The University of Pennsylvania Law Review is currently accepting submissions for the Dorothy E. Roberts Public Interest Essay Competition through February 28, 2026. The winner will be awarded a $5,000 grant to implement a public interest project related to the article and a $2,000 cash prize.

A strong resume and cover letter are essential to making a good first impression with a potential summer employer and helping them start to get to know you. The following OPIA resources can help you perfect these documents and present your background and experiences in a way that employers will find compelling.

As a reminder, 1Ls may begin to apply for 1L summer positions starting on November 1.

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

If you are searching for fellowships and entry-level jobs, don’t forget to check the HLS Job Bank in CSM regularly.

If you are searching for fellowships and entry-level jobs, don’t forget to check the HLS Job Bank in CSM regularly.

Immigrant Justice Corps. Demonstrate a strong commitment to immigration work and policy reform. Highlight proficiency in languages other than English, cultural competence, trauma-sensitive interview skills, and direct representation. Mention stakeholders, movement lawyering, and collaborative work in high pressured settings with diverse individuals and age groups. Indicate readiness to take the bar. Contact your top-choice organizations to express interest. Sign up for advising with Judy Murciano by making a Fellowship appointment.

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.

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

As public sector summer job postings go live in the coming weeks and months, you can view a wide variety of opportunities 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. 

Starting next week, we will include a sampling of recently added public sector jobs in our weekly emails.

Keep in mind that proactivity goes a long way in a public interest job search. Though our job board (and other public interest job boards) will show you many exciting opportunities, other jobs may never appear on a board at all. In addition to monitoring boards, remain in the driver’s seat of your search by identifying and reaching out to organizations of interest.

To help guide you in your public sector summer job search and beyond, we've answered some common 1L questions about accessing OPIA advisers and services.

Directed by Georgetown Law, Fellows provide quality representation at PDS to adults and adolescents accused of crimes, while developing skills as a clinical instructor. Emphasize long-term commitment to PD work and racial justice. Apply early for its rolling deadline. Submit all essay drafts for review well in advance of the deadline. Sign up for advising with Judy Murciano by making a Fellowship appointment.

Wondering how to make the best use of your appointment time? Not sure what to expect when working with an adviser? Read this post to find out.

We know that many of you are considering whether – and to what extent – you’d like to become involved in the myriad student activities available to the law school community. We are often asked by students interested in public service work about the value of extracurricular involvement. While we cannot offer formal career counseling before September 29, we can help you make choices about extracurriculars before then. Broad guidance on those choices can be found below, but please note that it is impossible to truly provide “one-size-fits-all” advice. Feel free to come to our drop-in office hours to have a conversation tailored to your individual goals.

The Equal Justice Works Career Fair is the largest public interest legal career fair in the country, bringing together more than 250 public interest employers and over 2,500 law students and recent graduates for prescheduled interviews and informal "table talk" discussions over the course of three days.

The 2025 Equal Justice Works Career Fair will be held virtually from October 16-18. Registration is now open!

3Ls participating in the EJW Career Fair can have their registration fees covered by the Public Interest Interview Fund. Please email opia@law.harvard.edu for the registration code.

View the employer list for up-to-date listings of employers participating either through table talks or interviews. Note that you must apply for prescheduled interviews by Friday, September 19 at 12 p.m. ET.

The 2025-2026 DOJ Honors Program application will open on August 22, 2025, and close on Tuesday, September 2, 2025.

OPIA is now using CSM for application materials review! Going forward, if you would like OPIA to review your materials, please complete this new form and attach your document(s) as Word docs. Your materials will then be assigned to an adviser for review. When completed, you will receive a notification to retrieve your reviewed document(s) from CSM.

Reminder: we will review one resume and one cover letter per academic year for 1Ls, 2Ls, and alumni. We will review multiple materials (including fellowships application materials, honors program essays, etc.) for 3Ls and LL.M.s pursuing post-graduate positions. Please allow 10-14 business days for your materials to be returned with edits and comments.

Please note that the following fall clinics still have open seats available:

Animal Law & Policy Clinic
Child Advocacy Clinic
Criminal Justice Institute: Criminal Defense Clinic
Criminal Prosecution Clinic
Family Justice Clinic
Food Law and Policy Clinic
Harvard Dispute Systems Design Clinic
Health Law and Policy Clinic
Human Rights Entrepreneurs Clinic
LGBTQ+ Advocacy Clinic
Tax Litigation Clinic
Veterans Law and Disability Benefits Clinic

The Nebraska Space, Cyber, and National Security Law Program is offering a Student Travel Award to support a law student's attendance at their Annual DC Conference on September 18, 2025, with additional visits to federal offices and commercial companies. The travel dates for this conference are September 16–19, 2025, and the award will cover the cost of domestic airfare and lodging. Apply by July 14. Learn more about the Student Travel Award.

Though some of these firms participate in campus recruiting, more accept direct applications over the summer and early fall, and even more will field a proactive inquiry about summer work even if there is no live job posting or formal summer associate program.  In addition to CSM, keep your eye on our 2L jobs board and the National Plaintiffs' Law Association (NPLA) job board, and watch this space for announcements about employers participating in our Virtual Public Interest Interview Program (V-PIIP).  For even more information and resources, refer to our blog post from April about plaintiffs’ firms.

We welcome you to stop by the OPIA suite any time after the diploma ceremony so we can congratulate you on your graduation and sing your praises to your loved ones. Hope to see you there!

Thursday May 29, 3:00 - 5:00 PM
OPIA Suite, WCC 4039

Mimosas and cookies will be served.

The Ms. JD Fellowship is a program to promote mentoring and professional development to women law students. Each spring, Ms. JD selects a group of outstanding rising 3L students for this nine-month program. Applications are due May 4, 2025.