Colorado Law is proud to share that Lizzie Bird ’23 has been selected for the Skadden Fellowship Foundation’s 38th Class. Announced in December 2025, Bird is one of 34 fellows in the program.

The Skadden Foundation Fellowship aims to support work in public interest careers to address a range of civil legal issues affecting individuals in poverty in the United States. These two-year fellowships allow recent graduates to pursue and practice public interest law full-time.  

Bird will be working as a fellow for the Northwest Immigrant Rights Project (NWIRP), which provides legal services for thousands of immigrants in Washington State. Specifically, their work focuses on navigating the complexities of the United States immigration system.   

In applying for the fellowship, Bird developed a project proposal that matched the needs of the NWIRP, as well as reflected her own experiences. Following submission to the Skadden Foundation, Bird was selected for an interview, before being chosen for this year’s fellowship.  

“I wanted to work in immigrants’ rights advocacy, and this fellowship offers one of the few ways to get into public interest work straight out of law school, or after clerking,” said Bird. 

Bird’s project will establish a habeas initiative for individuals detained in Washington. Such work will see her file habeas petitions, expand habeas advocacy, and support NWIRP’s ongoing class habeas litigation.  

In reflecting on how her time at Colorado Law helped prepare her for this opportunity, Bird shared that working with clients in the immigration clinic was the most helpful experience.  

“More broadly, all my classes at Colorado Law helped prepare me for my clerkships, which, in turn, have given me an understanding of the federal court system. That foundation will prepare me to litigate–and hopefully win–habeas cases in federal court.” 

Through this fellowship, Bird hopes to help address an urgent need facing immigrants in the state of Washington, while also learning from a team of excellent lawyers with extensive experience challenging unjust laws and policies.