Want to get a foothold in Supreme Court practice? Apply for the Justice JS Verma Fellowships

With an intent to recognize and promote young talent in the field of litigation at the apex court, the Supreme Court Lawyers Welfare Trust (SCLWT) has instituted the Justice JS Verma Fellowships.

The SCLWT invites applications from candidates who satisfy the following requirements:

• Lawyers enrolled with any State Bar Council in India;

• Preference will be given to candidates who have completed a minimum of 2 years, and a maximum of 5 years of practice in any court of India;

• Such practice will not include non-litigation practice with law firms/individuals, judicial clerkships teaching assignments; and

• The candidates must be prepared to commit themselves to a minimum period of 2 years’ practice at the Supreme Court of India for the Fellowship to be continuing.

Each selected Fellow is entitled to the following:

• A monthly stipend of ₹30,000 over a period of 2 years of practice in the Supreme Court;

• A one-time subscription to SCC Online, which will be registered in the name of the candidate.

Interested applicants may e-mail the following documents to the Trust at scwelfaretrust@gmail.com on or before September 25, 2023:

• A copy of the candidate’s latest CV

• A 1,000 word essay on the best case in which the candidate has been involved in any capacity or has been following closely.

• A 300-word Statement of Purpose (SoP) on why the applicant is a deserving candidate for the Fellowship. Applicants may focus on their socio-economic background and personal circumstances to justify their candidature.

A panel of Trustees will shortlist 15 candidates among the applicants for the final round of interviews. The final interviews will be held by the Chairperson of the Trust and a few other Trustees in October 2023.

The three selected candidates will be awarded the Justice JS Verma Fellowship which will be in effect for 2 years from the date of the award.

All shortlisted candidates will be contacted via email.

The Supreme Court Lawyers Welfare Trust (SCLWT) was established in 2008 with a substantial corpus from a practicing Senior Advocate of the Supreme Court with the aim of supporting and promoting professional opportunities and welfare programs for lawyers at the apex court. Previous Chairpersons of the Trust include former Chief Justice of India JS Verma and former Chief Justice of the Punjab & Haryana High Court Mukul Mudgal.

The current Chairperson of the Trust is former Supreme Court judge, Justice Aftab Alam. The Trustees are Senior Advocates Chander Uday Singh and Gopal Sankaranarayanan, and Advocates Sadhana Ramachandran, Mamata Kachwaha, Raghenth Basant, Rahul Narayan, and Vrinda Bhandari.