Law schools must provide resources to retain students’ interest in public service
By Gina Kass
July 22, 2012 10:39 p.m.
The age-old stereotype says most students enter law school for three different reasons: to get rich quick, to climb the social ladder or to impress family.
This stereotype ignores, as most stereotypes do, the significant percentage of students who enter law school with a plan to become a public service employee. But within a system that emphasizes financial success and personal gain, it is easy to be distracted from this goal.
Schools must provide resources that politically motivated students can turn to ““ resources that encourage a career in public interest rather than one spent serving a corporate mission.
After all, law students seeking out public service jobs, such as working for the government or nonprofits, find themselves at a disadvantage: Their field can often be less financially rewarding than working at a private firm.
Studies dating back 30 years show that close to half of incoming law students aspire to jobs in the public sector, but fewer than 15 percent of the graduating class take such a job.
As a whole, college graduates may carry a heavy burden of student loans and other debts, and will be dissuaded from seeking jobs in public service. A typical law student graduates with an average of $98,500 in debt. A public service lawyer at an entry level position will earn a median of $42,000 per year, whereas in a private practice, entry level positions are at a median of $92,000 at a small firm.
Jobs are also less numerous in the public sector, not because of a lack of opportunity, but because the financial resources to employ these workers are limited, said Scott Cummings, faculty director of the David J. Epstein Program in Public Interest Law and Policy.
The law school curriculum may also sap some students’ intentions to go into the public sector.
During the first year of law school, students are initiated into neutrality as they learn to argue both sides of sample court cases. This can cause students to lose the foundation of values they entered law school with, Cummings added.
This foundation of values may include the personal goals individuals enter law school with, whether they be politically motivated or otherwise.
In all, there are several factors working against students who wish to serve the public.
UCLA offers a program that helps students interested in public service positions to explore that vein ““ the Epstein Program in Public Interest Law and Policy. The program focuses on cultivating and nurturing accepted students’ commitment to public service, Cummings said. For example, the Epstein program keeps these students focused on those goals by providing a community with like-minded individuals.
The Office of Public Interest Programs at the UCLA School of Law also provides law students who wish to work short-term unpaid internships with financial support in order to encourage students to maintain a commitment to public service.
Christina Snider, who is entering her third year as a law student at UCLA, is currently working in Washington D.C. for the U.S. Department of Justice. She said she would probably not have taken the opportunity if she had not been receiving a grant from the Public Interest Law Fund.
She is interested in working long-term in the public sector, to serve American Indian tribes, she said.
Similar programs exist at the University of Pennsylvania, the University of Washington and Chapman University in Orange County. But while many institutions may house these programs, not all schools encourage students actively enough to pursue this path.
Even if students do not pursue a public path after school, there is a space for law students to explore the civic sphere through volunteerism or internships during law school. Students can seek out these opportunities and help fill the gap in demand. It would not only provide for the public good, but would help sharpen students’ resumes for future opportunities.
“I try to educate all law students about the importance of giving back, which does not necessarily mean they have to take a full-time postgraduate job in public service,” said Catherine Mayorkas, executive director of the public interest programs at the UCLA School of Law.
Many students enter college with lofty goals, and these objectives do not need to be set aside. Schools can and should aid civic-minded law students in sticking to their intended career path.
Email Kass at [email protected]. Send general comments to [email protected] or tweet us @DBOpinion .
