (professional, academic, and/or personal) with supporting young people and/or barriers faced by young people in accessing reproductive health care and services.

250 word limit

Academic Background

Law school:

Law school graduation year:

Please use the format YYYY

Bar Admission:
Please list state and date

Bar Exams you plan to take:
Please list state and date, if any

Languages:
Please list any languages besides English you speak and level of proficiency

Judicial Clerkship:
Please list where and with whom, if any

Geographic Preference(s)

Which geographic region(s) are you most interested in being placed in if selected as a Fellow? Check all that apply.

New York City area	Texas
Remote/virtual office	No preference/all of the above

Supporting Documents

Please upload all supporting documents at this time. More information can be found here. Documents must be in PDF format. For more details about required documents, see the full Fellowship descriptions, linked above.

Personal Statement

Resume

Writing Sample

List of Recommenders

Law School Transcript (Optional)

If you have a copy of your recommendation letter, you may submit it now. Otherwise please have your recommendation letter sent directly to RJFP@ifwhenhow.org in PDF format.

NOTE: Only one letter of recommendation is required for your application to be complete.

Recommendation Letter 1

NOTE: Your documents may take several minutes to upload. There is no progress bar in some browsers, so please keep this window open until you see a message confirming your successful submission of the form.

Please do not refresh the page or resubmit the form - if you are patient, everything will upload on the first try.

You will receive an email confirmation when we have reviewed your application and determined it to be complete. If you have questions about the RJFP, please email RJFP@ifwhenhow.org. No phone calls please.

If you receive an error message when submitting the form, or encounter other technical difficulties, please email Cammie Dodson, Senior Professional Development Manager, for assistance: cammie.dodson@ifwhenhow.org.

Spam Prevention: What does 3+1 equal?

Please use numerical characters

Apply for the ’26-28 RJ Fellowship!

2026-28 Reproductive Justice Fellowship Application

Fellowship Interest Supplemental Questions

RJ Family Defense Fellowship:

RJ Youth Access Fellowship:

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