James W. Cooper Fellows Grant

The James W. Cooper Fellows program, established by the Connecticut Bar Foundation, invites nominations for outstanding Connecticut lawyers, judges, and law educators to enhance understanding of the legal profession and justice administration. Selected nominees commit to a $2,500 pledge over ten years. The program aims to improve civil justice through various grants and initiatives, reinforcing the foundation's mission of equitable legal access and education in Connecticut.

Note: o become a Fellow, approved nominees are asked to make a pledge of $2,500, payable over 10 years in minimum annual installments of $250. The Foundation recognizes Fellows at an annual reception in their honor and publicizes their selection.
Nominations will be accepted on a rolling basis, and will be considered by the Fellows Nominating Committee in the Fall of 2026.
Advancing Civil Justice in Connecticut
The CBF works to do this by stewarding funding, volunteers, programming, data, innovation, and collaboration to lead and partner in integrated approaches to improving the administration of civil justice. Specifically, the CBF administers several grant programs that fund the delivery of legal services for Connecticut residents who cannot afford an attorney, including the Interest on Lawyers' Trust Accounts and the Interest on Trust Accounts (IOLTA/IOTA) programs, the Judicial Branch Grants-in-Aid, the Court Fees Grants-in-Aid, and the state’s Right to Counsel program. The Foundation also funds scholarships, based on financial need, for Connecticut students attending law schools in the state.
In 1994, the Foundation established the James W. Cooper Fellows as the result of a generous bequest from James W. Cooper. The Fellows develop and sponsor projects and programs to promote a better understanding of the legal profession, the judicial system, and the role of law in society; to explore ways to improve the profession and the administration of justice; and to further the highest ideals of the legal system.
The James W. Cooper Fellows nominate outstanding Connecticut lawyers, judges, and teachers of law to become James W. Cooper Fellows. The Connecticut Bar Foundation then extends invitations to nominees who have been selected by the Fellows Nominating Committee and approved by the Board of Directors.

Eligibility

Article III, Section 2 of The Bylaws of The Fellows of the Connecticut Bar Foundation (CBF) states: Fellows shall be selected based on their outstanding professional, public and private careers in which they have demonstrated extraordinary legal ability and devotion to the welfare of their Community, State and Nation, as well as to the advancement of the legal profession. A Fellow must be a member in good standing of the State Bar of Connecticut; a teacher of law regularly employed as such in the State of Connecticut who has been admitted to the Bar of any other state; a federal judge residing in Connecticut who has been admitted to the bar of any other state; or a person registered as an Authorized House Counsel as defined in Section 2-15A of the Connecticut Superior Court Rules.Nominees should have a minimum of ten years in practice to become a Fellow unless there are special circumstances, which must be explained in detail.