Vanderbilt offers students seeking public interest careers – whether in government service, indigent defense, legal aid offices, advocacy organizations, or their own brand of social justice entrepreneurship – expert advice. The assistant dean for public interest works closely with the Career Services Office to support students who aspire to public service work during and after law school.
Students may attend the Equal Justice Works Annual Conference and Career Fair, the largest public interest job fair in the country, with support from Vanderbilt. The school also hosts an annual Government and Public Interest Day where students meet representatives from dozens of public sector agencies, learn about the work they perform, and make connections leading to internship opportunities. We also regularly host government and public interest employers for on-campus job interviews.
Below are some of the public sector agencies where Vanderbilt Law graduates of the Classes of 2020, 2021, and 2022 went to work after graduation:
In the past several years, the following VLS graduates have secured competitive post-graduate Skadden and Equal Justice Works fellowships:
Post-graduate fellowships like the Skadden Fellowship are time-limited employment opportunities that serve as an important pathway into the public interest legal sector for recent law graduates, including judicial clerks. The Office of Public Interest offers a guide to pursuing one of these highly-coveted career-starters:
LAUNCHING YOUR PUBLIC INTEREST CAREER: A VANDERBILT STUDENT'S GUIDE TO FELLOWSHIPS
Vanderbilt Law School offers its own post-graduate public interest fellowship opportunity, the George Barrett Fellowship.
