Law School Public Interest Programs - Public Interest Career Assistance
There is dedicated public interest career support staff.
Career support assistance includes the following:
The annual Public Interest Legal Career Fair provides Albany Law School students and alumni with an opportunity to learn about legal careers in public interest and government through career panel discussions and information tables. Past career fairs have included representatives from more than 150 public sector organizations and interviews for summer and entry-level positions.
Public Interest/Public Service Jobs Forum - This Career Center program developed exclusively for Albany Law School students is a “how-to” on developing a lifelong commitment to working on behalf of under-represented individuals, communities and causes.
Annual Career Center panel entitled “Fellowships, Internships, and more… (How to Launch a Public Interest Career)” gives students an opportunity to explore and learn about the resources available to help advance a public law career directly from an Equal Justice Works representative.
Annual program co-sponsored by the Career Center and the Government Law Center of Albany Law School on “Finding the Perfect Job in State/Local Government-Practical Strategies and ‘Nuts and Bolts’ Advice” helps students explore different career options, and make contacts with alumni working in the public sector.
Albany Law School's Career Center sponsors a series of Career Education Programs including public service related topics such as: “Careers in State Legislative,” "New York State Civil Service Opportunities," "Judicial Clerkships," and Employer Information Sessions featuring, for example, the U.S. Attorney's Office, and state agencies.
For more information, visit www.albanylaw.edu/careers.
American University Washington College of Law
Dedicated public interest career support staff is available.
In addition to individual counseling sessions and workshops for those pursuing internships and post-graduate positions, our 2004-2005 career-related programs included a variety of educational programs such as: Fall and Spring Recruitment Programs, The World of Public Interest Fellowships; Financing Your Public Interest Career; Public Interest Roundtables; Public Interest Law Firm Panel; Politics and Public Interest Panel; Career Day for 1Ls; Preparing for your Summer Internship; Pro Bono Pledge Program; DOJ Information Session; Public Interest Speed Networking Event; D.C. Public Defender Information Session; Preaparing for the Equal Justice Works Career Fair, Preparing for the Greater DC/Baltimore Public Service Career Fair; How to Use the Government Honors Handbook; Working on Capitol Hill; Zubrow Fellowship Information Session, the Presidential Mangement Fellow Information Session; Nuts and Bolts of Judicial Clerkship Application Process; Judicial Clerkship Panel Discussion; Judicial Internship/Externship Panel; How to Secure a Judicial Clerkship for the Upcoming Term; and Conversations about Clerkships Luncheon Series.
Students also attend the Greater Washington DC/Baltimore Public Service Career Fair Consortium.
ASL's Career Services Director, Rose Hurley ( rhurley@asl.edu), maintains an active listing of public interest career opportunities.
Arizona State University Sandra Day O'Connor College of Law
Barry University School of Law
Dedicated Staff is provided for public interest career related assistance.
Counseling and job listings are available through the Career Services Office. Katherine Logue is the Director.
Boston University School of Law
BUSL is a member of the Massachusetts Law School Consortium which organizes two public interest career fairs- one in the fall and another in the spring- devoted exclusively to public interest opportunities.
The Career Development Office offers one-on-one counseling sessions, informational and panel programs, a public interest brown bag lunch series, alumni contacts, alumni mentors and print and online resource materials. Several members of the faculty are also instrumental in guiding students who are interested in pursuing public interest careers.
Brigham Young University J. Reuben Clark Law School
Public Interest/Pro Bono Coordinator, Debbi Myers, myersd@lawgate.byu.edu, (801) 422-1857
Public Interest law counseling: Assistant Dean Mary Hoagland & Director, Beth Hansen, Career_Services@lawgate.byu.edu, (801) 422-3685
California Western School of Law
The Assistant Dean of Career Services and all career advisors at California Western School of Law work individually with students to meet their public interest goals throughout their three years of law school. The Pro Bono Coordinator meets with each student interested in working for public interest organizations through the Pro Bono Program. The Coordinator oversees the Pro Bono Program and tracks the students participating in that program. Each January the Office of Career Services and California Western law students participate in Southern California Public Interest Career Day held at U.C.L.A. Each February the Office of Career Services holds its Pro Bono Fair inviting representatives from over 30 organizations to staff tables at the Fair. Each March the Office of Career Services holds a Pro Bono On Campus Interviewing Program, from which many students obtain summer and fall public interest law clerk positions. California Western School of Law is a member of PSLawNet, Equal Justice Works, and The Peggy Browning Fund.
Campbell University, Norman Adrian Wiggins School of Law
The Career Services Office offers students Public Interest Law support through a variety of resources and programs related public interest careers. The Career Services Office annually subscribes to PSLawNet. The law school is a member of Equal Justice Works. In addition, the Career Services Office assists students by paying the registration fees to attend public interest career fairs including the Midwest Public Interest Career Conference in Chicago. Students also attend the Equal Justice Works Conference and Career Fair.
Case Western Reserve University Law School
Catholic University of America School of Law
Greater Washington D.C. Public Service Job Fair (coordinated with American, George Mason, University of Maryland)
The Catholic University of America, Columbus School of Law (CUA) Externship Fair(This fair occurs twice a year -- in the fall and spring.)
Fall On-Campus Interviews (includes approximately 20 public interest employers)
Speed Networking for Public Interest Employers (held in cooperation with American, George Mason and University of Maryland)
CUA Public Interest Career Week (speaker panels)
CUA Public Interest Networking Reception (CUA alums meet formally and informally with current students interested in pursuing a career in public interest)
CUA Fall and Spring Mock Interview Programs (which includes both government and public service employers)
The National Black Prosecutors Association’s 2005 Conference and Job Fair (formalized component of CUA Fall Recruiting program)
The Hispanic Bar Association of DC Foundation Summer Public Interest Fellowship Program (formalized component of CUA Fall Recruiting program)
New York City Law Department Annual Diversity Fair (formalized component of CUA Fall Recruiting program)
The Equal Professional Opportunity Committee of the Dauphin County Bar Association (Harrisburg, PA) Clerkship Interview Program (formalized component of CUA Fall Recruiting program)
Chapman University School of Law
Chapman University School of Law is a member of the Law School Career Advisors of Southern California--a consortium of ABA approved law schools in Los Angeles, Orange, and San Diego Counties. The consortium sponsors two large events focused on public interest careers they are:
1) Public Interest Career Day. There are generally 200 employers who participate in this event. Many participating employers interview students for summer or fall semester internships with their offices. Additionally, employers are permitted to host an information table. For students who are seeking greater information, there is a series of panels and brown bag lunch discussion tables.
2) Government Career Information Day. This event is organized very similarly to Public Interest Career Day and consists of panels, information tables, an interview component, and a lunch with participating employers. Unlike Public Interest Career Day which features employers from non-profit organizations, government agencies, and the courts, Government Career Day only focuses on legal employment opportunities within the government.
The Career Services Office is pleased to post public interest job openings on its job board. Additionally, the office hosts an annual reception at the beginning of the school year for the Public Law Center to inform students of volunteer opportunities with this organization. The Career Services Office has also arranged off-site visits to the Legal Aid Society of Orange County for students to become aware of opportunities with this organization. Both the Public Law Center and the Legal Aid Society are invited to participate in our annual Bar Day for all students. Finally, the office also organizes public interest career panels, including one panel on drafting a successful fellowship application for our students interested in public interest careers.
The Career Services Department provides information and support to students interested in public service careers.
City University of New York Law at Queens College
The Career Planning Office is focused on providing assistance primarily in the area of public interest law and thus provides individual counseling and assistance to students, resume review, maintains a website that contains mostly information on public interest/pro bono events as well as jobs and internships in the public interest arena. We also maintain a resource library that contains about 75% of materials geared to the public sector. Because CUNY Law School's mission is to train attorneys to do public interest/service law, our on-campus interview program is dedicated to public interest careers. Students can also attend the Public Interest Career Symposium, New York. Two students are provided funding for attending public interest conferences.
Cleveland State University, Cleveland-Marshall College of Law
Students participate in the Midwest Public Interest Recruiting Conference
College of William and Mary, Marshall-Wythe School of Law
Public interest employers were included in our fall and spring on-campus interview programs.
In addition, the Office of Career Services sponsored a class-wide "Exploring Public Service" program for 1Ls, as well as programs for all students on Public Interest and Government Fellowships, Finding and Funding Summer Public Interest and Government Jobs, Legal Aid and Public Defender Careers, and numerous programs on government employment and judicial clerkships. We also included government and public interest attorneys in our panel discussions on substantive practice areas.
The Office also coordinated LRAP awards and summer and post-graduate public service fellowships.
Commonwealth Law School Consortium Public Interest and Government Job Fair
Columbia University School of Law
Columbia's Center for Public Interest Law provides holistic counseling to students from their first year through their post-graduate years. Center staff provide individual counseling as well as speakers, panels and workshops on public interest careers and issues. The Center's philosophy is that there is no one true path for students who want to practice law in the public interest. It works with students who want to enter public interest law immediately after graduation or a clerkship, those who want to work in the corporate sector for a few years while doing pro bono and those who see themselves as combining public interest and law firm work throughout their careers.
Center staff builds strong relationships with students because Columbia's public interest career counseling services are in an office that also is responsible for its Human Rights Internship Program and other summer programs, the pro bono program, and public interest programming. The office is staffed by an Assistant Dean/Director, who was a public interest lawyer for 20 years; an Assistant Director, who practiced civil rights law before coming to Columbia; an Internship and Fellowship Counselor, who has lived and worked abroad most of her career; a Pro Bono Coordinator, who is a public interest activist; and an Administrative Assistant, who also volunteers on behalf of immigrants and others. Their areas of expertise are augumented by Columbia graduates who return to counsel students as well as participate in panels and other programs.
The Center for Public Interest Law invites 10-15 public interest employers to campus throughout the year to interview students for internships and fellowships, including a variety of not-for-profit legal organizations, the U.S. Attorney's Offices in New York, the Manhattan District Attorney's Office and the NYC Law Department. The Office of Career Services also holds a Fall on-campus interview program for 20-25 government and regulatory agency employers.
Other Career Related Services:
- Presentations on Summer Funding Programs
- Public Service Brown Bag Series (15-20 panels organized by issue area)
- 1L Job Strategy Workshop
- 2L Job Strategy Workshop
- Nitty Gritties of the Public Interest Job Search
- Public Interest Lawyering 101 Panel
- How to Interview for Public Interest Job
- Public Interest Mock Interview Program
- Criminal Justice Mock Interview Program
- Debt Management/Satisfactions and Sacrifices Panel
- DOJ Summer/Honors Programs Presentation
- Moving Forward for Public Interest 1Ls
- Overview of Post-Grad Fellowships and Public Interest Jobs
- Presentations on Post-graduation Fellowships (e.g. Fulbright, Skadden, EJW, Human Rights Watch, Cochran Neufeld Scheck)
- Practicing Public Interest Law in the Private Sector
- The Revolving Door Between Public Interest and Corporate Law
- Pro Bono - How to Tell if A Firm Really Means It
- Clerking and the Public Interest
- Opportunities with District Attorneys Offices
- Opportunities with United States Attorneys Offices
- Opportunities with State Attorneys General Offices
- Opportunities with the NYC Law Department
- Careers as a Public Defender
- Careers in Public International Law
- Careers in Domestic Violence Law
- Careers in Civil Rights Law
- Careers in Environmental Justice
Karen Comstock, Assistant Dean for Public Service, is housed in the law school Career Office. She provides individual and group counseling to students on all aspects of the public interest and government job search, and sponsors informational programs and alumni speakers on a wide variety of topics. Typical programs on the following topics are presented each year: advice on conducting a public interest or government job search, interviewing for public interest and government jobs, applying for post-graduate fellowships and other funding sources, and applying for summer public interest grants and other funding sources. Alumni speakers sponsored by the Career Office provide insight and advice regarding their law practice areas, including public defense, prosecution, civil rights work, international human rights, civil legal services, federal and state government work, and public policy work. Each year prominent alumni are featured as part of our Public Interest Speaker Series.
Cornell Law School students interview with public service employers both on campus and at national public interest career fairs and conferences, including the National Association for Public Interest Law Career Fair and Conference in October in Washington, D.C. and the Public Interest Public Service Legal Career Symposium in February in New York City. The Career Office library contains a myriad of resources for students seeking public sector work. The Career Office subscribes to a national public interest legal job search web site, pslawnet.org, and purchases specialty public interest job search guides for interested students. Finally, the Career Office publishes information on Cornell-specific resources for students, including information about alumni public interest career mentors.
Creighton University School of Law
DePaul University College of Law
The Career Services office have two staff members dedicated to public interest career services. One full time, and one student associate. For more details, please visit http://www.law.depaul.edu/career%5Fservices/students/public_interest.asp.
Drake University School of Law
The new Director and Assistant Director were not hired until after the 2005 academic year. However, during 2004-2005, students were provided with individual counseling, public interest employer panels, and group meetings regarding funding opportunities for summer. In addition, students had access to a full resource library of public interest opportunties. Students also attended off-campus public interest job fairs.
Drexel University College of Law
Drexel has a career counselor to provide advice for students considering a career path in public interest law.
Duke Law School has a rich array of services for students interested in pursuing careers in the non-profit and government sectors. The services are provided by the Career and Professional Development Center, and also by the Office of Public Interest & Pro Bono. Services include:
- individual counseling based on the student's geographic preferences, issue area of interest, and preference for litigation, policy or legislation, among other criteria
- programming to address the more common areas of public interest and government employment
- peer-to-peer counseling from their fellow students who have already had summer work experience, most notably during “Table Talk” on Public Interest Summer Employment Recognition day, and other lunch and breakfast events
- presentations by public interest alumni, including at the overnight Public Interest Retreat and also at lunch programs
- recognition of the services of those students doing summer public sector work, including being honored at a breakfast and having their names and places of employment publicized that day
- books and other resources located in the two departments, and guidance on how to use them
- web-based resources and training on how to use them
- summer grant money so that students can work in public sector jobs that cannot afford to pay them
- a Loan Repayment Assistance Program to assist students in being able to afford public sector jobs
- a reception at the Equal Justice Works job fair for attending students and DC alumni, and a law school program in advance of the job fair explaining why students should attend
- general orientation programs on public interest employment and programs on summer fellowships and post-graduate fellowships
- guidance in selection of their pro bono work and courses such that it will contribute to the public interest job search
- listservs for those students who want fast and unabridged information on jobs, conferences, scholarships
Duquesne University School of Law
The Career Services Office regularly cosponsors programs with PILA.
Emory University School of Law
The school offers a variety of support services including:
- Public Interest Job Search Program (for 2Ls/3Ls in September; for 1Ls in November) -- Introduces students to the public interest job search process, including an explanation of the wide selection of resources at the Career Services Office. Students also learn about job search strategies, summer job ideas, funding, networking, and much more. This program is available only to Emory Law School students
- Extensive public interest careers materials available
- Staff support provided to EPIC – Emory Public Interest Committee
- Co-sponsor (with EPIC) Public Interest Mentor Program
- Facilitate students' participation in federal work study program
- Post public sector job listings on-line for students and alumni
-
Georgia Law School Consortium Public Sector Career Fair -- This career fair is geared specifically towards students searching for public interest jobs. It is co-sponsored by the Emory Public Interest Committee (EPIC) and three other Georgia law schools. The career fair generally takes place in February.
- individual consultations
- workshops
- career counseling
- e-mail and job board postings
- The law school participates in the annual Equal Justice Works career fair/conference, the Florida Prosecutors' Minority Job Fair, and the Florida Public Defender Association Job Fair.
- Individual job search counseling
- Handouts written for students seeking public interest jobs
- Alumni contacts
- Information about funding sources
- The Northeast Law Consortium's Washington DC Off campus job fair.
- Presentations on public interest career oppotunities.
- Numerous public interest job postings.
- NW public service job fair.
- Spring Career Fest - 70% of participating employers were public interest.
- Lunch with a Lawyer series -- public interest attorneys discuss the public interest field; DC Networking Opportunities event; Finding Public Interest Opportunities program; the School also provided administrative support to the summer public interest internship program.
- Midwestern Public Interest Law Conference
- Individual public interest job search counseling for students and alumni
- Public interest resources and career planning materials available
- Public interest job postings
- Public interest programming (including speakers, panels, strategy information, etc)
- Public interest publications created by the Career Services Office
- Pro Bono Listserv
- Northwest Consortium Public Interest Career Fair ( http://www.lclark.edu/org/pifair/)
- Individualized and extensive public interest counseling.
- Public interest resource research assistance.
- Posts and maintains a bulletin board solely focused on public interest.
- Sponsor attendance to Equal Justice Works Career Fair in Washington, D.C., Midwest Public Interest Career Conference and Gateway to Diversity (in conjunction with the Indiana Supreme Court).
- Provide support to on-campus, student-run public interest groups.
- Announce and support the majority of nationwide public interest related job fairs, retreats, seminars and programs.
- Organize fall public interest table talk panel/discussion (OCI supplement).
- Provide spring on-campus interviewing for public interest and government employers.
- Professional Development Day (public interest alumni networking).
- Integrate public interest/public sector in legal career panels.
- Co-sponsor the Midwest Public Interest Legal Career Conference.
- Host and cosponsor public interest career seminars and workshops.
- Arrange presentations by local public interest attorneys and organizations.
- Participate in regional public interest job fairs and retreats.
- Organize judicial clerkship programming.
- Organize and provide practice interview programs.
- Career Services Web Page w/portion dedicated to public interest sites (links to many public interest web pages).
- Manage and provide a public interest job bank.
- Manage and provide public interest data sheets on numerous public entities (federal, state and local government, legal aid, non-profits, etc).
- Provide resource center with numerous library resources dedicated to public interest topics.
- Member of several major public interest organizations (e.g. NALP, PSLawNet, Equal Justice Works) and the Chicago Consortium of Law Schools.
- Pro Bono Program Coordinator
- Government/Public Interest Job Fair (annually in February)
- Public Service Fellows IOTA Funds Program (spring) with annual pamphlet information
- Public Service Fellows Recognition Luncheon (fall)
- Career consultations relative to public interest areas and programs inclusive of our Public Interest Fellowship; and
- Clinical Seminars which take place exclusively in governmental, public sector or not-for-profit entities;
- The Bliss Institute of The University of Akron which assists in the placement of students in government, interest group and lobbying organizations.
- First Monday Program: This program is generally run by the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers student group. The Career Planning & Placement Office has, in the past, participated in this public interest-based program.
- The University of Akron School of Law Annual Government Information Fair includes the participation of Community Legal Aid, the local Public Defender’s Office, etc.
- Students attending the Midwest Public Interest Career Conference had the opportunity to interview with over 50 public service agencies and government employers. Registration fees for this conference are paid by the Law School.
- Individual counseling with a designated public interest counselor
- Resource Center with a wide variety of public interest publications; in addition, all students receive an individual copy of Serving the Public: A Job Search Guide
- Membership in and access to on-line job postings and other information available by subscription in PSLawNet, the Government Honors & Internship Handbook, and Opportunities in Public Affairs
- Institutional membership in Equal Justice Works, providing access to information and programs such as the Equal Justice Works Fellowships, Equal Justice Works Summer Corps, and the Equal Justice Works Annual Conference and Career Fair
- Registration for and travel grants to the Equal Justice Works Annual Conference and Career Fair
- Coordination of the Midwest Public Interest Law Career Conference and the Public Interest Employers Reception in conjunction with the Chicago Area Law School Consortium
- Promotion of and participation in several other public service job fairs, including The National Black Prosecutors Association Job Fair, Cook County State's Attorney's Office Prosecutorial Opportunities Symposium, City of Chicago Legal Job Fair, and The Chicago Bar Association Young Lawyers Section Pro Bono and Community Service Volunteer Fair
- Alumni Public Interest Mentors Network
- Fellowship application assistance
- Various public interest programs during the academic year
- Assistance to and coordination with the Public Interest Law Society and the Chicago Law Foundation, including the annual PILS Public Service Employers Networking Reception
- Debt management and financial planning assistance
- Judicial Clerkship Luncheon
- Volunteer Opportunities Luncheon
- Fellowship Program
- Immigration Seminar for Su Casa volunteers
- Midwest Public Interest Job Fair
- Cook County Prosecutorial Symposium
- Equal Justice Works
- Public Interest Career Forum - Over 50 public employers host information tables and conduct job interviews.
- Visiting Career Consultant - Alumni in various fields, including public interest, share their employment experiences with students.
- Equal Justice Works Membership – The School of Law pays annual membership dues to Equal Justice Works so its students can partake in EJW events and initiatives to learn more about public service career opportunities.
Faulkner University Thomas Goode Jones School of Law
The Career Services Office provides specialized counseling and programming for students considering public interest careers. The Office also maintains an active list of public interest career opportunities and posts public interest job openings. The Office also provides students with access to multiple online and paper resources to assist public interest job seekers.
Florida A&M University College of Law
No one counselor is assigned to this function. However, most public interest counseling is handled by the Director of Center for Professional Development.
The Center for Professional Development sponsored a Dine & Discover Career Series that included programs on Equal Justice Works Post-graduate fellowships and Public Interest Law Careers featuring public interest lawyers.
Florida International University College of Law
The Office of Career Planning and Placement held its first annual Public Interest Career Fair. Representatives from a number of public interest organizations were invited to campus to discuss their organizations and the available career opportunities.
Florida State University College of Law
The Placement Office services include:
Fordham University School of Law
Fordham participates in the annual Public Interest Legal Career Symposim which is hosted at NYU Law School in February. Over 250 Fordham students registered for this career fair in 2004-2005.
The Public Interest Resource Center and the Career Planning Center at Fordham - often with co-sponsorship with one or more public interest student organizations - plan and host over 50 public interest career-related programs every academic year. Check the PIRC's on-line calendar of events for more detailed information about these events. http://law.fordham.edu/ihtml/pirc-2calendarview.ihtml?id=284
Both the Assistant Dean for Career Services, Mary Sheffer and the Interim Director of the Social Justice Institute, Megan DeVorsey work together to provide career counseling and support to students exploring Public Interest careers.
George Mason University School of Law
George Washington University Law School
The Career Development Office (CDO) coordinates a number of career-related services for students exploring public interest: interview programs (including an interview program held every February that is jointly sponsored by George Washington and Georgetown law schools); job-related announcements through the Public Interest listserv, regular columns in the CDO's newsletter, and eAttorney job postings; programming featuring public interest practitioners; and individual counseling. Jim Lovelace, who is the CDO's Assistant Director, also functions as the Public Interest Liaison.
Georgetown University Law Center
The Office of Public Interest and Community Service (OPICS) provides career advising for students and alumni pursuing public interest or government careers. OPICS has three public interest counselors who offer individual counseling services. The office also houses a comprehensive public interest resource library and conducts dozens of career-related workshops each year, including an alumni network program, a brown-bag luncheon series highlighting different public interest careers, resume and interviewing workshops, fellowship information sessions, a summer funding workshop, an information session on the Loan Repayment Assistance Program, and a "students helping students" information fair.
The Georgetown/George Washington annual Public Interest and Government Interview program was held in February 2005. Co-sponspored by Georgetown and George Washington law schools, the program brings approximately 100 nonprofit organizations and government agencies together to interview students for summer internships or post-graduate jobs.
In September 2004, we conducted the annual Government Interview Program that brings 30-35 government agencies to campus to interview upperclass students for paid summer or post-graduate positions.
For more information, see www.law.georgetown.edu/opics
Georgia State University College of Law
Golden Gate University School of Law
The Law Career Services Office (LCS) maintains a resource center with current information about public interest careers such as employment listings (including on-line listings), fellowship opportunities, and pro bono opportunities. LCS hosts networking events that bring public interest attorneys to campus to meet students and talk about public interest careers and topics. LCS conducts informational sessions on various topics such as funding options for summer public interest employment. LCS offers an extensive resume review service, as well as interviewing and networking skills workshops, to help students obtain the internship or job they desire. LCS offers individualized counseling to students interested in public interest careers and pro bono opportunities.
Golden Gate is a member of PSLawNet, a global network of more than 120 law schools and 10,000 public service organizations working to foster law student community service and encourage all future lawyers to incorporate public service into their careers. PSLawNet offers comprehensive, current information on a broad range of pro bono and public service opportunities, as well as resources and expertise.
Golden Gate participates in the annual Northern California Public Interest/Public Sector Legal Career Day and sponsors students to attend the annual Equal Justice Works Career Fair.
Gonzaga University School of Law
Career Related Services:
Hamline University School of Law
Each year the four local law schools collaborate to host a fair highlighting public interest careers and employers.
Individual counseling, mock interviewing, resume review
Public sector employers participate in both the spring and fall On-Campus Interview programs.
The Bernard Koteen Office of Public Interest Advising (OPIA), an independent career services office for students and alums interested in public service, provides a wide array of services, including:
Individual advising sessions: Every HLS student is encouraged to sit down for 45 minutes to an hour with one of OPIA’s Attorney Advisers or Fellowships Director. OPIA conducts approximately 1200 individual advising sessions per year. Some students come in for multiple advising sessions. The Advisers on staff also review and critique resumes and cover letters and conduct mock interviews.
Our advising staff includes an advisor who focuses exclusively on fellowships. As a result, students and graduates get intensive help identifying the right fellowships to help them land the job of their dreams, preparing their essays and getting ready for their interviews.
Our 1L Advising Initiative, administered jointly by OPIA and the Office of Career Services, is designed to provide individual advising for every 1L during the months of November and December, specifically focused on helping students get oriented and comfortable with the 1L job search process. To further that end, we have a set of self-evaluation materials to help begin the job search process, individual advisors assigned to every student to act as a gateway for career issues during the first year, a schedule of career programs designed specifically for the needs of 1Ls, and practice interviewing sessions with our alumni and other lawyers.
Our advising staff is supplemented by the Visiting Wasserstein Public Interest Fellows Program. Through this program 8 to 16 outstanding public interest lawyers, who apply to participate, come to campus each year to counsel students one on one. See http://www.law.harvard.edu/students/opia/details.php?id=wasserstein
Programming: OPIA offers a wide variety of panels designed to introduce students to different types of public interest opportunities and provide them with networking with wonderful public interest lawyers. These panels include experienced attorneys from around the globe. OPIA also offers workshops on job search skills geared to the specific demands of the public interest market, as well as events featuring faculty with public interest experience. This past year we sponsored or co-sponsored more than 60 events.
Publications: OPIA has authored several books about public service including: I. Materials we share with others (See http://www.law.harvard.edu/students/opia/details.php?id=section&toc=Publications)
The Public Interest Job Search Guide, Volume I (USA - 400 plus pages) and Volume II (International - 200-plus pages)(updated annually) – largely considered the leading print resource on public interest law.
Alumni In Action, Volumes I and II
And numerous specialty guides, including:
Campaign Guide
Capitol Hill Guide
Children’s Rights Guide
Civil Rights/Civil Liberties Guide
Fast Track to a U.S. Attorney’s Office
Careers in Foundations for Lawyers
Careers in Health Law
How to Make the Most of Your Summer Job
Immigration Guide
Legal Services Guide
LGBT Guide
National Security Guide
OPIA’s Guides to Cheap Living
OPIA’s Guide to Conservative/Libertarian Public Service
Pro Bono Guide for Law Students: Evaluating Pro Bono Work in a Law Firm Practice
Private Public Interest and Plaintiff's Firm Guide
Sizing up the Prosecution
Trail Guide to Environmental Legal Careers
Women’s Rights Guide
Public Defender Programs
A Day in the Life of Outstanding Public Interest Lawyers
United Nations Guide
II. Materials we use just for HLS Students
Insider’s Guide to DOJ
Insider’s Guide to Fellowships
Handbook of Public Service Resources for HLS Students
International Public Service Resources for HLS
2L/3L Contact list – lists 2Ls and 3Ls who volunteer to speak to other students about their public service experiences before and during law school.
Resource Center: We operate a vast library of books and directories of public interest and government employers around the world.
On-line resources: Online job postings, including summer internships; online Alumni Mentor Database; online summer evaluations from students who worked for public service employers over the summer; and online bibliography.
Administering supplemental funding sources: OPIA augments the main summer funding program by working with Alumni Associations to provide supplemental summer funding. OPIA also administers several fellowships designed as salary supplements for HLS 3Ls or recent graduates entering public service.
Employer sessions: OPIA hosts employer interviews and information sessions. OPIA works with the Massachusetts Consortium of Law Schools to send students to two annual Public Interest and Government Job Fairs. OPIA also organizes a Student-to-Student Job Fair through which students disseminate information about their summer public interest and government employers to other students.
HLS belongs to the MA Consortium of Law Schools, which comprises career services professionals from the seven accredited MA law schools: HLS, Northeastern, B.U., B.C., Suffolk, New England, and Western New England. Every year, the Consortium sponsors two Public Interest and Government interviewing career fairs. The first fair is held in October and is for 2Ls and 3Ls only. The second fair is in January and includes 1Ls.
In addition to the staff at OPIA, two full-time staff in the Student Financial Services office run the Summer Public Interest Funding Program and the Low Income Protection Plan and provide financial counseling for those considering public service work.
Hofstra University School of Law
The Director of Public Sector Career Planning assists students and alumni who are interested in working for government agencies or for organizations that assist the under-served populations in our society.
Hofstra's Office of Career Services also sponsors public interest programming and panels throughout the school year.
Hofstra is a member of a consortium of twenty law schools in New York, New Jersey, Connecticut and Pennsylvania that sponsor the Annual Public Interest Career Reception. This Reception was established to provide students with information about the public sector market and the opportunity to meet attorneys and other students with similar interests. The reception enables students to make contacts and talk with public interest practitioners about their work and experiences. Participating students gain a greater understanding of the range of public interest work.
Hofstra also annually funds several students' attendance at the Annual Peggy Browning Fund's National Workers' Rights Conference for Law Students. The conference is geared toward students interested in public sector labor law, particularly workers' rights issues. This conference is held every October at the George Meany Center for Labor Studies in Silver Spring, Maryland. The conference includes a networking reception, panel discussions, a keynote address and four interactive workshops.
Hofstra also participates in the Annual Public Interest Legal Career Fair. This annual program is usually held on a Thursday and Friday in February at the New York University School of Law. The Fair is co-sponsored by schools in New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut. The Fair gives prospective employers the opportunity to meet with current students and allows students to gain greater perspectives on various aspects of public interest law.
Howard University School of Law
The Director of the Equal Justice Program serves as a public interest counselor for the law students (Nkechi Taifa, 202/ 806-8119), in addition to the Director of Career Services (Luellen Conti, 202/806-8135).
Illinois Institute of Technology: Chicago-Kent College of Law
The Career Services Office has a dedicated staff person who works with students in the development of their careers in the public interest and government employment sector. Opportunities offered to students include: individual counseling for a career in public interest law; programs on opportunities in government and public interest law; access to PSLAWNET, a source to find public interest and fellowship information; participation in the Midwest Public Interest Law Conference, where employers interview students seeking positions in public interest law; Fellowship application and assistance; the opportunity to participate in the annual Equal Justice Works Career Fair held in Washington D.C. as Chicago-Kent College of Law is a member school; and Alumni Networking Resources.
In addition, students who enroll in the Public Interest Certificate, are required to develop a Public Interest Career Plan to assess their interests, as well as the skills necessary to achieve their career goals.
Michelle Mohr Vodenik
Career Services Office
312.906.5222
mvodenik@kentlaw.eduIndiana University School of Law - Bloomington
Career Related Services:
Indiana University School of Law - Indianapolis
Inter American University of Puerto Rico: Inter American University of Puerto Rico School of Law
John Marshall Law School – Atlanta
Lewis & Clark College School of Law
Career Related Services:
Liberty University School of Law
The Center for Career & Professional Development (CCPD) actively encourages students to engage in pro bono and community service and to consider positions and careers in public service. The law school subscribes to PSLawNet, which offers comprehensive current information on a wide range of pro bono and public service opportunities.
Louisiana State University Paul M. Hebert Law Center
We sent a staff member to the Equal Justice Works job fair and paid for the registration fee for both the staff member and students (above the number of students included in our membership).
We hosted a Financing Your Public Interest Career program.
Loyola Law School: Loyola Law School, Los Angeles
Students receive extensive counseling in regards to applying for public interest post-graduate fellowships and Equal Justice Works grants. Students also have full access to materials in the Public Interest Law Department such as PIES (Public Interest Employment Service) listings that are received monthly. The Career Services office also provides numerous workshops on interviewing techniques as well as resume preparation.
Additional opportunities:
Annual UCLA Public Interest Career Day -- The Public Interest Law Department is an active participant in this career fair. Over 100 interviews are granted to Loyola Law School students to interview at this event with various public interest agencies.
Annual Government Careers Information Day
The Public Interest Fair, held every November, involves over fifty public interest organizations who visit the campus and speak with students on a one-on-one basis regarding employment, volunteering, and summer placement.
Loyola University Chicago: Loyola University Chicago School of Law
The Office of Career Services sponsors a variety of programs on public service career-related topics. The programs include programming for public service job searches for returning students, public service job programs for first-year students, specific informational programming on government agencies and public service organizations, funding opportunities, fellowship opportunities, and careers in public service law panels in affiliation with PILS and other student and alumni organizations. In addition, Loyola sponsors the ‘Meet the Public Service Employers’ Program and the Midwest Public Interest Law Career Conference in conjunction with the other Chicago area law schools, where students can meet representatives from public service organizations.
Loyola University New Orleans: Loyola University New Orleans School of Law
Louisiana Small Firm & Public Interest Job Fair
Legal Services Directors Meeting held in spring to recruit and inform students about summer public interest opportunities.
Prepared and updated public interest section of the Office of Career Services Student Handbook. Planned public interest seminars, workshops, and guest speakers. Matched students with public interest mentors. Arranged for site visits to introduce students to public interest employers. Helped arrange volunteer summer and school-year internships for students.
Marquette University Law School
The Career Planning Center has an extensive collection of materials to support students interested in public service, including guides for public interest fellowships. A Public Interest Career Fair will be held in the spring semester to encourage students to explore careers in public service, particularly in the Milwaukee and Chicago areas.
Mercer University School of Law
Michigan State University College of Law
Career services office is available to assist public interest-minded students.
We brought in speakers/attorneys who work for legal aids and for non-profits to discuss their careers and give advice/strategies to enter these arenas.
Mississippi College: Mississippi College School of Law
New England School of Law: New England School of Law
Career Services Office
cso@admin.nesl.eduNew York Law School: New York Law School
New York Law School's Office of Career Services offers a wide variety of activities, events, and programs to provide support to students interested in public interest. Regularly offered programs include such titles as: Financing a public interest career; How to navigate the Equal Justice Works Career Fair; Government and public interest practice options; Government honors programs; Interviewing at the District Attorney’s office; Maximizing your chances at the Public Interest career fair at NYU; Post-graduate public interest fellowships; and Clerkships. Training sessions are held for PS LawNet/Public Interest job searching, and Lexis searching for opportunities with government agencies and public interest organizations.
The Office of Career Services also has a designated Public Interest Advisor, an alumni mentoring program that includes alumni participants currently practicing within the public sector, and networking luncheons highlighting alumnae who work in various divisions of the public sector. The Office of Career Services also has a Resource Center that contains public interest career and informational resources.
New York University: New York University School of Law
Public Interest Law Center
212.998.6686
pilc.info@nyu.eduNorth Carolina Central University School of Law
The Pro Bono Program is a resource for students seeking counsel on careers in public interest law. We maintain ongoing relationships with more than twenty legal services and public interest law organizations in the area and across the state and regularly publicize their needs for student volunteers and summer interns via electronic bulletin boards and e-mail alerts. The Pro Bono Coordinator provides individual counseling to students seeking public interest law summer internships.
Other Career Related Services:
Presentations by a representative from the state loan repayment assistance program, NC LEAF (Legal Education Assistance Foundation) and by a representative from the NC state government summer internship program.
Northeastern University: Northeastern University School of Law
The Office of Career Services offers a "core curriculum" of public interest career programs including the Public Interest Job Search Process, Fellowship Information Session and Searching for Positions in Government. In addition, the office frequently offers a variety of special programs focusing on public interest topics including labor and employment law, immigration, child advocacy, international human rights, criminal defense, environmental law and public interest in the private sector. The Office also holds fellowship programs at which program officers from national public interest fellowship programs speak as well as federal government honors program information sessions.
In addition to career services programs, the office has in-house publications related to searching for public interest/government positions which can be found on the career services website under "office publications" at http://www.slaw.neu.edu/career/students2.html.
The Office of Cooperative Legal Education also conducts an annual informational session dealing exclusively with special summer public interest fellowship programs, and provides individual counseling to students applying for such fellowships. The Office further provides one on one counseling services to students regarding the public interest legal internship opportunities available through the required Cooperative Legal Education Program.
Two informational sessions rgarding the law school's loan relief assistance program are also conducted annually.
The Massachusetts Law School Consortium hosts two Government/Public Interest Recruitment Programs each year in the fall and winter. Students from the seven ABA-accredited Massachusetts law schools interview with employers for summer and post-graduate public service positions. See http://www.maconsortium.org/
Northern Illinois University: Northern Illinois University College of Law
The Office of Career Opportunities and Development provides information and programs for students interested in public interest careers.
NIU College of Law is a member of the Chicago Area Law School Consortium. The Consortium presents several interview programs or job forums throughout the school year. Several of these focus on public interest careers.
Northern Kentucky University Salmon P. Chase College of Law
Northwestern University: Northwestern University School of Law
The Center for Career Strategy and Advancement has an experienced Public Interest Advisor who works with students in all aspects of their public interest job searches. The Public Interest Advisor spent many years practicing as a public interest lawyer prior to joining the law school. In addition to individual counseling and assistance, the Public Interest Advisor offers a wide variety of presentations on public interest law throughout the year. Topics include applying for post-graduate public interest fellowships, the public interest job search, working as a government lawyer, and relationships between public interest lawyers and pro bono attorneys in firms. The Public Interest Advisor also prepares written information for public interest students, including a fellowship handbook, websites for public interest job searches, and information on financing a summer public interest job.
The Career Center is one of the co-sponsors of Public Interest Law Week, a week in the fall term devoted to public interest programming. The Public Interest Advisor participates in the planning of Public Interest Week with the Public Interest Law Group, a student group devoted to public interest issues. The Career Center maintains a database of available public interest jobs, extensive files on public interest employers across the country, files on post-graduate and summer fellowship opportunities, and a wide variety of books and other sources on public interest employers.
The law school hosts the annual Midwest Public Interest Career Conference, a job fair for hundreds of students at law schools across the Midwest.
Notre Dame: Notre Dame Law School
Services
For more information, contact Alexandria Lewis, Public Interest Career Counselor, 574/631-7542 or Lewis.85@nd.edu.
Nova Southeastern University: Shepard Broad Law Center
Public Interest Career Counseling is provided by Sharon Booth, Esq., Director of Public Interest Programs and Disability Services.
During Public Interest Day, which is held each February, approximately 50 non-profit, government and judicial organizations visit the law school to educate students about public interest law and recruit them for summer internships.
Lunch and Learn/Career Cafe Lecture Series, which is held every week during the academic year, includes topics related to public interest law.
Ohio Northern Claude W. Pettit College of Law
Ohio State University Michael E. Moritz College of Law
The Moritz College has a Director of Public Service and Public Interest Programs, (housed in the Career Services Office) as well as a faculty public interest liaison, who serves as advisor to related student groups. All career counselors are kept up to date on public interest opportunities and counsel in that area, while the Director focuses on direct legal service placements, government programs and entry level hiring, post-graduate fellowships and judicial clerkships, as well as serving as the Loan Repayment Assistance Program Coordinator. The Career Service Office subscribes to PSLAWNET, the Government Honors & Internship Handbook, and a variety of other online and print resources, and pays the registration fees for interested students to attend off-campus public interest career fairs such as the Equal Justice Works Conference and Career Fair in Washington DC, and the Midwest Public Interest Law Career Conference in Chicago, to name a few. Some travel reimbursement has been available for attending interviews and career fairs out of state, and will be reviewed annually to see if funds are still available. Public Interest Opportunity Forum held annually on-campus in early spring for all students.
Oklahoma City University: Oklahoma City University School of Law
The Professional Career Development Center collects and disseminates information regarding employment opportunities and assists students and graduates with the development of strategies to secure employment. Services provided include resource materials, general counseling and on-campus interviewing opportunities, participation and sponsorship of specialized job fairs, mentor programs, individualized public interest career counseling and public interest panels or networking events.
The office funds annual memberships to NALP, PSLawNet, and Equal Justice Works.
The Center provided public interest counseling and resources to students and alumni, and organized public interest career events for students.
Career fairs in which students attend include the following:
The Equal Justice Works Career Fair (www.equaljusticeworks.org/careerfair);
The NYU Public Interest Legal Career Symposium and Career Fair (https://its.law.nyu.edu/pilc/lcfs/);
The Northeast Consortium Job Fair in Washington, D.C. http://www.nalp.org/content/index.php?pid=98
Pennsylvania State University The Dickinson School of Law
The Career Services Office serves as a resource center for students of DSL. The Career Services Office public interest website http://www.dsl.psu.edu/career/publicinterest.cfm provides links to public interest opportunities. Career Services provides a number of resources specifically geared toward public interest career opportunities and funding including books, binders and video tapes.
The Career Services Office and the Public Interest Office participate in the Equal Justice Works Career Fair as well as the Consortium of Greater Philadelphia Area Law Schools Public Interest / Public Service Career Fair.
The Public Interest Office updated the “Guide to Public Interest Opportunities” annually, provides counseling and programming geared towards public interest careers. Additionally, the Law School provides access to PSLawNet.
Pepperdine University: Odell McConnell Law Center
Students receive extensive counseling with respect to potential Public Interest opportunities and are provided information on summer funding sources and on possible fellowships and Equal Justice Works grants. More students participated in UCLA's Public Interest Career Day than ever before, with an increasing number of students receiving job offers in public service, community and human rights related work. The Career Development Office also encourages students to attend out of area Job Fairs focused on Public Interest opportunities.
Pepperdine participates in the yearly UCLA Public Interest Career Day held in February. More than 100 students registered for the event this year.
The school also participates in Loyola's Government Career Day held in February.
Pontifical Catholic University of Puerto Rico
Quinnipiac University School of Law
Promote and publicize grant and fellowship opportunities through Career Services Office newsletters and postings; Organize, support and promote student and attorney led panel discussions on public service careers, featuring state attorneys general,public defenders, and prosecutors; Coordinate and publicize Information Sessions with attorneys working for federal and state governmental agencies and military; Actively manage and expand Sappern Fellowship program providing students with the opportunity to assist individuals in the local family court with temporary restraining orders and pro se divorces; Support and encourage attendance at annual NYU Public Interest Legal Career Fair
Regent University: School of Law
These services are included within the general Career Services Office.
Roger Williams University: Ralph R. Papitto School of Law
The Feinstein Institute hosts a public interest speakers series each year with at least twelve events. Speakers include national, state and local public interest attorneys and leaders. Students also speak on panels about their summer public interest experiences. The office of Career Services also hosts brown bags and panel discussions throughout the academic year; at least one program each semester is dedicated to public interest employment opportunities. Finally, students have the opportunity to participate in the Equal Justice Works Job Fair.
Other Public Interest Job Fairs & Networking Opportunities include:
New York University School of Law Public Interest Job Fair (February)
NELLI's Philadelphia Job Fair (September)
The Rhode Island State Government Internship Program: Each fall, 1L and 2L students are invited to interview on-campus with the RI State Government Internship Program for both summer and academic-year internships. All students, but particularly 1L students, are strongly encouraged to participate n this program to gain practical experience, explore their interests, and make connections in the legal community.
Legal Career Options Day (November): co-sponsored with the Rhode Island Bar Association, this event is held each November and features networking opportunities with over sixty attorneys representing legal careers in the following areas: academic, alternative careers, corporate, government/public interest, judiciary, and law firms.
Rutgers The State University of New Jersey, Center for Law and Justice (Newark)
NYU Public Interest and Public Service Legal Career Symposium
Rutgers: The State University of New Jersey School of Law, Camden
The Assistant Dean for Pro Bono and Public Interest Programs provides public interest career counseling, as do other members of the Office of Career Services staff. They provide careful guidance for students applying for public interest fellowships.
Rutgers also encourages and supports students' attendance at the Equal Justice Works Career Fair, and other public interest job fairs.
With the other area law schools, the Law School sponsors a Public Interest Public Service (PIPS) Job Fair each year in Philadelphia.
Saint John's University School of Law
Saint Louis University: Saint Louis University School of Law
Each Fall the law school hosts a Public Interest Law Career Fair wherein table top and individual interviews are conducted. In both the Fall and Spring Semesters, the school hosts various public interst employers to interview its students. Employers participating include, but are not limited to Legal Services, Habitat for Humanity, as well as both federal and state public defender's offices.
Other Career Related Services include:
The school participates in various public interest career fairs across the country, including but not limited to the Equal Justice Works Conference each fall. The law school typically pays the registration fees of these career fairs. The school also has funding to help defray the students' travel costs to attend these events.
The Office of Career Services and the Public Interest Law Group also sponsors numerous programs where public interest attorneys speak to students about their careers. Each year, both host Public Interest Career Night where dozens of employers talk to students on an informal basis about public interest opportunities. Career Services also provides one-on-one assistance for students applying for public interest jobs.
Saint Mary’s University of San Antonio: St. Mary’s University of San Antonio School of Law
Joaquin Amaya Jr.
Director, Public Interest Law Program
210.431.5765
jamaya@stmarytx.eduSaint Thomas University: St. Thomas University School of Law (FL)
Services include:
Samford University: Cumberland School of Law
The Office of Career Services offers information on public interest opportunities, and the PILO organization is well-informed and interacts with students concerning opportunities.
Santa Clara University: Santa Clara University School of Law
Public Interest Law Career Services (PILCS) is an organization run by Santa Clara Law students that is dedicated to helping students and graduates of SCU obtain legal employment and pro bono volunteer opportunities in the public interest and social justice fields. PILCS provides resources and counseling for job searches, internships, fellowships and volunteer positions in public interest related fields.
Northern California Public Interest/Public Sector Legal Careers Day
Seattle University: Seattle University School of Law
Pacific Northwest Public Interest Career Fair: Offers myriad opportunities for students, alumni, government agencies, public interest and public service employers.
Northwest Public Service Fair
Seton Hall University: Seton Hall University School of Law
Center for Social Justice
For more information, contact Professor Fisher.
Pro Bono Service Program
For more information, contact Professor Ross.
South Texas College: South Texas College of Law
All Public Interest Career support is coordinated through the Career Resources Center, under the direction of Assistant Dean Reginald Green. Typical programs include public interest job fairs as well as individual student counseling.
Southern Illinois University School of Law
Southern Methodist University Dedman School of Law
Southern University Law Center
Southwestern University: Southwestern Law School
The Career Services Office publishes and updates a "Guide to Public Interest Opportunities in California" each year. Additionally, workshops were offered on obtaining positions in the public interest. Individual counseling sessions are also available to discuss careers in public interest law. The Career Services Office Library also includes a wide variety of materials to assist students in evaluating and obtaining public interest careers.
In conjunction with other area law schools, Southwestern sponsored Public Interest Career Day and Government Career Day. Each event contained a large networking and interviewing component.
Southwestern hosted its own Public Interest Employer Fair in conjuction with Southwestern's Public Interest Law Week.
The Levin Center staff provides career counseling for summer and permanent employment, assistance with fellowship applications, faculty, alumni and student mentoring programs, networking events, as well as informational workshops and public interest panels.
Stetson University: Stetson University College of Law
The Career Services Office has several directories and publications available in the office that can help guide students in their search for public service employment. Public interest careers are featured along with regular careers. Our Director of Career Development, Catherine Fitch, serves as one of our EJW (Equal Justice Works) advisors. Each year she attends the Equal Justice Works Conference and supports students who attend the Equal Justice Works Career Fair.
The Office of Student Life and Director of Career Development work individually with students who have specific public interest goals. Through their bar association and NALP contacts, they are able to facilitate almost every request.
http://www.law.stetson.edu/Career
All of the counselors in the Career Development Office work with students to educate them regarding public interest careers and opportunities. Counselors make it a point to introduce public interest opportunities to ILs in their initial meetings with them in each spring. Throughout the year, the Office runs speaker series and brown-bag lunches with attorneys and alumni working in various public interest and public service jobs. A section of the CDO Library is dedicated to public interest materials and resources. In addition, in 2004-2005, there was a program regarding How to Write a Fellowship Application, in order to help make our students as competitive as possible for the opportunities that are available.
Students also participate in the Government & Public Interest Career Fair, www.maconsortium.org
Syracuse University: College of Law
Syracuse has a public interest career counselor, Steven Coker (sdcoker@law.syr.edu).
Syracuse subscribes to PSLawNet (Public Service Law Network Worldwide) to which all students have access. Syracuse also belongs to Equal Justice Works and sends students to the annual Career Fair in Washington, D.C. Syracuse also sends students to the Public Interest Public Service Legal Career Symposium. The Career Services Office also has a number of books that list various public interest opportunities, and one person in that office is designated as the public interest career counselor.
For more information, http://www.law.syr.edu/careerservices/about.asp.
Temple University: James E. Beasley School of Law
Prior to the Spring of 2005, Temple did not have a staff member in the Office of Career Planning solely or primarily dedicated to public interest. Public interest assistance was primarily located in the Office of Public Interest Programs. Temple decided in early 2005 to restructure its public interest resources and hire a Director of Public Interest Programs (the Director) to work in the office of Career Planning and the Office of Public Interest Programs was closed. The Director is responsible for all career services for public interest as well as coordinating the school's pro bono program.
Temple, along with The University of Pennsylvania Law School, Villanova Law School, Rutgers University at Camden Law School, Widener University Law School and Penn State Dickinson Law School, hosted the annual Public Interest Public Service Career Fair in February 2005. This all day career fair gathered public interest and public service employers from the region and beyond to interview our students for summer and full time positions. Information interviews and career planning sessions were also held as part of the Fair.
Texas Southern University Thurgood Marshall School of Law
Texas Tech University School of Law
Texas Wesleyan University School of Law
The career services office co-sponsors Public Service Career Day hosted and sponsored by the University of Texas School of Law. During Public Service Career Day, students have an opportunity to interview with public interest and government employers for available summer and permanent positions. Students can also network with and gather information from public interest organizations.
In addition, Equal Justice Day is an event presented by the law school's student services and career services office and is similar to a job fair. Over twenty local public interest employers are set up at at table in our conference center and talk to students about working with their organization. Students can apply to work for these employers to fulfill their pro bono requirement prior to graduation or can apply to work with them during the summers and throughout the school year.
Thomas Jefferson School of Law: Thomas Jefferson School of Law
The Law School provides information about public interest grants to students exploring public interest careers.
Public Interest Career Day
Government Career Information Day
Co-sponsor of UCLA Public Interest Fair
Cooley’s Career and Professional Development Office provides planning and assistance to students and alumni at all stages of their career development. The Career and Professional Development Office provides substantial public interest career support.
Touro College: Jacob D. Fuchsberg Law Center
The Career Office maintains an extensive public interest resource section, including a dedicated part of its website.
Touro is one of the sponsoring schools for the NYU Public Interest Job Fair. We also participate in the New York City Bar Public Interest Career Event.
Annually, we bring NY metropolitan area public interest employers to campus.
Tulane University: Tulane University School of Law
Tulane Law School's Career Development Office (CDO) has one career counselor assigned to be CDO's point person on public service opportunities. The CDO website includes sections on public interest and fellowship opportunities as well as government opportunities, and the office provides a variety of resources beyond counseling to students interested in public service careers. The Career Development Office sponsors several public interest-oriented speaker panels each year in conjunction with student groups on campus. Also, each year the CDO public interest counselor accompanies a large group of students to the Washington DC Equal Justice Works Career Fair and Conference. The CDO also sponsors students to attend the Peggy Browning Fund Conference each year.
University at Buffalo Law School, SUNY
The Law School's Career Services Office has a Graduate Assistant for Public Interest and an Administrative Assistant for Resources and Public Practice (Dawn Skopinski). In concert with the Career Services office, these individuals coordinate public interest career panels and provide individual counseling and assistance to students interested in public interest careers.
The Career Services Office, faculty, local and specialty bar associations (e.g. WNY Chapter of the Women Bar Association of the State of NY (WBASNY) and WNY Chapter of the Minority Bar Associations) and student groups sponsor job fairs, and career panels. Summer public interest fellows also make panel presentations.
Public Interest/Public Sector Legal Career Symposium
University of Akron: C. Blake McDowell Law Center
The Law Center offers the following:
The Career Planning & Placement Office assists with various pro bono and public interest employment opportunities. Public interest employment opportunities are posted at all levels, including attorney positions, clerking opportunities and fellowships.
The Career Planning & Placement Office coordinates registration for The University of Akron School of Law students who wish to attend and participate in the Annual Equal Justice Works Conference and Job Fair.
University of Alabama: University of Alabama School of Law
The Director of the Public Interest Institute is responsible for finding employment opportunities and helping students with career placements in public interest jobs, including government, judicial and non-traditional/alternative (i.e. - public policy and social justice) jobs. In addition, the Director is responsible for building and maintaining relationships with various public-interest groups and organizations throughout the country.
The Director oversees all non-private employment opportunities for students, including all governmental, judicial, and public interest law jobs. Public Interest Law is a discrete part of Career Services. The Director gathers information about job opportunities, meet with prospective employers and hiring managers, meet with and advise students, organize and present programs to students about such employment opportunities, and serve as the resource person for such employment opportunities to Law School alumni.
Co-sponsor of jobfair in Atlanta, Georgia - www.law.uga.edu/career/employers/alhc.html
Interviews, notices of jobs and fellowships. See opportunities www.law.ua.edu/pubinterest/info.php?re=projects
University of Arizona James E. Rogers College of Law
We created (and update annually) several public interest publications and, as a result, have developed a specialized expertise in these areas. (a) The "Arizona and Nevada Public Interest Handbook," with detailed information (description of office, hiring contacts, address, phone, etc.) for all state and local government, tribal and public interest employers in Arizona and Nevada. (b) The "Government Honors & Internship Handbook," (to which most ABA-accredited law schools subscribe) provides the only comprehensive listing of summer, fall and spring semester internships and post-graduate programs offered by federal agencies, as well as many large state and local governments. (c) "Judicial Clerkship Handbook," with detailed information about applying for post-graduate federal and state clerkships, as well as contact information and links to judges in the Ninth Circuit (and links to the FLCIS and OSCAR databases developed by the federal court system). (d) "Finding and Funding International Public Interest Opportunities," (co-authored with two other law schools).
Other public interest related activities include: (a) Government and Judicial Clerkship Faculty Advisors, who are available to counsel students interested in these areas; (b) "email buddy lists" which put students in direct contact with alumni around the country, who have experience in the areas of judicial clerkships, government employment and honors programs, and public interest positions.
We participated in several public interest consortiums, including: (a) Equal Justice Works Conference and Career Fair; October, 2005; Washington DC; (b) Rocky Mountain Government/Public Interest Law Career Fair; February, 2005; Denver, CO; (c) Northwest Public Service Career Fairs; February, 2005; Portland, OR and Seattle, WA.
We held the Sonoran Desert Public Sector Career Fair in February, 2005, at which over 60 public sector employers interviewed for primarily paid, but also volunteer and for-credit, summer internships and full-time attorney positions. The career fair is among the largest of its kind. Participation is limited to UA students and recent graduates.
University of Arkansas at Little Rock: William H. Bowen School of Law
None.
University of Arkansas School of Law
University of Baltimore School of Law
University of California - Los Angeles
University of California at Davis: University of California at Davis School of Law
For information, contact Kimberly Thomas, Public Interest Coordinator, Career Services at 530/754-5719.
University of California, Berkeley: University of California, Berkeley, School of Law (Boalt Hall)
The School of Law has a full-time Public Interest/Public Sector career advisor whose title is Associate Director for Public Interest Programs. Contact information: 510/642-4567 or career@law.berkeley.edu.
University of California-Hastings
Career counseling and listings through Career Services, the Public Interest Clearinghouse and the Director for Externships and Pro Bono. Career Services has a counselor dedicated to fellowships.
University of Chicago: University of Chicago Law School
The law school offers:
University of Cincinnati: University of Cincinnati College of Law
The Public Service Coordinator and Counselor is available to provides public interest career counseling, as does Assistant Dean Mina Jefferson. Programs vary annually, but recently the focus has been on post-graduate fellowships.
Other Career Related Services:
University of Colorado: School of Law
The Office of Career Development annually publishes a directory containing a listing of public interest organizations in Colorado that typically hire interns, externs, and volunteers. This publication has and continues to serve as a tremendous resource for our students who wish to pursue public interest careers. The Office also helped facilitate externships and volunteer opportunities, host a mock interview program, and provide individualized counseling for students interested in public interest work.
Furthermore, the Office helped coordinate the Natural Resources Law Center's Speakers Series which brought environmental public interest groups to the law school including the Sierra Club, Western Resource Advocates, and Earthjustice, and co-sponsored the Family Law Forum Series which addressed issues related to working with legal services organizations, Guardians Ad Litem, Family Court Facilitators, and issues pertaining to truancy reduction.
The Office hosted public interest speakers at the Law School for various information sessions throughout the year, which included the Public Defender's Office, City Attorney's Offices, Foreign Service, Colorado Legal Services, Native American Rights Fund, among many others.
Rocky Mountain Consortium Government/Public Interest Career Fair
University of Connecticut: University of Connecticut School of Law
The Office of Career Services, as home to the Law School's Public Interest Resource Center, provides assistance to students seeking a career in public interest/public service. While the entire counseling staff is equipped to help public interest minded students, the Assistant Director serves as the primary contact for such students.
The Office of Career Services also administers a Pro Bono Fund designed to help defray the costs incurred by students attending public interest/public service job fairs. Since the Fund was established, the Office of Career Services has been able to host an annual public service job fair as well as many other events devoted exclusively to careers in public interest law.
Additional details about current career-related public interest/public service events can be obtained by emailing careers@law.uconn.edu.
University of Dayton: University of Dayton School of Law
UDSL hosted a number of workshops and programs designed to educate students about the multiple virtues of available public service employment opportunities.
University of Denver: Sturm College of Law
The Public Interest Office, in cooperation with Career Services, presents a number of informational events for students interested in public interest, including a Fellowship Information Session that presents the nuts and bolts of applying for fellowships. The Public Interest Office distributes a “Fellowship Information Packet” with a listing of fellowship opportunities. A large number of fellowship opportunities are also posted on "DULawCareers.net" (the College of Law's web-based job bulletin) and made available for students/alumni in the career resource library. The Career Services Office has a collection of public interest-related informational resources and employer/organization directories in the school's career resource library accessible by students and alumni.
The College of Law is an active member of the Rocky Mountain Public Interest/Government Consortium, hosting its Career Fair in 2002. Other participating institutions include: University of Colorado-Boulder; University of Utah; Brigham Young University; Arizona State University; University of Arizona; University of New Mexico; and University of Wyoming. During this Fair, public interest and government employers recruit candidates for full-time, intern, clerkship, and/or part-time positions.
There is also a Spring Public Interest/Government Mock Interview Program
University of Detroit Mercy School of Law
University of Florida: Fredric G. Levin College of Law
The Center for Career Services provides counseling and resources to students exploring and/or committed to public interest careers. We manage the Pro Bono Project, the Community Service Project, the Externship Program, and fellowships.
Our students can attend the Equal Justice Works Conference & Career Fair, www.equaljusticeworks.org.
University of Georgia School of Law
The UGA School of Law Office of Career Services actively supports those seeking opportunities in the public interest path through targeted interview programs, forums with public interest lawyers, knowledge of finance options for public interest careers, free access to PSLawNet (an international subscription database of public interest organizations and job announcements) and public service alumni mentoring program.
Specific programs include:
University of Hawaii William S. Richardson School of Law
University of Houston Law Center
The Career Development Office provides career & fellowship counseling and promotes public interest through a lunch speaker series. In 2004-2005 the career office hosted 12 public interest attorneys speaking to students about public interest careers.
We also participated in the the following:
Coordinated Texas in Washington Job Fair for nine Texas Law School where approximately half of the participating employers serve the public interest. (www.law.uh.edu/career/texinwash)
Public Interest Table Talk & Interviews for Houston-area Employers. See www.law.uh.edu/pil - job fairs links
Cooperative participation in the UT Public Service Career Day
Equal Justice Works Career Fair
University of Idaho: College of Law
The Director of the la
- individual consultations