Pursuing a Career in Public Interest Law

Today’s Presentation will cover: Overview of Pursuing a Public Interest Career: Gaining Experience, Doing the Job Search, Preparing your Finances Kelly Friscia, Equal Justice Works AmeriCorps Attorney Public Interest Clearinghouse, Pro Bono Project How to Appeal to Public Interest Employers Krista Glaser, Director Public Interest Law Program Public Interest Clearinghouse Fellowships, Funding, & Carving Out a Long-Term Place for Yourself in the Public Interest Legal Market Julia Wilson Executive Director Public Interest Clearinghouse Legal Aid Association of California

A few administrative reminders… Please mute your phone. Press *6. We encourage you to submit questions during this presentation via the chat button. Please any and all questions to Vanessa Carr (Host). It’s confidential and easy to do! We will send a survey and encourage advice and comments on how to improve the summer training and lecture series for next year.

"If the motto ‘and justice for all’ becomes ‘and justice for those who can afford it’, we threaten the very underpinnings of our social contract." – California Supreme Court Chief Justice Ronald George (2001)

Fact: In California, less than 75% of the essential legal needs of the poor go unmet each year. Yet, the number of attorneys and amount of money available to help underrepresented people secure justice is shrinking. Why Do Public Interest Work?

Finding Your Job… You need to do a lot of preliminary work in law school. Demonstrate your commitment through clinics, volunteer work, and course work. In the public interest world, demonstrated commitment counts—a lot. Ex. I am an Equal Justice Works AmeriCorps Attorney at the Public Interest Clearinghouse. Research all opportunities—and apply!

A few Post-Graduate fellowships… Equal Justice Works Equal Justice Works hosts three types of post-graduate fellowships, which include the Equal Justice Works Fellowships Program, the Pro Bono Legal Corps, and Katrina Corps. Skadden Fellowship Program The aim of the foundation is to give Fellows the freedom to pursue public interest work; thus, the Fellows create their own projects at public interest organizations with at least two lawyers on staff before they apply. Soros Foundation A number of organizational and individual grants and fellowships, including the US Impact Fund’s Soros Justice Fellowship are available for public interest legal work through the Soros Foundation. Echoing Green In the past Echoing Green solely provided seed funding to start your own nonprofit, but seems to have relaxed their criteria some in recent years. New Voices New Voices Fellowship is currently focusing on Katrina-related projects but has funded legal services more broadly in the past.

Do a Comprehensive Search Non-Profits : This is the traditional notion of “public interest law.” Each of these sites has ideas of ways you can apply for jobs in non-profit organizations. Idealist.org PSLawNet: NALP’s public service network worldwide Equal Justice Workswww.equaljusticeworks.orgwww.equaljusticeworks.org Craigslist (search by city/state) The Public Interest Law Initiative The American Bar Association Opportunitynocs.org California Legal Advocates National Legal Aid & Defender Association (NLADA) Job Opportunities: Law Help California

Apply! “There is no comparison between that which is lost by not succeeding and that lost by not trying.” –Francis Bacon, Sr.

The National Association of Law Placement (NALP) Directory of Legal Employers: The National Lawyers Guild student referral guide has lots of resources for students ranging from mentoring programs to helpful resource guides: Yale Law School’s guide to public interest law firms: Public_Interest_Law_Firms.pdf Public_Interest_Law_Firms.pdf Harvard Law School’s guide to public interest law firms: Public Interest Law Firms: Public interest law firms are generally smaller and focus on individual plaintiffs or class actions, policy or impact litigation.

Government: Working in the government as an attorney is exciting and rewarding work. Many government positions require a JD or consider having a JD a value to the position. There are two tracks--state government and federal government opportunities. These links will aid you in exploring career options in the government and provides the link to preparing an application for the federal government honors program. California Attorney General’s office has postings for California state government job openings: USAJobs is the webpage for all federal government job openings: If you are interested in apply to the federal government honors program, read and explore this guide which explains the process and lists all agencies and offices that have honors program openings along with their deadlines. (Federal Honors Program) Statewide District Attorney’s offices and Public Defenders offices are available by searching on the web for your local county office.

When do you start your career? Short Answer: Now! Find a Pro Bono opportunity in California! There are several great websites: *Special Note: If you are a law student at UC Hastings, USF, or McGeorge, you have unlimited access to the Public Interest Law Program (PILP) and the Pro Bono Project. us at to find out

The Benefits of Doing Volunteer Legal Work During Law School Help provide vitally needed services and feel good about being in law school. Prove your commitment to doing public interest work to potential employers. Gain invaluable opportunities to learn practical legal skills under the direction of dynamic and skilled attorneys. Develop professional contacts!!

Financing Your Career Know what to expect. For a quick and easy way to do this, read Equal Justice Works 2006 report, Financing the Future. Spend your borrowed money wisely. Create a budget & stick to it. Get creative with your funding sources! Develop grant writing skills, seek out loan assistance repayment programs (LRAPs), do contract work on the side, etc.

Know What to Expect Public Interest Salaries* The median entry-level salary for an attorney from the class of 2005 at a civil legal services organization was $ 36,000. The median entry-level salary for public defenders was about $ 43,000. State and local prosecuting attorneys started around $ 44,000. The median entry-level salary was $ 40,000 for attorneys in public interest organizations, such as those dealing with immigrant or civil rights issues. *This data is available in the Equal Justice Works Report, Financing the Future (2006).

Understand what it means to earn $38k per year… Public School GraduatePrivate School Graduate Starting Salary $38,000 Estimated Monthly Take Home Pay $2,111 - Estimated Monthly Loan Payment -$630-$1,013 Monthly Available Income for Housing, Food, Transportation, Savings and Other Expenses $1481$1098

You CAN make it work, financially… Spend your borrowed money wisely to reduce debt repaid later. Ex. stop purchasing coffee. $780 worth of coffee (approx. five $3 cups/week for THREE years) costs $31/month for TEN years to repay… Read, “Lower Your Law School Debt,” Jeffery E. Hanson, Student Lawyer Magazine, V. 35, No. 2 (Oct. 2006). Create a budget, stick to it, & incorporate free fun into your life. Get creative with your funding sources! Develop grant writing skills, seek out loan assistance repayment programs (LRAPs), do contract work on the side.