Educate Defend Empower

THE
LDF has developed the
nations finest civil rights
lawyers since its inception.

ABOUT THE NAACP LEGAL DEFENSE AND EDUCATIONAL FUND, INC.

LDF remains the nations

premier civil rights law
organization. Our work
and success has advanced
democracy, equality, and
justice in our country.

Since its founding in 1940 under the leadership of late Supreme Court Justice Thurgood
Marshall, LDF has led the fight for equality and empowerment for Black people excluded
from the full benefits of our democracy. Despite significant progress toward equality in the
past half-century, numerous and complex obstacles remain. LDF, through the John Payton
Fellowship, continues its fundamental mission to transform the promise of equality into a
social, economic, and political reality for all people, and to train the next generation of civil

Sherrilyn Ifill
President and
Director-Counsel

JOHN PAYTON
APPELLATE AND
SUPREME COURT
ADVOCACY
FELLOWSHIP

rights lawyers.

A TRUE CHAMPION
OF EQUALITY.
- President Barack Obama

Education Political Participation

Economic Justice Criminal Justice

The John Payton Fellowship

John Payton
John Payton was the sixth President and DirectorCounsel of the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational
Fund, Inc. (LDF), the nations preeminent civil rights
and racial justice law firm. A brilliant litigator, John
dedicated his life to justice, equality, and opportunity.
He passed away unexpectedly on March 22, 2012 after a
brief illness. Upon his passing, President Barack Obama
remembered John as a legend and a true champion
of equality, whose courage and fierce opposition to
discrimination in all its forms would never be forgotten

commitment to rigor tempered by the ability to reflect

and recalibrate; passion for history; deep curiosity; ability
to see around corners; and characteristic confidence and
optimism.
John demonstrated his signature brilliance when he
served as lead counsel for the University of Michigan
in which he defended its affirmative action policy, in
Gratz v. Bollinger. John handled this extraordinarily
important and high-profile case in the trial court,
court of appeals, and in his argument before the U.S.
Supreme Court. The Courts decision in the landmark
companion case, Grutter v. Bollinger, upholding raceconscious admissions in higher education, represented
the vindication of the strategy that John devised and
implemented over more than six years litigating Gratz
to support the educational benefits of diversity.
During his tenure at LDF, John guided the organization
to resounding legal victories, including: Lewis v. City
of Chicago, which vindicated the rights of over 6,000
applicants who sought to become firefighters in Chicago;
Northwest Austin Municipal Utility District v. Holder,
which turned back a challenge to the constitutionality
of a core provision of the Voting Rights Act of 1965;
and Abu-Jamal v. Beard, which successfully ended the
30-year fight against the death penalty for the worlds
most famous capital prisoner.

John was one of the finest lawyers in the country. In

2010 alone, the National Law Journal declared him
one of The Decades Most Influential Lawyers, and
the Washington (D.C.) Bar Association awarded him
the Charles Hamilton Houston Medallion of Merit.
John was universally recognized and admired for his
inimitable approach to advocacy; razor sharp intellect;

Although John spent his career seeking out and litigating

some of the most important and difficult civil rights
cases and issues, he maintained an infectious optimism
and confidence that made good things not simply
possible, but probable. As LDFs leader, John reset the
odds in the fight for equality. He turned the highest
stakes casesthose that were declared unwinnable by
other expertsinto victories.
LDF honors John through the John Payton Fellowship
by advancing the painstaking work of our democracys
founding promise to forge a more perfect union.

The prestigious John Payton Fellowship offers attorneys

an unparalleled opportunity to engage in civil rights
litigation and advocacy with the nations leading civil
rights and racial justice law firm. The John Payton
Fellowship provides a mid-level lawyer with the
opportunity to spend one year as a staff attorney with
LDF. The ideal candidate for the Fellowship has two to
three years of litigation experience, along with a deep
and abiding commitment to Johns passion: fighting for
racial justice.
The program will annually hire one Payton Fellow. The
inaugural Fellowship will commence in 2015.

Payton Fellows will have the opportunity to litigate

cutting-edge civil rights cases, particularly with a focus
on appellate and Supreme Court advocacy in LDFs
program areas, which include education, criminal
justice, voting, and/or economic justice. The Fellows
will also help develop public policy and create public
education campaigns about racial discrimination, in
addition to leading community meetings, participating
in conferences, and/or developing public information
pieces. During her or his tenure, the Payton Fellow
will cultivate relationships with leading litigators,
government officials, academics, and organizing/
advocacy experts.

The John Payton Fellowship is made possible

thanks to the generous financial support
of Time Warner, Inc., and Johns friends and family.

Application
Requirements
To be considered for the John Payton Fellowship, applicants must
submit the following documents:
A cover letter and rsum;
Three letters of recommendation; and
A legal writing sample (preferably no longer than 15 doublespaced pages).
Applicants may email or mail their complete application to the
contact and address below.
Complete applications must be received no later than
MARCH 16, 2015.
Please send to:
paytonfellowship@naacpldf.org
or
Monica Garcia, Director of Human Resources
NAACP Legal Defense Fund, Inc.
40 Rector Street, 5th Floor
New York, New York 10006