Starting
from Zero?
This page is
for students who may be attracted to public service and are considering
a fellowship application, but have limited exposure to and/or knowledge
of the variety of opportunities available. Please make use of the counseling
and other resources offered by the public interest program and career
services. However, if at this moment you have no idea what you want to
do or what area of law you would like to practice, please consider the following
questions:
1.
Why did I go to law school?
2.
What classes have I found most interesting?
3.
What legal issues do I want to study, but have not seen fully addressed
in our curriculum?
4.
Am I interested in being an advocate for an individual or a group? Instead
of representation, am I more interested in analyzing and creating change
to reach a larger number of people?
5.
When I graduate, I would like to spend most of my professional time _______________?
(perhaps reading, talking with people, writing, organizing and attending
events, etc.)
6.
What skills do I need to develop for the type(s) of practice I’m considering?
(perhaps interviewing, investigation, legislative research, or a specific
type of writing such as drafting grant proposals, press releases, or amicus
briefs, etc.)?
Ideally,
answers to the above questions will converge to paint a picture of a practice
you can pursue. To learn more about a public interest practice area,
glance through Harvard Law School’s Specially Guides for public interest
careers at www.law.harvard.edu/students/opia/details.php?id=pub-specialty.
If you conclude a public interest fellowship is valuable in leading to
the career you want (and it almost always is). Then the next step is
to develop a target list of placement organizations. Look at the previous
fellowship placements and navigate through the links to on-line
resources. Many non-profits do not actively post intern/fellowship
positions, but would welcome the services of “free” law students. Unless
specified otherwise, a cover letter and resume is generally sufficient
to apply for a summer fellowship position. In many cases it is helpful
to call or email to first determine if an internship/fellowship is a possibility.
It is important to patiently, politely, and consistently follow up on
your application.
The questions
above and your research may not bring you to the one and only path.
Instead you may discover a handful of topics and work environments (say
government, indigent legal services, law firms or general counsel to a
non-legal non-profit organization) you want to explore. Fortunately,
most law students have the flexibility to experiment through fellowships,
externships, live-client clinics, trial ad classes, and part-time employment.
Do not be frustrated by your seemingly divergent interests. Simply start
in one area, locate a sponsoring organization, and apply for the fellowship.
If, at the close of the summer, you determine that chosen path isn’t for
you, then you have still provided a service, gained legal experience,
and learned valuable lessons about which direction to try next.
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