Legal Career Options
In this section...
Public Interest Law
The general heading of public interest law encompasses a wide range of career opportunities including legal services, public defender positions and public interest groups such as the Sierra Club, Mental Health Law Project, NOW, and National Wildlife Federation, etc. In general, positions in the public interest area are among the lower paying of legal positions--for this reason, they tend to attract students who have a very strong sense of commitment to the work they will be doing. This kind of commitment is one of the key qualifications for work in the broad area of public interest law. For many students frustration in their job search comes from a lack of perceived support systems for their job search and a sense that they are isolated in a world containing students who want to work in private law firms. However, there are several public interest student organizations at I.U. which provide the encouragement and support that will make the choice to enter public interest enjoyable. Another obvious area of concern centers around earning a living when faced with a substantial law school (and probably undergraduate) debt load. For many students, while they are more interested in a private law firm or corporation following graduation, a summer job in the public interest/human services would be extremely interesting, especially following their first year in law school.
A number of resources are available to students interested in pursuing opportunities in the areas described below. The Career Services Office makes a concerted effort to recruit public interest employers to come to I.U. to interview. In addition, I.U. participates in the NALP/NAPIL Public Interest Job Fair in Washington D.C. which attracts over 120 government and public interest employers and the Midwest Public Interest Job Fair held in Chicago. There are several other off-campus recruiting programs which attract public interest organizations in addition to the traditional law firms.
A number of public interest groups will not come to campus but will list themselves with our office and have students either contact them directly or through the "Resumes Forwarded" service we offer. Information on these employers is contained in your Fall Procedures Manual and Directory of Employers and as they come in, in our Job Books. In addition, the Career Services Office has a number of publications that could be helpful - most notably the positions listed in ACCESS: Opportunities in Public Interest Law , a loose leaf reference arranged by topic available in Career Services and directories such as those listed in the Guide To Career Services Resources . Students interested in public interest careers should plan to attend various seminars sponsored by the office over the course of the school year, and should make a counseling appointment with the Assistant Dean for Career Services. In addition, we might be able to direct you to law school alumni who could be a help to you in your job search.
Graduates working in legal positions for non-profits reported a median salary of $30,000 ($23,000-45,000). Other graduates accepted non-legal positions with non-profits and reported a salary range of $17,800-55,000 (median $26,000).
Public Interest Law Centers
Public Interest Law Centers are often involved in law reform and class action litigation in areas such as employment discrimination, housing, voting rights, women's issues, gay rights, civil rights, the environment and education. Many are working on legislation or litigation affecting the area of their focus and can span the spectrum of political opinion. Some centers will hire graduating law students, but positions are subject to funding problems and centers generally have problems projecting their needs and recruiting and hiring in advance. Many will hire students for the summer and while some have funding available, others will only consider students on a voluntary basis or with "work-study" or other sources of funding. Many of these positions are located in Washington where they can continue to lobby and see to their legislative interests, but there are programs all over the country. Contacts and networks can be very important and, as has been stated before, a background or prior demonstrated interest in a given area can be key.
Private Law Firms
There are a number of private law firms that either do law reform litigation, work in non-commercial areas such as constitutional litigation, civil rights, consumer, or environmental law, etc. Some firms consciously seek to build a practice around representing individual clients in areas of critical or direct concern to them in their daily lives, or on matters related to housing, health, education, employment or the family. Depending on your perspective, some students would include firms that do union-side labor law, plaintiff's tort firms or criminal defense firms under this broad heading.
Because public interest oriented law firms are usually very small, finding opportunities can be difficult. Like most small law firms, they have trouble projecting their needs, have trouble funding positions, etc. Students interested in work of this nature should show a strong commitment to the area and, if looking for the summer, be willing to consider a volunteer position or work that brings in around $5-$6 per hour. A careful search through Martindale-Hubbell can provide you with some leads in the area, but many attorneys are not listed. Your best bet is to identify a few attorneys who you can then ask the question "Could you give me the names of some other attorneys who have a public-interest type practice".
Legal Services and Public Defenders
There are over 300 legal services programs (many with multiple offices) and almost 1,000 public defender offices throughout the U.S. The largest of these programs hire enough lawyers each year to be able to predict openings in advance and, perhaps, interview in the fall or the winter months. The others tend to fill positions as they open up. Many have summer positions, but salaries are either volunteer or in the minimum wage area. For the Class of 1994, those working as public defenders had a salary range of $21,500-42,000 and a median salary of $35,000. Those working for legal services reported a salary range of $19,400-35,000 with a median of $27,000.
Legal services attorneys and public defenders provide representation to persons who could not otherwise afford it. There are some legal service programs that are involved solely in civil matters, with public defenders handling criminal matters; other programs do both civil and criminal law. Because these programs concern themselves with the needs of the poor and there are a lot of poor people, the case load is heavy. Funding comes from the federally funding Legal Services Corporation and from some private sources and there is never enough money. Scarce resources need to be spread among enough attorneys to make a dent in the goal of representing the country's poor. In light of these problems, low salaries and large case loads are understandable.
The areas of law most commonly practiced in the civil law area are those most commonly called "people law": domestic relations, landlord/tenant, consumer protection, debtor/creditor law, administrative law, civil rights law. One fact is certain: the legal services lawyer will gain a great deal of experience very quickly. Students should remember that many poor people are located in rural areas. While students may find that competition for attorney openings in large, much sought after cities is stiff, many opportunities exist in rural communities and small towns for a lawyer who is truly committed to legal services work. Most of the work is done in administrative hearings, information grievance procedures and in various courts. In both public defender and legal services work, there is a great deal of hands-on contact and these programs are known for good training. Clearly, there is an enormous amount of court work with a public defender's office with the new attorney moving from misdemeanors and juvenile cases up through felonies and capital cases.
Social Action Organizations
Students interested in public interest law should consider the broad range of organizations that represent various social action concerns. While not clearly law centers, these organizations often hire lawyers to conduct research, lobby, organize, and occasionally litigate. Some social action agencies handle large impact work while others work on a more personal level. Students should consider this information and determine if they desire a more people-contact position or enjoy the large social impact issues. Representative organizations include citizen's action groups, consumer federations, lobbying groups such as the ADA, Common Cause, and the anti-smoking lobby, the Heritage Foundation, Greenpeace, Anti-Nuclear groups, etc.
Once again, a consistent background and commitment to a given organization or issue is important in finding positions. The Public Interest Files in Career Services contains some information on these types of organizations. The main resource however is Good Works: A Guide To Careers in Social Change .