Public Interest/Government Jobs: advice for rising 2Ls? Forum

[chatterbox43]

What should a rising 2L with very very little interest in BigLaw be doing, now and over the next few months, to find a job for next summer in public interest or government?

I have looked at the Government Honors and Internships Handbook (http://www.law.arizona.edu/career/GovHo ... ntents.cfm) and made a list of jobs that have early deadlines.

I have also started looking at small firms -- specifically, reading the PSLawNet Private Public Interest and Plaintiff's Firms Guide (http://www.pslawnet.org/uploads/Harvard ... e_2008.pdf)

But I'm not really sure what the next steps are (other than, of course, actually applying for those government jobs). Can anyone give their thoughts?

[Peace of Mind]

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[johndhi]

information + belief that working as a schoolyear extern with the DOJ is a great way to get a close look in applying for the honors program.

[seatown12]

Figure out what you want to do within the overly broad category of "public interest/government," start researching that field, take all classes related to that field, and otherwise do everything possible to make yourself a specialist in that field. You should have lined up a 1L summer position in that field, but not doing so probably won't kill your career.