The University of Texas at Austin
PUBLIC INTEREST CAREERS
Resources Career Paths Students/Alumni
Job Search Resources
  • Acing the Public Defender Interview: This article, which appeared in the August 2009 NALP Bulletin and is reprinted with permission, focuses on how to succeed in the hiring process. For more comprehensive information, including a list of the offices that regularly hire entry-level attorneys, see NYU’s Public Defender Handbook, available on PSLawNet.
  • American Bar Association lists student resources including:
  • Environmental Law Alliance Worldwide: Job postings and resources for environmental attorneys and scientists around the world.
  • Equal Justice Works: Equal Justice Works organizes, trains, and supports public service-minded law students and is the national leader in creating summer and postgraduate public interest jobs. They host one of the largest public interest job fairs every October in Washington, DC. To view member-only content, get password.
  • GuideStar: An on-line marketplace to find job postings and volunteer opportunities.
  • Idealist: Comprehensive source of national and international internship, job, and volunteer opportunities as well as list of nonprofit career fairs.
  • International Public Interest Law (Yale): Advice on obtaining internships and postgraduate fellowships with the United Nations, U.S. government, intergovernmental and nongovernmental organizations.
  • Job Bank on Symplicity: The CSO Job Bank lists public interest jobs throughout the year for students, recent graduates and alumni.
  • LBJ School JobWeb: The JobWeb is a free resource for finding public affairs-related jobs and internships available to students, alumni, and the general public.
  • Leadership Library on the Internet (a.k.a. Yellow Books): Updated daily, this unique personnel contact database enables you to reach individuals at nonprofit organizations by searching the Associations Yellow Book and Nonprofit Sector Yellow Book.
  • National Legal Aid and Defender Association: The nation's leading advocate for front-line attorneys and other equal justice professionals. Includes a database of openings at civil legal aid and public defender offices.
  • Opportunities with International Tribunals and Foreign Courts (Yale): This guide provides information regarding some of the courts outside of the U.S.—international tribunals and intergovernmental courts, as well as national courts—where current law students and graduates may find temporary positions, paid and unpaid.
  • PSLawNet: A comprehensive clearinghouse of public interest organizations and opportunities for lawyers and law students. Users can perform customized searches of public interest opportunities around the world, ranging from short-term volunteer and paid internships to full-time jobs, fellowships and pro bono opportunities. Get instructions on how to use PSLawNet.
  • Public Interest Law Initiative (PILI): Nonprofit that promotes pro bono work among law students and attorneys in Chicago. Provides summer funding for first-, second-, and third-year law students working with nonprofit organizations in Chicago.
  • Serving the Public: A Job Search Guide: This guide, which is available in the CSO Resource Library, provides invaluable guidance and employer information for law school students interested in pursuing public interest or government work.
  • UT Austin Nonprofit & Public Sector Career Fair: The Fair is open to anyone interested in a career with a nonprofit or public service organization, including students and alumni of The University of Texas at Austin and residents of Central Texas. The 2008 Fair takes place on March 28, 2008 from 10 a.m.-3 p.m. in the Texas Union Ballroom.
  • UT Law Human Rights Employment Opportunities: List of state, national, and international employers where UT Law students and alumni have worked.

CSO Programs