Indian Litigation Fellowship invites applications from first-generation women lawyers

The second edition of the Indian Litigation Fellowship 2025-2026 is underway, calling for applications from first-generation women litigators who are at the start of their career.

Upon graduating from law schools, first-generation women interested in pursuing a career in litigation encounter numerous challenges. For first-generation women litigators, the courtroom can be a daunting choice as they embark on their professional journey.

The fellowship is aimed at providing early career support, professional training and financial support to young women who plan to enter the legal profession as litigators.

The program will award a total of seven fellowships for the 2025-26 cycle which is set to commence in June/July 2025. The two types of fellowships available are:

1. Open Litigation Fellowship

The Open Litigation Fellowship, with support from Pradeep Nayak, Smaran Shetty and Nitya Kaligotla, will be awarded to 5 first-generation women lawyers.

The litigation fellows are free to join litigation chambers of their choice. Interested applicants are encouraged to identify litigation chambers where they will receive the required mentorship, professional exposure and training that align with their professional goals.

The applicants will have to disclose the details of the chambers if employment has already been secured.

2. Lawyer in Residence (LIR) Fellowships

The Lawyer in Residence Fellowship, with support from IDIA Charitable Trust, Shishira Rudrappa, Tanmay Amar, Mahesh Krishnamurthy, Shrutanjaya Bhardwaj, Mansi Sood, Vinayak Mehrotra and Anusha Reddy, will be awarded to two lawyers.

• LIR Pravah Law Offices India (litigation chamber of Shrutanjaya Bhardwaj) Fellows will be attached to Pravah Law Offices India, New Delhi for the duration of the Fellowship. The chamber’s practice primarily covers Supreme Court and Delhi High Court matters, and the practice areas include constitutional law, criminal law, sports law, service law, arbitration law and intellectual property law. The chamber routinely undertakes pro bono advisory and litigation work.

• LIR E-23 Chambers (litigation chamber of Mansi Sood and Vinayak Mehrotra) Fellows will be attached to E-23 Chambers, New Delhi. Sood and Mehrotra are independent practitioners. Mehrotra is also an Advocate-on-Record in the Supreme Court of India. Their practice focuses on civil, commercial and constitutional law with their work spanning various courts and tribunals across Delhi including the Supreme Court, the Delhi High Court and district courts. The chamber also handles arbitration before both ad-hoc arbitral tribunals as well as institutional arbitration.

The different types of fellowships have one common application. Candidates are free to apply to either the Open Litigation Fellowship or the Lawyer in Residence Fellowships, or both, subject to meeting the relevant conditions.

Each selected fellow will be provided a grant of ₹3,60,000 for a period of 1 year. The amount will be disbursed on a monthly basis.

The last date to send in applications is 11:59 PM on February 28, 2025.

Eligibility

• The fellowship is only open to women

• The fellowship is open to final year students as well as litigators with less than 2 years of experience.

• The fellowship is open to first generation litigators who do not have any immediate family member(s) in the legal profession. Further, preference will be given to those applicants who can demonstrate an economic need for the fellowship.

The Open Litigation Fellowship is possible with the support of Pradeep Nayak, Smaran Shetty and Nitya Kaligotla.

The Lawyer in Residence Fellowship is possible with the support of IDIA Charitable Trust, Shishira Rudrappa, Tanmay Amar, Mahesh Krishnamurthy, Shrutanjaya Bhardwaj, Mansi Sood, Vinayak Mehrotra and Anusha Reddy.

To apply, please visit the site here.

For any queries, please feel free to drop an email to indianlitigationfellowship@gmail.com.

Selection of the successful fellows will be decided by mid-May 2025.