About the Robert M. Takasugi Fellowship

In 1999, the legal community, including former externs and law clerks of the honorable Robert M. Takasugi, Senior Federal Judge in the Central District of California, proudly created the Robert M. Takasugi Public Interest Fellowship.  The Fellowship was created to honor Judge Takasugi and to perpetuate his influence, independence, courage, vision of equal justice and demand that women and minorities be accorded equal treatment.

From its inception, the Fellowship has selected fellows from across the nation and funded their summer legal work for the public interest.  Fellows were selected to work in the San Francisco Bay Area and the Greater Los Angeles Metropolitan Area.  The fellows worked in exciting and challenging capacities in forward-thinking organizations, including among others: the Asian Law Caucus; the Lawyer's Committee for Civil Rights; the Legal Aid Foundation of Los Angeles; and the NAACP Legal Defense Fund.  Through the efforts of the Fellowship, almost $50,000 in public interest funding has been awarded to date.

The honorable tradition of attorneys using the law for the public interest in our communities is fading as taking a nobler path is more financially challenging than ever before.  While such work is in itself rewarding, financial grants like the Robert M. Takasugi Public Interest Fellowship are necessary to ensure that dedicated law students pursue careers in public interest law. 

In the Fellowship's sixth year, it launched a new post-graduate fellowship in addition to our summer law student fellowship.  The Fellowship believes that directly funding the work of individuals after their matriculation from law school will further aid in the Fellowship's mission of encouraging dedicated lawyers to pursue public interest careers.

Because the Fellowship receives its support solely from private donations, we welcome your tax-deductible donation in any amount.  Checks should be made payable to the NAPABA Law Foundation (with a memo notation to the Takasugi Fellowship) and mailed to: