Rather than advertising openings, employers often prefer to hire someone who has worked for them during the summer or as part of a clinical program, or who was referred by a colleague. Prior experience and commitment to public interest work is one of the most important qualifications for the job search. For example, the Public Defender Offices are usually receptive to hiring recent graduates who have had criminal trial practice or spent a summer working at a public defender office. There are also scholarship and loan assistance programs to make it more financially possible to enter public interest law. See the BCLS Public Interest Funding Notebook for comprehensive information about summer funding, scholarship and loan assistance programs.
Students apply in their second year.
The Willier Program provides financial assistance for students and graduates who intend to practice public interest law. The program includes Honorary Graduation Stipends which help defray summer living and bar examination expense and Loan Repayment Assistance to help graduates with educational debt. Several national funding sources are also available to law students for summer public interest work. Examples of the more popular funding sources include the Massachusetts Bar Foundation Program for work which involves direct civil legal services to the poor in Massachusetts and the Patrick Stewart Human Rights Scholarship for human rights work. For further information or assistance in any of these matters, make an appointment with Rachel Sagan, the Public Interest Career Counselor in the Career Services Office.