Public Interest

Our Assistant Dean for Public Interest works one-on-one with students seeking a career in public interest. The annual Government and Public Interest Day allows students to network with government and nonprofit employers. Students may also attend the annual Equal Justice Works Conference and Career Fair with support from Vanderbilt.  

Each year, Vanderbilt graduates secure post-graduate fellowships and permanent positions with a range of public interest and government agencies. Post-graduate fellowships like the Skadden and Equal Justice Works are time-limited employment opportunities that serve as an important pathway into the public interest legal sector for recent law graduates, including judicial clerks.

Students interested in careers in public interest law may attend the two-day Equal Justice Works Annual Conference and Career Fair with support from Vanderbilt.

The conference, put on by Equal Justice Works, is the largest national public interest career fair; more than 1,200 students from 165 law schools participate in job interviews, workshops and networking and make valuable career connections. In addition to conducting interviews for full- and part-time positions, public interest employers meet with students in informal "table talk" settings to discuss public interest job opportunities. The Conference and Career Fair also features workshops on public interest careers and job search advice, resumé and cover letter review, mock interviews and more.