Public Interest Resources
Office of Public Interest
Useful Links
Funding Information
Summer Funding for Public Interest Work
Although some summer public interest positions are paid, most are not. It is recommended that you research summer funding opportunities as well as employment opportunities.
The first place you should look is WCL.
Equal Justice Foundation
This WCL student organization awards $3,000 summer fellowships to students working for public interest organizations. Applicants must volunteer at least 10 hours with EJF to be eligible for the grant. Applications are generally due in March.WCL Student Groups
Several WCL student groups award small scholarships. Each group determines the application process and scholarship amounts. Look for details in The Docket on MyWCL.Public Service Law Network (PSLawNet)
Visit the Summer Funding section for funding sources nationwide.Equal Justice Works Summer Corps
Equal Justice Works provides small grants of $1,000 through its Summer Corps program for public interest internships. Apply on the Equal Justice Works website in the Spring.
Funding for Post-Graduate Public Interest Positions
Post-graduate public interest salaries are typically much lower than those in the private sector. To live on a public interest salary it is extremely important to plan ahead. Resources to help you analyze your financial situation include:
Financial calculators at www.accessgroup.org to help with budgets, estimate your monthly loan payments and more.
Equal Justice Works Financing a Career section, which provides resources on law school Loan Repayment Assistance and public interest scholarship programs and a report that explores how educational debt prevents law graduates from pursuing public service positions.
NALP's Public Sector and Public Interest Attorney Salary Report, which provides information on salaries by years of experience for attorneys at five types of organizations: civil legal services organizations, public defenders' offices, local prosecuting attorneys' offices, offices of attorneys general, and public interest organizations, such as those involved with civil liberties, children and advocacy issues.
Loan Repayment Assistance Programs (LRAPs)
Loan repayment assistance programs (LRAPs) generally help defray the educational debt payments of graduates who go into qualifying public service. LRAPs can be offered by law schools, employers, states and at the Federal level. To learn more about LRAPs, visit these resources:
Public Interest Loan Repayment Assistance Program (WCL's LRAP called PILRAP)
Equal Justice Works Finance a Career section for information about all types of LRAP programs.
DC Bar Foundation administers the DC Poverty Lawyer LRAP for direct services poverty lawyers in DC.
- ABA's Information on Loan Repayment and Forgiveness - reports on their special commission's findings on the effect upon the legal profession of the increasing educational debt burdening law school graduates, specifically those graduates interested to pursue a public service legal career.
Federal Loan Repayment and Forgiveness Programs
Income-Based Repayment (IBR) is available for all federal student loans (graduate and undergraduate). Under IBR, monthly payments are capped at an amount intended to be affordable based on income and family size. The type of employment is not a factor in the calculation, only income and debt. For public sector employees, all federal loans must be in the federal direct loan program for Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF). For some graduates, their Grad PLUS loans are federally-guaranteed (FFEL) loans and must be consolidated into a Direct Consolidation loan for PSLF. IBR is not available for private loans. Application available at: https://www.dl.ed.gov/borrower/PDFFrames.jsp?PDF=othf_intgr_IBR8_pack.pdf. Additional information available at: WCL Financial Aid Office.
Office of Career & Professional Development • American University Washington College of Law
4801 Massachusetts Avenue, NW, Suite 122 Washington, DC 20016 • 202-274-4090 F: 202-274-4096