For current clerks and recent graduates:

In this recently recorded video, hear from OPIA’s Fellowships Director about the different types of fellowships, how to identify the right fit for your individual interests and goals, the typical action steps and timeline required for fellowship applications, and practical tips for a successful fellowship experience. Watch the video.

Contemplating your post-clerkship / post-fellowship plans? Thinking about a career change? OPIA's Alumni Adviser, Rachel Pemstein, is available to help you strategize for your public interest job search. Feel free to schedule an appointment directly with Rachel. You can also find general information online at OPIA's Public Interest Job Search Resources and Services for Alumni webpage.

As we continue to advise students on their summer internship job searches, some of our law students are still seeking positions. Please let us know if your office is still accepting applications for this summer, or will accept a late application from an HLS student, by filling out our online job submission form. Thank you!

OPIA is now seeking applicants for the 2026-2027 Wasserstein Fellows Program. Applications are due April 6, 2026. Wasserstein Fellows are practicing public interest lawyers who spend three days in Cambridge meeting with individual Harvard Law students to advise them about public interest career paths. They also speak to students in group settings and assist OPIA staff in developing additional advising insights and resources. Learn more about the Wasserstein Fellowship responsibilities, eligibility, and selection criteria.

OPIA recently hosted a panel of HLS alumni to speak about their transitions from practicing at law firms to public interest careers. Watch or listen to the video to hear about what they did to successfully make the transition and what they experienced along the way. The panel offered tips on how best to use your time in law school and early in your career to ensure that if you choose, you can achieve the same success.

The Hub for Innovative Law Offices (the "Hub") helps public interest lawyers build solo practices and small firms that serve the public interest. Program participants will receive access to subsidized workspace, financial support, legal resources, mentoring, educational instruction on substantive law and law practice management, and training on marketing, business, and client development for public interest lawyers. The Hub is open to attorneys with active bar licenses. If selected, participants must commit to starting their law practice no later than September 1, 2026.

Apply for the 2026/2027 program year by May 31 (priority May 1).

The Legal Resistance Defense Fellowship is a seven-month academy to train and prepare criminal defense attorneys to more skillfully represent individuals facing politicized federal and state prosecutions. The fellowship consists of monthly learning sessions, a retreat, and ongoing mentorship with seasoned attorneys who have zealously defended political prosecutions. Apply by April 12!

Alumni interested in adjunct, clinical, and tenure track law teaching are encouraged to view the HLS Law Teaching Resource Page for general information, job & fellowship resources and instructions on how to subscribe to the Law Teaching mailing list.

Please join us for a very special evening celebrating the 10th anniversary of the David Abraham Grossman Fund for Social Justice!

Thursday, February 12 at 6:00 PM, Harvard Law School

View invitation
RSVP here

More info on the DAG Fund

Employer registration for resume collection for our annual public sector Spring Interview Program (SIP) is still open!

Is your organization hiring for summer or postgraduate positions? Consider registering and recruiting through the HLS Spring Interview Program.

Please use our registration survey to sign up for resume/materials collection.

Read more

Students/graduates applying for a PSVF Org-Based Fellowship need to ensure any requests to change the MOU are submitted by January 12, 2026 and to make an appointment with an OPIA adviser by January 21, 2026 to discuss the job search process.  
 
Watch or listen to our PSVF info session to learn more about these fellowships and the application process.

Here are the deadlines for OPIA's internally administered fellowships for which 3Ls and alumni are eligible to apply. Mark your calendar and make an appointment to speak with an OPIA adviser!

OPIA’s job postings can now be found in CSM/Symplicity!  You can search for jobs by keyword and location, filter by sector, save postings to return to later, and set up job alerts. For some jobs, you can apply directly within CSM. 

We will continue to include a sampling of recently added public sector jobs in our weekly emails. 

To access CSM, you must have a HarvardKey. You may claim your HarvardKey here. If you need assistance with claiming your HarvardKey, contact the alumni Help Desk. 

We appreciate your patience as we make this transition. If you have any questions, please contact opia@law.harvard.edu.

The Massachusetts Office for Refugees and Immigrants (ORI) is working to establish a new legal services program to assist immigrants and refugees, and is seeking attorneys interested in joining the program.

Earlier this year, the Massachusetts Legislature appropriated funds to ORI to establish this new program, which ORI has called the Massachusetts Access to Counsel Initiative (MACI). MACI attorneys will provide direct legal representation to eligible, income qualified immigrants and refugees in Massachusetts through single consultations or ongoing legal representation, consistent with the legislative mandate.

Read more about the Massachusetts Access to Counsel Initiative.

Applying for the U.S. Department of Justice's SLIP or Honors Program? Our application guide is now updated for this year's application cycle.

Read the 2025 OPIA Insider’s Guide

Alumni Speak brings public interest alumni voices to our current students and other alumni on topics related to law school, life, jobs and getting it all done with resilience, intentionality, and confidence. Throughout the academic year or after graduation, your messages will help students and fellow alums navigate the various challenges of law school and beyond.

We'd love to hear from you about:

Training - How and where did you develop the skills to be effective in your field? 

Belonging - When you were at HLS, did you ever feel like you didn't belong, harbor self-doubt, or struggle with lack of confidence?

Please share your thoughts through our Alumni Speak Survey. Thank you!

CPCS has received funding from the Massachusetts legislature to double in size by September of 2027. They are currently looking to hire post-bar graduates (including those who sat for the July '25 bar exam) to start September 8, 2025.  They will also be hiring continuously for the next two years.

Applications for those who can start September 8, 2025, can be found here: Committee for Public Counsel Services - 2025 Public Defender Division Trial Attorney - Statewide Positions.

Hiring for Fall 2026 will have a different application process (likely starting in a couple of weeks) and we encourage you to monitor the CPCS website as well as our Alumni Digest for that cycle and all future hiring.

If you do apply, please email OPIA's Alumni Adviser, Rachel Pemstein, so we can alert the CPCS hiring team.

If you are searching for positions and opportunities, don’t forget to check the HLS Job Bank in CSM regularly.

If you are searching for positions and opportunities, don’t forget to check the HLS Job Bank in CSM regularly.

If you are searching for positions and opportunities, don’t forget to check the HLS Job Bank in CSM regularly.