Steins Learn About Public Interest Firm and Pro Bono Opportunities

Last Wednesday, Stein Scholars had a chance to learn about what kinds of opportunities exist for law students and new lawyers in public interest firms, and how people who chose to go into corporate law can pursue public interest work through pro bono opportunities. 

Steins were joined by Alice Morey of the NYC Bar Justice Center; Amanda Niederauer ’14, who talked about her experience at the public interest law firm Mayerson & Associates, which focuses on the rights and entitlements of individuals with autism; and Richard Hendrix’14, who shared his experiences at the civil rights firm Beldeck Levine Hoffman.

Also contributing by phone were Melissa Lardo ’09 of Outten & Golding, Artemio Guerra ’10 of Getman Sweeney, and Peggy Farber ’04 of Kramer Levin.

It was a very educational evening, and more than one Stein noted that the participants provided a lot of very useful and new information about the variety of public interest firms and public interest firm internship opportunities and hiring practices.  Some tip highlights included:

• ·         Public interest firms tend to hire a lot based on word of mouth, rather than through formal recruitment processes, so building a network and finding mentors in this field can be key to finding a job with a public interest firm.  Developing your interests early can also be very helpful, so that you have plenty of time to demonstrate that interest through internships and other involvement in law school.
• ·         Public interest firms may not look to hire new lawyers until after they have passed the bar.
• ·         Public interest firms, while very busy, tend to have more of a focus on cultivating a reasonable work environment and work/life balance than big law.
• ·         Different big law firms place different importance on pro bono work, but some place no limits on the number of pro bono hours attorneys can do (and some strongly encourage young associates to do a lot of pro bono works right when they start).
• ·         Benefits of doing pro bono work in big law include being able to have direct control over your own cases right away.
• ·         Big law firms place a premium on law school grades when hiring; a demonstrated interest in public interest usually won’t get you over the grades hurdle, so those interested in big law must take studying very seriously.
• ·         A commitment to public interest work can, however, help graduating students secure a clerkship with certain judges—and a clerkship can in turn help lawyers get jobs in big law firms despite lackluster grades.

Those interested in public interest firms should check out the 2013 edition of Private Public Interest and Plaintiffs' Firm Guide.  This source, put together by Harvard Law’s office of public interest advising, includes information about what it’s like to work in a public interest firm and how they operate along with a state-by-state directory of public interest and plaintiffs’ firms.

Many thanks to all panel participants!