Public Service in the Private Sector

Many students who are public service minded spend a summer, or part of a summer, working in the private sector. Others spend a few years after graduation in the private sector and then move into public service work. Finally, some spend their entire careers in the private sector but contribute a great deal in terms of pro bono work, board membership, and other forms of community service. If you are public service minded but plan to spend some time in the private sector, take advantage of these OPIA and pro bono resources:

• Law Firms Sponsoring Public Interest Summers and Summer Fellowships (.pdf)
  (Split Summer, Externship, and Summer Fellowship Opportunities for Current Law Students and Recent Graduates)
• Pro Bono Guide (.pdf)
• Private Public Interest Firms Guide (.pdf)
• The Great Firm Escape: HLS's Guide to Breaking Out of Private Practice and into Public Service

The Office of Clinical and Pro Bono Programs has more resources posted online for students interested in public interest in the private sector. 

Pro Bono Advising

Lee Branson,  Assistant Director of the Pro Bono Service Program, can help you identify firms that will allow you to most actively pursue public service work. Lee can be reached at (617) 495-2216. Her office is located in Austin 102.

Events

Each year OPIA and the Pro Bono Service Program host events about public service options for those headed to the private sector. Check the OPIA Events Calendar for pro bono law firm fairs, spring panels on public/private career transitions and on public service in the private sector.

Splitting Your Summer

At OPIA we receive many questions about whether to “split the summer” and work for two employers. Below are our thoughts on this topic.

We generally recommend against splitting your summer between two public sector employers. If you do split, you will obviously have half as much time in each organization and therefore half as much time to learn the substantive work (and figure out if you like it) and half as much time to get to know your supervisors and other permanent staff.

If you have a number of practice settings, issue areas or types of work that you want to explore before graduation, we recommend that you try to use clinical and volunteer opportunities and journal work/research assistantships (the latter to see if you are intellectually interested in particular subjects) to supplement your summer experiences. Keep in mind that this includes two possible winter terms.

If you find that you do not have enough time to try out everything you want to, even if you use all available term-time opportunities, then it does make sense to split a summer.

And there are obviously exceptions to every recommendation. For example, the State Department Legal Advisor’s office only allows half-summer internships. If you are interested in Capitol Hill, you may find some Committee and personal staffs have little work to do during the month of August; as such, it may make sense for you to go elsewhere during that time.

Historically, we recommended split summers to students who were very interested in postgraduate public service work, yet wanted to try out a law firm their 2L summers. In this tough climate, if your goal is to receive a law firm offer at the end of the summer (as opposed to just wanting to sample law firm work without any real interest in pursuing it at graduation), splitting your summer could affect your prospects for a permanent offer. If you want to gain additional public interest experience during your 2L summer, you will find that many law firms are offering short enough summer programs that you can actually fit in a short-term internship with a nonprofit or government agency after your law firm commitment, without even asking the firm for a split.

Finally, be aware that although most nonprofits and government agencies allow splits, not all of them do. Be sure to check the organization’s website and/or talk to former interns to see whether or not the organization you are interested in offers a split summer. We generally recommend that you wait until you have a job offer to ask for a split (unless you have already committed half the summer to another organization, in which case we encourage you to be upfront about your commitments).

Holding Open One Private Firm Offer Until April 1

For second and third-year students who have received offers from the firms that recruit on campus but are not sure about whether they wish to go to a private sector firm 2L summer or after graduation, take advantage of HLS placement policies that enable 2Ls and 3Ls to keep one law firm offer open through the spring. Every private employer with over 35 attorneys who interviews at HLS agrees to the stipulation that 2Ls and 3Ls are allowed to register with the Office of Career Services and to hold one offer from a private employer until April 1. Rule 3, found in the OCS website's Holding and Responding to Offers section, reads as follows:

        Rule 3 Extension:  Students are permitted an extension of one EIP/FIP offer until April 1 if:

        (1) the student notifies OCS and the employer in writing prior to the end of the otherwise applicable response period indicated above; and

        (2) the reason for the extension is interest in either (a) non-EIP private sector opportunities; or (b) a public sector or public interest employer.

A student may not require a public interest or government employer to hold an offer open until April 1. Rule D does not apply to organizations that have a staff of thirty-five or fewer lawyers, including law school graduates not yet admitted to the Bar.

This rule provides you the security to explore opportunities with public interest and government employers that may not hire until the late winter or spring. We are happy to meet with you to discuss a way to diplomatically approach your private firm employer about holding an offer open. More information on offer deadlines associated with EIP and FIP can be found on the OCS website.