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.