Central to the mission of The Coelho Center for Disability Law, Policy and Innovation is bringing together and fostering the development of leaders from our disability community. In particular, we believe in creating a strong pipeline of law students with disabilities who will go on to serve as attorneys, judges, public policy professionals, and public servants.
Our ultimate goal is to increase disability representation in the legal profession.
As the disability rights slogan goes, "Nothing About Us Without Us!" or more aptly "Nothing Without Us!" because people with disabilities belong in every sector of society, including the legal profession. We need people with disabilities in law schools, in law firms, on the bench, in the Congress, in legal academia and beyond!
In order to do so, we need to strengthen the pathway into law school for disabled students. Too often, students with disabilities are discouraged from attaining higher education. Educational barriers, along with negative assumptions and attitudes, dissuade our community from reaching careers in law and policy.
This has to change. Our program targets college students and recent graduates with disabilities to provide encouragement, support and mentorship that is crucial to success.
Currently, there is no program like The Coelho Center Law Fellowship Program with a specific mission to train and mentor college students with disabilities to think about a path toward law school.
The Coelho Law Fellowship has evolved over the years. The 2026 application cycle will bring us our 8th Cohort of fellows. To keep in line with student needs and our mission, the 8th Cohort Fellowship Experience will run from June 1, 2026 – August 1, 2026.
Fellows will be eligible for a $1,000 stipend, contingent on participation and completion of the items below:
- Attendance in the summer intensive Disability Rights Law (DRL) course in June 2026
- Submission of DRL course final exam
- Attendance at 1L Writing Workshops
- Submission of 1L Memo Assignment
- Virtual Graduation
Additional opportunities:
- Publication opportunity (optional)
Expand each topic below for more information.
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Disability Rights Law Course (Summer 2026)*
Professor: Katherine Perez, J.D., Ph.D., Visiting Professor of Law, Loyola Law School
The course will introduce fellows to fundamental skills and tools upon which law students and legal professionals rely, whether reading for class, prepping for an exam, or advocating for a client. Disability Rights Law examines federal and state law prohibiting discrimination on the basis of disability with a particular emphasis on the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990. The course contextualizes the law within the history and continuation of the disability rights / justice movements and attacks against disability rights.
Fellows will be expected to foster a positive learning environment, take notes, participate in class discussion, and be in conversation with the professor about how to create a more accessible classroom setting. Fellows will be required to take a final exam and feedback will be provided, though the completion of the course is not transferable as university credit. Rather, it is a requirement of the fellowship program, and its primary purpose is a skills-building experience.
Learning Outcomes
At the conclusion of the course, fellows should be able to:- Read a case and outline a case using the FIRAC method
- Demonstrate an understanding of the Socratic Method
- Demonstrate an understanding of and ability to create a law course outline
- Demonstrate knowledge and understanding of the Americans with Disabilities Act
- Be able to apply basic legal principles of the ADA to new fact patterns
Dates, Time and Location
Dates: June 1 - July 2
Time: 4pm - 6:30pm PT / 7pm - 9:30pm ET
Location: All meetings held via Zoom
Week 1, June 1 - June 5
Day Class meeting description Monday Orientation meeting / intro to fellowship program Tuesday Regular class meeting Wednesday Regular class meeting Thursday Regular class meeting Friday No meeting, fellows will receive pre-recorded lecture Weeks 2 - 4, June 8 - June 26
Day Class meeting description Monday No meeting, watch asynchronous videos and catch up on reading Tuesday Regular class meeting Wednesday Regular class meeting Thursday Regular class meeting Friday No meeting, fellows will receive pre-recorded lecture Week 5, June 29 – July 1
Day Class meeting description Monday No meeting, watch asynchronous videos and catch up on reading Tuesday Regular class meeting Wednesday Last Regular class meeting, Final distributed
Monday, July 13 DRL Final Due -
Fellows will be invited to attend a conference with Disability Rights leaders, advocates and champions of disability justice. They will also have access to Loyola Law School leadership, faculty, and admissions staff to ask questions and learn about the pathway to law school.
We have moved to a biennial format, so fellows in the 8th cohort will be invited to attend and apply for travel funding support for the conference in the summer of 2027.
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All fellows will attend a 1L writing workshop and complete a 1L memo project.
The American Bar Association requires a first year legal and research writing course. In this course, first year law students, or “1Ls”, learn to write a legal memo. The legal memo is used in law practice to communicate about an area of law and/or the facts of your case within your law firm (internal memo) or to communicate to the court during litigation (legal brief). Coelho Law Fellows will be provided workshop sessions to introduce the basics of legal memo writing, and fellows will be assigned short writing activities to develop their legal writing skills.
July 21 & 22, 2026
- 1L Memo Workshops, Zoom, 4pm - 6:30pm PT / 7pm - 9:30pm ET
July 29, 2026
- 1L Memo project due
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The Coelho Law Fellows have access to participate in optional publication opportunities on The Coelho Center Blog: https://thecoelhocenterblog.wordpress.com/ or Coelho Center social media via Youtube.com/TheCoelhoCenter Instagram.com/TheCoelhoCenter or TikTok.com/TheCoelhoCenter.
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Virtual Graduation:
Saturday, August 1, 2026 (9-11am PT; 11-1pm CT; 12-2pm ET)
(Applicants must affirm that if chosen they will make an honest effort to attend all fellowship programming or make plans to review recordings.)
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The Coelho Center Law Fellowship Program is designed to serve students with disabilities interested in pursuing law school. As such, students who identify as a person with a disability / disabled are strongly encouraged to apply.
The fellowship serves current college students and recent graduates, including international students. We also want to hear from you if you are looking to make a career change and would benefit from such a fellowship.
Current college students must be enrolled in a community college, college, or university.
Additional notes on eligibility
International Students
International students with an interest in attending law school in the United States are welcome to apply.
The Coelho Law Fellowship Program does not require "proof" of disability. We acknowledge the challenges often associated with lack of access to medical diagnosis, misdiagnosis, and under-diagnosis. If you identify as being part of the disability community, that is sufficient. Examples of disability include:
- Physical disability (e.g. paraplegia, amputee, multiple sclerosis, etc.)
- Intellectual and/or developmental disability (e.g. intellectual disability, Autistic, Down syndrome, language and learning disabilities, cerebral palsy)
- Psychiatric disability (e.g. depression, schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, etc.)
- Sensory disability (e.g. blind, D/deaf, blind-deaf, hard of hearing, etc.)
- Chronic illness (e.g. Alzheimer’s, cancer, Crohn’s disease, Fibromyalgia, etc.)
- Other disabilities not listed above
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Use the link below to fill out your application. View the video linked below to learn more about the fellowship and application process.
Apply to the Coelho Law Fellowship
Video: Fellowship Information and application walk-thru (available after January 5, 2026)
To Apply
To Apply
- Fill out the application and attach your short answers / personal statement and resume.
- Identify two references with their contact information.
- References will only be contacted if your application reaches the final stage of review.
- You may submit your application via the online form or in a Word/PDF document via email to The Coelho Center.
- As an alternative, you may create a voice or video recording in response to the application questions (in spoken or signed language) and send your files to The Coelho Center.
- Applications will be accepted until Sunday, March 8, 2026 by 11:59 pm PST.
- Applicants will be notified of acceptance or request for short interview sessions no later than Friday, March 20, 2026. Interviews, should they be necessary, will take place March 23 – April 3, 2026.
Our Commitment to Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Accessibility (DEIA):
The Coelho Center for Disability Law, Policy and Innovation has a strong commitment to diversity, equity, inclusion and accessibility as a core value. As such, we encourage applicants from a broad range of backgrounds with identities intersecting with disability including race, gender, sexual orientation, and immigration status. Applicants from low-income backgrounds and applicants who have been involved in the criminal legal system are also encouraged to apply. Please email The Coelho Center (coelhocenter@lmu.edu) if you need an accommodation to apply.
Check back after January 5, 2026, to download a flyer for distribution.