St. Olaf College’s Svoboda Legal Scholars Program offers an opportunity for a select group of undergraduate students to perform intensive legal research and/or to serve in a legal support role in several social impact-oriented legal clinics. During the summer of 2026, students worked in clinics at the University of Minnesota Law School, Mitchell Hamline School of Law, University of St. Thomas School of Law, University of Wisconsin Law School, University of Notre Dame Law School, Northwestern Pritzer School of Law, and Legal Aid D.C. in Washington, D.C.
Students will have the opportunity to contribute to the work of a clinic under the direction of the clinic director/member of the law school faculty. Through this program, students will become more knowledgeable about the field of law and legal services while providing valuable contributions to diverse, under-resourced populations. This program is supported by the generosity of Paul Svoboda ’81.
During February of each academic year, St. Olaf confirms with the schools and clinics whether they will participate in the Legal Scholars program during the upcoming summer. To find out which schools will be participating, please keep an eye on the Svoboda Legal Scholars website during February, as we expect to update the list by the end of that month.
Students will apply through Handshake in late February, after which a committee of St. Olaf faculty and staff will choose a group of semi-finalists. The Piper Center will send the semi-finalists’ applications to the clinics, with the clinics themselves choosing the students with whom they’d like to work. Some clinics require interviews. Most do not.
Program Description
- Dates: ten weeks during the summer
- A summer undergraduate research opportunity in a legal clinic at a law school or at a legal aid society.
- Opportunity to gain clinical experience and training
- Scholarship of $6,500 for all participants
Click on one of these links to reserve a spot in an Information Session.
Clinical Experiences
Students’ clinical experiences may include the following: civil practice, criminal law, child advocacy, juvenile law, community justice, community development, immigration law, elder law, legal assistance for prisoners/re-entry work, exoneration justice, and/or academic research assistant work.
Compensation
Students who successfully complete the program will receive a $6500 scholarship in recognition of their endeavors. Funds will be deposited in their student account. Students must cover their own housing and transportation expenses.
Expectations
Students selected for the program will be expected to meet for two orientation workshops before the end of the spring semester for an introduction to legal practice and lawyering, and to legal research and writing. Upon return to campus in the fall, students will share the activities and outcomes of their summer, typically through a final capstone reflection video and a meeting with the program sponsor, Paul Svoboda. The Piper Center will post these videos on the Svoboda Legal Scholars Website. Students are also required to complete a post-experience survey.
Eligibility
- Sophomores (rising juniors) and juniors (rising seniors) from any academic background
- Strong academic record
- Ability to extend your knowledge base to the topic at hand and to conceptualize and frame relevant questions
- Evidence of ability to work both independently and as part of a team
- Understanding of and respect for confidentiality
- Willingness to commit time and energy to your work
- Previous experience in research preferred but not required
How to Apply
Application Materials
Read this section on application materials carefully.
Due Sunday, February 21st, 2027, at 11:59 p.m. via Handshake job posting
If you are considering law school, think of your resume for the Svoboda Legal Scholars program as an initial draft of your resume for law school. (If you’re not thinking of applying to law school, that’s okay. Instead, think of this draft as an initial draft for a professional position.)
If you are drafting a resume for the first time, take a look at our resume guide.
If you already have a resume, take a look at our pre-law resume and modify your resume to fit the content, format and style of this template.
Content
- Begin with any previous legal experience that you may have. If you don’t have previous legal experience, please don’t worry. Many Legal Scholars don’t have this experience.
- Be sure to include your research experience. Research undertaken in your courses absolutely counts as research experience. Include papers and projects that you did for courses as well as independent or summer research or research done for a faculty member. The research that you’ve done does not need to be legal research. What matters is that you’ve done research and are building your skills as a researcher.
Style, formatting and proofreading
- Format your resume carefully, using appropriate margins. Leave something out rather than crafting a resume that looks as if you’ve crammed everything in.
- Proofread very carefully, preferably by printing out a hard copy and reading your resume aloud. Applicants who submit messy resumes with typographical and other errors typically do not advance to the semi-final round.
Review
- Ask a Piper Center Peer Advisor or the Pre-Law Advisor to review your resume before you submit your application.
Log in to SIS. Go to grades -> select all years/terms -> export as a PDF file (one way to do this is by going to a print screen and clicking on “view as PDF,” or “view in preview”).
Your personal statement, which doubles as a writing sample, should provide insight into your abilities, motivation and/or experiences in order to provide a sense of who you are as a person and a potential future law student. Additionally, your personal statement should explain why you wish to participate in the Svoboda Legal Scholars Program. (2 pages maximum – double spaced)
If you’re not sure how to draft a personal statement, please take a look at this pre-law video: Law School — Personal Statements. Although this video is aimed toward law school, it includes an introduction to drafting personal statements and explains what readers expect from personal statements. This video will give you a good foundation for drafting a personal statement for the Svoboda Legal Scholars program.
One Svoboda-Faculty-Recommendation-Form completed by a faculty member who can best speak to your abilities to participate in this program
Application Process
Upload your resume, unofficial transcript and personal statement on Handshake.
Follow the directions next to the login fields (St. Olaf as the employer, Svoboda Legal Scholars Program as the position)
Apply for the opportunity by searching for St. Olaf College as the “employer.” Once you select the employer, click on the “Available Positions” tab. Select Svoboda Legal Scholars Program as the “position.”
Upload your resume under “resume,” your transcript under “unofficial transcript,” your personal statement and optional exoneration justice paragraph under “writing sample” (all under the “Documents” tab on the blue menu bar).
Find the “Documents” tab on the blue menu bar in Handshake.
- Upload your resume under “Resume.”
- Upload your unofficial transcript under “Transcript.”
- Upload your personal statement under “Writing Sample.”
If you’re not sure how to draft a personal statement, please take a look at this pre-law video: Law School — Personal Statements. Although this video is aimed toward law school, it includes an introduction to drafting personal statements and explains what readers expect from personal statements. This video will give you a good foundation for drafting a personal statement for the Svoboda Legal Scholars program.
On the right-hand panel, select your resume, transcript and personal statement. Click “Submit.”
As part of your application, you will need one recommendation from a faculty member. Ask a faculty member if he/she/they would be willing to fill out a recommendation form on your behalf. If the answer is “yes,” click on the link for the Svoboda-Faculty-Recommendation-Form, and send it to the faculty member.
You can check with the Piper Center to confirm that the faculty member has completed the form before the deadline. It is your responsibility to make sure that the faculty member completes the form on time.
Leslie Moore (no pronouns)
Associate Director, Career Development and Coaching, Pre-Law, Graduate and Professional School
Office Hours: Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays. Schedule via Handshake Appointments
View Profile →