What is Blackstone?
The Blackstone Legal Fellowship takes its name from Sir William Blackstone, the English jurist whose Commentaries on the Laws of England helped shape the very foundations of the United States Constitution. Alan Sears, founder of Alliance Defending Freedom and architect of this Fellowship envisioned a formative undertaking that would shape the whole person—drawing together the nation’s most gifted Christian law students, placing them under the guidance of premier scholars and jurists, Christian thought leaders, and sending them into the profession with both vision and conviction. His design was intentional: to unite deep formation with lived practice, to shape not only skill but character. Surrounded by mentors who embody wisdom and courage, they are prepared for lives of lasting influence—where the practice of law becomes not just a profession, but a vocation marked by integrity and vision. That vision has endured. What began as a small circle of 24 students in 2000 has grown into a fellowship of over 3,000, whose influential presence now reaches law firms, legislatures, courtrooms, universities, and corporations. The idea at the heart of Blackstone remains unchanged: law is not simply a career to be pursued, but a vocation to be lived—and a Fellowship is the place where that calling takes root and flourishes.
The Summer Program
Phase I
May 31st - June 13th
Phase I is designed as an environment of formation. It rests on the conviction that faith and intellect belong to a single pursuit of coherence, inviting interns to think Christianly across disciplines by examining underlying assumptions, testing ideas for durability, and considering how belief shapes judgment and vocation. The interdisciplinary curriculum reflects a simple truth: lawyers who hope to lead well must understand more than the law alone. Within this setting, differences are respected without being flattened, and learning is mutual rather than performative. Faculty model intellectual seriousness and professional maturity, showing how to endure pressure, sustain purpose, and exercise judgment in demanding work. Phase I is not merely academic; it prepares interns for action rightly ordered. The curriculum provides structure, but the ethos gives it life—forming a community marked by faith, excellence, and the conviction that how one becomes matters as much as what one goes on to do.
World-Class Faculty
Moreover, the faculty at Blackstone are truly world-class. Past faculty have included:
Edwin Meese III
75th Attorney General of the United States
Ruth L. Okediji
Professor of Law
Harvard Law School
Helen Alvaré
Professor of Law
Antonin Scalia Law School
Sherif Girgis
Associate Law Professor
University of Notre Dame School of Law
Robert P. George
Professor of Jurisprudence
Princeton University
“My experience with the Blackstone program, at which I spoke, was a wonderful one. It gathers the best and brightest Christian law students from around the country.”
then-JUDGE AMY CONEY BARRETT
Phase II
June 14th - August 11th
Phase II centers on gaining substantive, real-world legal experience through a summer internship deliberately chosen to advance long-term professional aims. Following acceptance into Blackstone, the professional development staff continues to engage with each intern through structured guidance and counsel, helping them assess options, prepare competitive applications, and exercise sound judgment as they independently pursue legal internships consistent with their interests, strengths, academic background, and geographic considerations. Internships are evaluated with an emphasis on meaningful responsibility and rigorous practical training. In prior years, interns have secured positions across a wide range of respected public-and private-sector institutions. These experiences do not merely occupy a summer; they test instincts, sharpen skills, and provide clarity about the kind of lawyer the Intern is becoming, laying a durable foundation for the work ahead.
Phase III
August 12th - 16th
Phase III opens a window into the legal profession at its most consequential. Interns engage in candid conversation with accomplished practitioners from across the private and public spheres, including public officials, respected academics, partners at leading law firms, and corporate counsel from Fortune 500 companies, offering an inviting and exacting view of what it means to practice law with distinction across sectors. They speak candidly about their work and the paths that led them there. Faculty share both their professional experiences and their personal journeys, offering a lived picture of what it means to practice law as a Christian. At the center of this phase is a deeper understanding of work as vocation. Law is presented not simply as a career or a series of achievements, but as a profession with real moral and civic responsibility. Fellows are invited to consider how their skills and judgments will shape institutions, communities, and individual lives. Phase III also creates space for reflection and reconnection. Fellows return to the community formed in Phase I, renewing friendships and conversations before heading back to their law schools. Together, these experiences help clarify new professional possibilities and support careful discernment about how each fellow may be called to use their gifts in the years ahead.
"The professional development is unusually grounded, shaped by a deep understanding of the legal profession across clerkships, firms, government service, and corporate practice, offering guidance about how careers actually unfold in ways law school rarely provides. They advised me on my first legal internship, and I soon learned, through conversations with Fellows, that their engagement does not end with early placements, but extends across the long arc of a legal life, where judgment is formed, reputations are built, and opportunities quietly emerge over time. In doing so, they taught us how to navigate the profession with realism, integrity, and discernment.
Blackstone Fellow, Class of 2025
Scholarships & Financial Support
Each intern who participates in Blackstone is awarded a $13,000 scholarship to help defray qualified educational expenses. We also cover the cost of airfare, lodging, materials, and most meals during Phases I and III. In addition, we provide a housing stipend for your Phase II legal internship on a case-by-case evaluation.
Blackstone and the Rest of Your Career
The Blackstone Fellowship extends well beyond a single summer. After Phase III, interns may apply to become Blackstone Fellows, entering a community designed to support both professional growth and personal formation over the course of a legal career.
Fellows are supported by a network of Blackstone staff, experienced attorneys, and peers who remain engaged at key moments—from early job decisions to later leadership roles. This support includes career planning, résumé and interview guidance, introductions to mentors and employers, and ongoing counsel as professional goals evolve.
Just as important, Fellows are surrounded by a community that knows them, challenges them, and supports them over time. Through alumni connections, city chapters, and informal mentoring relationships, the Fellowship provides continuity in a profession that can otherwise be isolating. What begins with practical career guidance becomes a lasting network of trust, shared standards, and mutual investment—accompanying Fellows as lawyers, leaders, and people throughout their working lives.
"What distinguishes Blackstone is that it doesn’t approach professional development as a checklist or a resume exercise. It treats it as formation, helping you understand your strengths, discern where your gifts are best used, and pursue excellence without compromising conviction. Along the way, it opens access to an extensive network of lawyers who invest their time, insight, and relationships, and provides preparation for interviews, from law firms to clerkships, that is second to none."
Blackstone Fellow, Class of 2024
The Fellowship fosters relationships that endure beyond any single season, surrounding Fellows with counsel, encouragement, and steady support across the arc of a career and a life. Through mentorship, shared learning, and sustained connection, this community shapes not only how Fellows practice law, but how they make decisions, shoulder responsibility, and remain grounded as professionals, citizens, and people.
The Fellowship is oriented toward engagement. It begins with the conviction that faithfulness is lived out in real time, within the legal system and the broader culture we inherit. Fellows are encouraged to see their work not as abstract theory, but as a form of responsibility—to speak truthfully, act justly, and practice the law with care for the people and institutions it affects. Blackstone serves both as preparation and as a point of departure. Fellows may contribute in many ways: defending those who are treated unjustly, writing or speaking in support of fundamental rights, or lending their skills to the work of ADF and allied organizations committed to religious liberty, free expression, the dignity of life, parental rights, and the strength of the family. At the same time, engagement is not uniform. The Fellowship recognizes that calling unfolds differently across seasons of life and professional paths. As a community, Fellows reflect together on how best to engage the law and society, while making room for discernment about what faithfulness requires of each person, here and now.
"I am so deeply grateful and thankful for Blackstone. At Blackstone, I was not only able to hear talks from premier scholars and individuals, but I was also able to meet a group of people with whom I hope to remain very close friends for the rest of my life. I leave Blackstone not only a better law student, ready to engage my peers on campus, but also with a much deeper and richer faith, thanks to everyone from my fellow interns to the speakers to the staff. I’m thrilled to share the message of Blackstone with my colleagues at law school and spread the grace and love of God to all those I meet, thanks to the abundance of love I experienced at Blackstone."
Blackstone Fellow, Class of 2025