OPIA

Have a quick question about the public interest job search? Join Joan's Zoom meeting room during her virtual office hours. Please note that virtual office hours are for quick questions only on a first-come, first-served basis.

Have a quick question about the public interest job search? Join Joan's Zoom meeting room during her virtual office hours. Please note that virtual office hours are for quick questions only on a first-come, first-served basis.

Introduction Immigration law relates to the laws, policies, and practices that govern who can enter, stay, or become a citizen in the United States. This…

Curious about working in state or local government? Want to learn more about policy work? Hear from a panel of alumni of the Rappaport Summer Fellowship in Law & Public Policy to gain insight into the program and how you can be a part of it. The Rappaport Public Policy Summer Fellowship challenges graduate students from across Greater Boston to immerse themselves in the region's public sector through a dynamic summer internship experience. Students accepted into the program are placed in a paid, 10-week internship in key state and local agencies around Greater Boston. Fellows also participate in a weekly seminar series throughout the summer featuring discussions with leading practitioners and scholars from across the region and excursions to key sites like Fenway Park and Boston City Hall. Through the Fellowship, host agencies benefit from the skills, talent, and dedication of students who are passionate about public service. And students gain real-world experience while learning about how public policy is created and implemented. Learn more about the program! Lunch provided. Please RSVP.

While it’s true that the tech industry has immense control in the current political climate and offer many financially appealing jobs, there is a growing and urgent necessity for energy and legal skills to advocate for the average person in the digital age. Whether it’s working in a variety of government roles, as part of housing or immigration work, at a civil society organization, in political activism, or influencing better behavior from inside some companies, there is an opportunity and sometimes an obligation to engage in tech policy work. The widespread abuse of data and use of AI in nearly every sector demands legislative, regulatory, and legal intervention work by people with public interest as their north star. Wasserstein Fellow Ben Winters will talk about his roles in academia, government, civil society, and political groups – furthermore, he will provide a survey of job paths available for people who want to explicitly focus on tech policy as well as people looking to integrate it into any work they plan on doing. He’ll also discuss the challenges and opportunities of working on the less resourced side. Lunch provided. Please RSVP below. Open to the HLS community.

Did you know low-income Americans did not receive any or enough legal help for 92% of their civil legal problems, driving them deeper into poverty? Join Wasserstein Fellow Lena Silver ('13) to learn about the opportunities for diverse forms of advocacy in poverty law including direct client services, community outreach and organizing, and systemic work through coalition building, legislative and administrative advocacy, and impact litigation. As an expert in public benefits law, with an emphasis in immigrant access to public benefits, Lena will also make the case for why every public interest attorney should be knowledgeable about the safety net, and how pursuing legal work in public benefits is both exciting and critical to fighting poverty. Lunch provided. Please RSVP!

The Seaman/Plancher Legal Aid Fund (SPLA) awards an annual $65,000 fellowship to fund law students and judicial law clerks who demonstrate exceptional promise as public…

Whether you are interested in corporate law, privacy, antitrust, consumer protection, civil rights, tort defense, employment, criminal, appellate, or almost any other practice area, State Attorneys General offices offer unparalleled opportunities to do good, serve the public, and engage in impactful legal work. Best of all, you can do it from your home state! Join Wasserstein Fellow and Deputy Colorado Attorney General Nathan Blake to learn more about how State AGs are on the front lines of defending the rule of law and taking on the biggest corporations harming consumers. From high-stakes Supreme Court cases to counseling government agencies to engaging in possibly the last place in the country where constructive bipartisan work occurs, working for a State Attorney General should be on your shortlist of promising career paths. Lunch provided. Please RSVP below! Open to the HLS community.

A representative from the LIPP/SPIF office will hold drop-in office hours in the OPIA suite to offer quick consults and answer general questions about the Low Income Protection Plan (LIPP), the HLS PSLF Based Plan (the Plan) and Summer Public Interest Funding (SPIF). No need for an appointment; students will be served on a first-come, first-served basis. For in-depth advising, please email lipp@law.harvard.edu or spif@law.harvard.edu.

A representative from the LIPP/SPIF office will hold drop-in office hours in the OPIA suite to offer quick consults and answer general questions about the Low Income Protection Plan (LIPP), the HLS PSLF Based Plan (the Plan) and Summer Public Interest Funding (SPIF). No need for an appointment; students will be served on a first-come, first-served basis. For in-depth advising, please email lipp@law.harvard.edu or spif@law.harvard.edu.

Introduction  This guide provides a brief overview of the general hiring practices of public interest law organizations with respect to noncitizens. First, it describes how…

International JD Students have unique concerns when seeking summer, and ultimately post-graduate, employment. Bring your lunch and your questions to an informal meeting with OCS’s…

Climate change and its consequences suffuse nearly all areas of law, but for law students who want to focus intentionally on climate, selecting a career path in an ever-shifting social, technological, and judicial environment can be daunting. Join Wasserstein Fellow Matt Littleton ’10, an attorney at Envolve Law, for a discussion of his career as a government and private public-interest litigator specializing in federal and state climate policy. Matt will discuss ways (some obvious, others not) that litigating and non-litigating attorneys are tackling one of the most pressing and vexing problems of our time, and offer thoughts on where the field may be heading. Lunch provided. Please RSVP below! Open to the HLS community.

Law school often projects a one-dimensional image of a successful lawyer as that of a rain-maker, federal courts litigator, or trial attorney. Understanding other ways excellence might look like in a day-to-day public interest career might be less talked about and harder to imagine. Join Wasserstein Fellow Maha Ibrahim as she shares some insights and anecdotes from her decade of experience as a civil rights lawyer and discusses some exciting ways an early-career attorney can develop an impactful skillset in conjunction with (or instead of!) just litigation. Lunch provided. Please RSVP below! Open to the HLS community.

Don’t miss this annual event showcasing the wide range of public interest summer employment opportunities for first-year students---both in the U.S. and abroad. 2Ls and 3Ls will share their experiences from summer internships, answer questions, and offer insights on the application process. Feel free to come and go throughout the evening during this large tabling event. Snacks will be served.

Excited about public interest work but concerned about how you will manage loan repayment or other financial considerations? Hear from a panel of public interest alumni as they candidly share their experiences participating in the Low -Income Protection Plan (LIPP) and discuss their lifestyles on public interest salaries (no, they don’t eat ramen noodles every day). Catherine Pattanayak, Assistant Dean for Public Service, and Katy Harger, Assistant Director for the Low -Income Protection Plan and Public Interest Funding, will moderate and answer your questions.

Bring your lunch and questions for a brown bag conversation with the Manhattan District Attorney, Alvin Bragg. Hear DA Bragg talk about his own career path and the importance of public service in today’s environment. The conversation will be moderated by Jamie Wacks, Lecturer on Law. Please RSVP. This event will be capped at 45 people. This event is open to HLS students.