Public Service Careers
Colorado Law students have numerous opportunities inside of and outside of the law school to engage in public service work. Many students also choose to begin their careers in public service by obtaining public interest fellowships, jobs with non-profit organizations, and positions in government.
Counseling
Career Development is dedicated to helping students find opportunities in the public sector. Counselors provide one-on-one counseling for interested students.
Career Panels & Career Fairs
The office hosts a variety of information sessions throughout the academic year to highlight public interest and government opportunities. Recent sessions include:
- Finding Your Dream Job in the Federal Government
- Public Interest and Non-Profit Career Panels
- Careers as District Attorneys and Public Defenders
- Public Interest Fellowships
- Funding Your Public Interest Legal Career
- CU/DU Government and Public Interest Career Fair
- Our students may also attend the Equal Justice Works Conference & Career Fair in Washington, DC, where our law students have the opportunity to meet with and interview with more than 125 national public interest and government employers.
Get Involved
- Colorado Public Interest Legal Organization’s Directory: Contact any number of them about possible volunteer opportunities! Students can also work for a public interest or government organization as an Extern.
- Colorado Law’s Public Service Pledge Program
- Colorado Law’s Public Interest Student Association
- Colorado Bar Association’s Access to Justice Commission
- Denver Bar Association’s Metro Volunteer Lawyers
Funding Public Interest Summer Internships and Careers
- Loan Repayment Assistance Program: Colorado Law provides partial loan repayment to selected students who choose qualifying public interest work
- Federal Student Loan Forgiveness Law, the College Cost Reduction & Access Act of 2007: Cancels the remaining debt for public servants after 10 years in public service employment
- Work Study – CU Definitions
- Colorado Law’s Public Interest Summer Fellowships
- PSLawNet's National Summer Funding Opportunities
- Yale Law School's Guide to Firms Sponsoring Split Public Interest Summers
- PSLawNet's Searchable Fellowship Database: Listing of numerous national project based, organizational, policy, teaching, research and non-legal fellowships
- Equal Justice Works Fellowship
- Echoing Green
- New Voices Fellowship
- Skadden Fellowship
- Soros Justice Fellowship
- Foundation Center
- Public Interest Law Initiative (PILI) of Chicago, Summer Internship Program
- Peggy Browning Fund
- Equal Justice Works Summer Corps
Job Search Resources
- BYU Intercollegiate Job Bank – This job bank contains job postings from law schools around the country. This is a great resource is you are looking for out-of-state jobs. Please e-mail or stop by the Office of Career Development to obtain the username and password to access this site.
- Colorado Public Interest Legal Organizations Directory
- Colorado Public Interest Handbook: Guide to Colorado Law’s Public Interest programming and clinics, advice on searching for public interest legal careers, and resources.
- CDOnline: Online job database that contains public interest and government internships, externships, and career opportunities.
- Colorado Non-Profits: Contains information about Colorado’s non-profit organizations and maintains a listing of available jobs and internships. Not all are legal.
- American Indian Law Career Resource Guide: Colorado Law's guide for internships and career opportunities, and available resources in American Indian Law.
- Comprehensive Fellowship Guide 2008: An instruction guide on fellowship opportunities and how to apply for fellowships. Copy in Career Development Office.
- Doman’s International Job Listings: Offers a selection of international internships and postgraduate opportunities to Consider. Please also visit Doman Society of International Law.
- High Country News
- Idealist: Idealist is a non profit organization that lists non profit jobs, internships and volunteer opportunities world wide.
- NALP Federal Legal Employment Opportunities Guide: This is an excellent guide for those seeking federal work which includes tips for landing federal jobs, listings of the different agencies, salary information, and special federal hiring initiatives
- NYU Law’s Public Defender Handbook: The Handbook has two main sections: 1) FAQ's about the hiring process for internships and permanent jobs, with very specific examples of simulations and hypothetical questions; 2) a listing and brief description (e.g., application process, training provided, etc.) of the major public defender offices that regularly hire post-graduate attorneys.
- Opportunities in Public Affairs: This is a great source of Capitol Hill, Public Relations, and Public Affairs jobs in the Washington, DC area.
- PSLawNet: A searchable database of thousands of public interest organizations, jobs and internships, fellowships, funding opportunities, and “how-to” documents.
- Serving the Public, A Job Search Guide: Volume 1: USA: Contains a listing of public interest internships for law students and fellowship opportunities for law graduates in the United States. Copy in Career Development Office.
- Serving the Public, A Job Search Guide: Volume 2: International: Contains a listing of public interest internships for law students and fellowship opportunities for law graduates internationally. Copy in Career Development Office.
- University of Arizona's Government Honors & Internship Handbook: A listing of federal and state government internship and entry-level attorney opportunities.
A Few Great Places Where Our Alumni Are Working!
Center for Constitutional Rights
Colorado Immigrant Rights Coalition
Federal Bureau of Investigation
Federal Public Defender, Districts of CO & WY
National Association of Broadcasters
National Center of Full Faith & Credit
U.S. Dept. of Housing & Urban Development
U.S. Dept. of Interior
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
U.S. Government Accountability Office
U.S. Patent & Trademark Office
U.S. Securities & Exchange Commission
