www.law.uga.edu

Public Interest at UGA

UGA Law Public Interest Program

There are many opportunities for students to get involved with public service opportunities at the University of Georgia School of Law. EJF encourages its members to give some time to volunteering in the larger Athens community.  Here are three major organizations at UGA Law whose primary purpose is the promotion of public interest law.

Equal Justice Foundation

www.law.uga.edu/ejf

Public Interest Law Council

www.law.uga.edu/pilc

Working In the Public Interest Conference

www.law.uga.edu/wipi

Career Information & Links

If you get a public interest job for the upcoming summer apply to the following three programs at UGA:

• Spurgeon Fellowship
  • One student will be awarded $4,500 for the summer for public interest work. This is UGA’s most important public interest monetary award.
• Externship Program
  • In lieu of getting paid, students can apply for the externship program as a student placement in order to get school credit for their summer public interest work. This is a first come-first served program, so we encourage you to apply for school credit at the same time or before you apply for EJF Fellowships.
• EJF Fellowships
  • Of course, we at EJF want you to apply to our program. Last year we awarded six fellowships to students working in the environmental field, the arts advocacy field, and indigent defense. You can find all the information you need about this program on this website.

Nationwide Career Fairs & Conferences

• Public Sector Career Fair
  • Atlanta, GA, February 19, 2010; student pre-registration deadline: January 2010
  • This career fair typically hosts 50+ public interest and public service employers and is a joint program sponsored by Georgia State, Emory, Mercer and University of Georgia. The fair's components include pre-scheduled private interviews, panel discussion, and table talk interviews. Jobs are for summer and post-graduation. Open to 1Ls, 2Ls and 3Ls.
• Lavendar Law Career Fair and Conference
  • The Law School will reimburse a student to travel to this conference if the student is a member of Outlaws, UGA’s GBLTQ organization. Registration is very early in the year (9/15); so plan a year in advance!
• Equal Justice Works Career Fair & Conference
  • This is THE career fair to go to for public interest jobs if you are a 2L or 3L. There is only table talk available for 1Ls. There are over 1,500 employers here. Usually resumes are due early September. Check www.equaljusticeworks.org for the most up-to-date info.
• National Lawyer’s Guild Convention
  • Location changes every year, go to www.nlg.org for more info.
• Rebellious Lawyering Conference
  • Annual public interest conference at Yale. Great for those who are alienated by law school. Go to http://islandia.law.yale.edu/reblaw/ for more info.
• Cover Retreat
  • Our very own Professor Milner Ball (retired 2007) helped form this retreat. It is in the beautiful winter wonderland of New Hampshire. Two UGA students (typically 2Ls) are nominated by Public Interest faculty to go each year. Go to www.law.yale.edu/news/coverretreat.asp for more info.