Social Justice Initiatives provides a breadth of resources for students looking to pursue careers in public interest lawyering. On this page you can find links to career search resources, which include guides and handouts produced exclusively for our students as well as links to various job search websites. There is also a section of government career resources, information about public interest employers at our on-campus interview programs, and information on pro bono resources.
If you are a student or alum looking to speak with an SJI counselor about career planning, please refer to our Advising page.
PUBLIC INTEREST JOB SEARCH RESOURCES
- Handbooks
SJI has developed a series of guides for students which provide a comprehensive overview of how to pursue a career in the public sector. The Starting Your Public Interest Job Search guide and its supplements (for 2L and 3L students) include everything the student needs to know about the programs and resources available through Columbia Law School. These guides are available on the SJI Guides page (you will be prompted for your Lawnet password).
- Columbia Public Interest Database/Intern Evaluations
The Public Interest Database contains contact information, descriptions, and extensive student evaluations for internship opportunities and pro bono projects throughout the world. The database contains contact information, descriptions, and extensive student evaluations for internship opportunities and pro bono projects throughout the world.
- Public Interest Job Fairs
The Annual Equal Justice Works Job Fair is scheduled for October 22nd and 23rd, 2010, in Bethesda, MD.
The New York City Public Interest Legal Career Fair, hosted by NYU Law School, will be February 10th and 11th, 2011.
- Public Interest Job Search Toolkit
Throughout the fall, SJI and OCS will hold public interest resume and job application workshops. Dates for these workshops will be announced by email and are posted on SJI’s on-line calendar of events.
- Subject-Specific Guides
Learn about specific practice areas of law by reading through these guides. CLS thanks Harvard, Yale and NYU Law Schools for making these available to the public.
- External Career Links
A page of websites to help with your job search.
PUBLIC INTEREST EMPLOYERS AT EIP AND OCI
Columbia runs two different interview programs.
- Early Interview Program (EIP) happens in August at the Doubletree Hotel in midtown. This interview program is primarily for 2Ls and 3Ls to obtain summer and permanent jobs in the private sector and students can interview with law firms from all over the country. There are several public sector employers who usually interview students at EIP, including the Department of State and the House of Representatives Office of Legislative Counsel. EIP is administered by the Office of Career Services.
- OCI happens at Columbia Law School in the Fall for 2Ls and 3Ls, and in the Spring for 1Ls. Through this program, government regulatory agencies, public defenders, prosecutors, and other government agency employers come to campus to interview students for summer and permanent jobs. OCI is administered by the Office of Career Services.
Throughout the year, SJI hosts nonprofit employers who will interview students on-campus. Watch your email for information.
GOVERNMENT CAREER RESOURCES
Working for the government is among the most satisfying ways to start your legal career. There are thousands of federal, state, and local governmental agencies and many hire students for summer internships and third-year and LLM students for permanent employment.
Thinking about and applying for government positions is more complex than some other job searches. Among other things, there is a large diversity of issues, settings and strategic approaches. Permanent jobs become available throughout the year, rather than all at once in the late summer or early fall. It is necessary for you to investigate and apply for jobs individually and the process often requires the submission of much more than a standardized cover letter and resume.
Although there is no “best government job” list, SJI is available to develop an individualized job search plan with each student who asks. To do this, you need to have some idea of what is important and interesting to you. We suggest each student first become familiar with the wealth of federal, state and local government opportunities available to you. Think about whether you want to focus your search on a particular practice type (litigation, enacting or enforcing laws, writing regulations, etc,) and/or a specific substantive practice area. Use the resources listed below not only to find listings of open positions and deadlines but also to test your ideas and find new inspiration.
We have compiled a few resources here to help you to begin your government job search - these materials are not exhaustive and we strongly encourage students to investigate individual state, local and federal agencies and offices that interest you for additional employment opportunities.
ONLINE GOVERNMENT JOB SEARCH RESOURCES
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For those who are not familiar with government agencies and offices, USA.gov contains a complete list of federal, state and local government agencies and offices. This will answer questions about what agencies and offices are "out there" and the responsibilities of each. If necessary, you can identify which agencies have legal departments by further searching, including going to that agency's or office's individual website.
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The best singular on-line resources for summer and entry-level post-graduate state, local and federal government legal employment is the Government Honors and Internship Handbook ("The Arizona Guide"). The link to The Arizona Guide and the CLS-specific login information can be found on the SJI Guides page (Note: You will be prompted for your Lawnet password to access this page).
The Arizona Guide handbook provides the following:
- A list of government agencies (federal, state, and local) that offer summer and post-graduate
employment.
- A current list of employment opportunities with links to the relevant government agency and
department
- Application information and deadlines for 1Ls, 2Ls, 3Ls and LLMs – please note, these
deadlines are subject to change and students should check the Arizona Guide
periodically. You can sign up at the site to be notified of deadlines and dates.
- Agency-by-agency detailed information about: the agencies and offices that hire law students
and lawyers; employment details and hiring history; requirements and preferences for candidates; the selection process and more.
- Additionally, you should become familiar with the PSLawnet.org database, specifically its government section. You can register for free access to PSLawNet. Also check out PSLawNet’s 2009-2010 Federal Legal Employment Opportunities Guide on PSLawNet’s Federal Resources Webpage
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The federal government maintains its official “one-stop” source for federal jobs at www.usajobs.gov – there is a student section as well. Note, this resource is for all federal jobs and not just intern and attorney positions.
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Finally, check out Federal Careers for Attorneys, a website sponsored by West listing all federal government offices that employ attorneys; the table of contents is searchable by jurisdiction as well as practice are and provides a very useful resource in locating offices that are less familiar.
OTHER EMPLOYMENT WEBSITES OF NOTE
GUIDES
All students interested in government employment should review SJI’s Starting Your Public Interest Job Search and relevant 2L and 3L supplements to be sure you have all the basic public interest job search information. These guides can be found on our SJI Guides page (Note: You will be promtped for your Lawnet password).
We also have a number of resource guides on our general Guides and Publications page and in hard copy form in our office - pick them up any time. They include a public defender handbook, a prosecution handbook, a US Attorney guide, and a guide to working on Capitol Hill.
EXTERNSHIPS and PRO BONO GOVERNMENT PLACEMENTS
Externships and pro bono work during law school provide students with important legal practice experience as well as networking opportunities. Specific externships that focus on government are at the United States Attorney's Offices for the SDNY and the EDNY, the New York City Law Department, the United Nations, as well as the Externship on the Federal Government in D.C.. Information about these and other externships is available on our Externships page.
You can find a tremendous amount of information about pro bono placement opportunities in government agencies on Columbia's Public Interest Database on LawNet. We would be happy to speak to you about placements that would be rewarding for you, and provide you with useful experience in the field as well as excellent networking opportunities.
NATIONAL STATE ATTORNEYS GENERAL PROGRAM
Students seriously interested in work with a state attorney general have an importance resource on campus: SJI’s National State Attorney General Program. The Program places students in summer internships in attorney general offices throughout the country and hosts numerous speakers throughout the academic year.
SJI EVENTS and ADVISING
SJI presents a wide range of on-going speakers, brown bag informational sessions, and panel discussions about a wide array of specialty areas in government service as part of our The Government Lawyer series. The guests at these panels are often CLS graduates. All our events are posted on LawCal and on our SJI Events page.
SJI also provides counseling for students interested in pursuing government summer internships, pro bono work and careers. For more information on our network of counselors, please visit our Advising page.
PRO BONO RESOURCES
Students are strongly encouraged to undertake a range of pro bono projects during law school. Pro bono work broadens practical experiences and exposure to a variety of public interest practice areas and types, helps students develop essential skills and knowledge to become better lawyers, and allows students to begin creating the important networks of practitioners in the field who can become excellent resources during the public interest career.
Columbia students have the opportunity to choose from almost 20 anually-recurring student-directed projects, 4 law firm- and non-profit-sponsored projects, and more than 1000 distinct placements in our database of established pro bono contacts. For more information on pro bono, including program rules and information about existing projects, please visit the Pro Bono page.
