Public Interest Careers
Welcome to the University of Minnesota Law School's Public Interest Job Site. Our site is designed to help students who are looking for a career in public interest law, as well as students who are looking for volunteer and summer job opportunities during their time in law school.
Getting Started
University of Minnesota Law School students and alumni have embarked on a wide variety of public interest careers. Each summer, our students find summer positions in the public interest field in direct legal services or advocacy organizations in Minnesota and throughout the nation. Our graduates have served as Equal Justice Works fellows, Skadden fellows, staff attorneys, and have gone on to become national leaders in public interest legal work.
Each member of the Career Center team is experienced in working with law students and alumni interested in pursuing public interest careers. The Career Center offers one-on-one counseling, programming, and resources dedicated to supporting public interest careers. Along with a full-time Assistant Director, Public Interest, the Career Center has extensive resources for students interested in a career in public interest law, summer opportunities, or volunteering during law school.
Summer Public Interest Work & Funding
To explore public interest careers, students can use PSJD as an employer directory and job posting board, along with Symplicity and the Government Honors Handbook (link and current password/username located on your Symplicity homepage). Along with meeting with their Counselor, students can use resources located in the box to the left – "Public Interest Applications and Funding."
A number of programs offer students working in the public interest field an opportunity to gain financial support for a public interest summer internship. With these, students receive a stipend for a position at a public service organization during their 1L or 2L summer. Grants for students are from a wide variety of programs and range from $500 to $6,500. Students may also earn funding for summer placements or school-year placements through work study funding.
The Robina Foundation provides funding for numerous summer internships in public policy work and public interest work. Summer clerkship funding opportunities are also available through the Minnesota Justice Foundation, the MJF student board Public Interest Clerkship (PIC) grants, Human Rights Fellowships, among others. For more information, see the Career Center Resources. For a list of national summer funding, check PSJD.
Volunteer
Whether you’d like more exposure to a particular field of law, a larger network of contacts in the legal community, or more personal experience, volunteering should be an integral part of your job search.
The Minnesota Justice Foundation offers volunteer placements in nearly every area of law, with commitment levels ranging from a one-day clinic to 20 hours per week. By volunteering, students gain practical experience in a particular area of law and access to a larger network of contacts in the legal community, both integral to a job search and career development. Find out more about the Minnesota Justice Foundation at http://www.mnjustice.org/.
Federal Work Study Funding at the Law School
Federal Work Study (FWS) funding for public interest positions is a joint process between you, the Career Center and the University of Minnesota’s Financial Aid Office. For summer funding, you need to complete your FAFSA for the upcoming school year. If you have a placement with a public interest organization for the summer, contact the organization about using work-study funding and contact the FWS representative at the University at 612-636-8608.
If you are planning to use work-study funding, but still seeking a public interest placement, please contact your Career Counselor or contact Amanda Furst in the Career Center at 612-626-7517 or amfurst@umn.edu.
Post-Graduate Jobs, Fellowships, & Funding
Postgraduate jobs and fellowships through international, national, and other programs specific to the University of Minnesota Law School offer a wide variety of opportunities for our recent graduates and alumni.
For postgraduate positions, check Symplicity, PSJD, and Equal Justice Works. Most recently, the Law School funded five year-long fellowships through the Robina foundation and over 30 short-term, post-graduate Bridge fellowships for graduates in the class of 2013. Along with meeting with their Counselor, students can use resources located in the box to the left – "Post-Graduate Fellowships."
Other Resources & Loan Repayment and Forgiveness
The Career Center offers programming and education in the areas of Loan Forgiveness and Repayment, Finding and Funding Public Interest work, Post-Graduate Fellowships, Developing Public Interest Lawyering Skills, among other skill building, career development, and educational programs.
Our graduates find additional support for public interest careers through federal loan repayment assistance programs and the Loan Repayment Assistance Program of Minnesota (LRAP), which helps make public interest careers possible by assisting with loan repayment. LRAP is supported by donations from the area law schools, firms and attorneys. For more information on federal loan repayment assistance, check out Equal Justice Works, Ask Heather Jarvis, and Student Loan Borrower Assistance, as well as the Loan Forgiveness & Repayment Info Session (located in the box to the right).