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.

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.

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.

This student-led initiative shares testimonials and signatures from students committing to not participate in EIP and not pursue a career in Big Law in the future. View the "You Are Not Alone" poster and read the article in the Harvard Law Record.

Read this guidance if you plan to bid on plaintiffs' firms this summer.

The LGBTQ+ Public Interest Scholarship is intended for law students and/or recent law school graduates studying for the Bar who are working or will be working in the LGBTQ+ space doing public interest work. One or more scholarships of up to $5,000 each are awarded annually. The deadline is April 30, 2025.

The Rural Summer Legal Corps is a collaboration between Equal Justice Works and Legal Services Corporation that aims to address critical legal issues facing rural communities. The following host organizations are seeking additional law student applicants for the 2025 Rural Summer Legal Corps: Michigan Advocacy Program: Farmworkers Legal Services / Legal Aid of the Bluegrass / Colorado Legal Services

The Curtin Fellowship provides a $3,500 stipend to three law school students who spend the summer months working for a bar association or legal services program designed to prevent homelessness and/or assist indigent clients (including those experiencing homelessness) or their advocates. The deadline to apply is March 28, 2025.

Harvard’s Presidential Public Service Fellowship (PPSF) program supports a broad range of summer opportunities that serve the common good. Students from Harvard College and from Harvard’s graduate and professional Schools are eligible to apply. The application deadline is March 21, 2025 at 5:00pm EST.

Law Students for Climate Accountability, creators of the scorecard assessing law firms' work with the fossil fuel industry, is accepting applications to join its student board for the 2025–26 school year.  Responsibilities range from strategic operations to outreach to content generation, and board members receive a stipend. Successful applicants are passionate about climate justice and student engagement. Applications are open until March 24; you can apply here.

As you may have heard, over the last few days, several U.S. Attorney’s Offices have notified students who had accepted internships (and in some cases, had interviewed) before the federal hiring freeze that their office now has permission to hire unpaid volunteer interns. If you have been notified of a re-issued offer and would like to speak with an OPIA adviser about your options, please come to drop-in hours or schedule an appointment in CSM.  We strongly discourage reneging on an alternative offer you have already accepted, but can speak further about exploring split summers or other opportunities to work in government while at HLS.

While you may have just finalized your internship plans for this summer, we know that many of you are already thinking ahead to 2L summer and weighing the pros and cons of spending it in the private sector. In this post, we offer some thoughts you may find helpful as you consider whether to participate in the Early Interview Program (EIP).

The shifts in federal government policy towards summer law interns this year has necessitated reimagining this year’s Heyman Summer Interns Program to be both more virtual and more inclusive.  The prior application deadline of February 13th has been waived.  Please stay tuned for additional information in the coming weeks/months as to what the program may look like and how you can participate.

In light of the federal hiring freeze and related actions, the Heyman Fellowship Program has been suspended for the 2025 fellowship year.  If you are a 3L, feel free to make an appointment with an OPIA adviser or come to a drop-in hour if you need assistance.  If you are an HLS alum in need of public interest career support, please reach out to OPIA for an appointment.