Career Strategy

Finding Jobs

Three attorney-advisors stand ready to coach you through the career planning and job search process. In addition, the Career Strategy Office has a wealth of library and internet resources dedicated to public interest and government employment. Many employment opportunities are published in the Student Recruitment Database and Recruitment Programs include a wide variety of employers, including public interest and government.

VLS professors can be a valuable resource for public interest career advice. Many VLS professors have public interest experience. Most are eager to speak to students about their work experience and to help students in any way possible. Below is a sampling of VLS professors and the type of public interest work they have done.

Professor	Types of Public Interest Work
Michelle Anderson	Women's Issues, People on Death Row, People with Disabilities, Prisoner's Civil Rights and Appeals for Convicted Felons
Leslie Book	Tax, Board Member, Philadelphia Volunteers for the Indigent Program (VIP)
Steven Chanenson	Criminal Law
Ann Juliano	Civil Rights, Environmental Law, Native American law, Government
John Hyson	Board Member, Regional Housing Legal Services
Beth Lyon	Migrant workers, Employment, Immigration
Leonard Packel	Criminal Law
Anne Poulin	Criminal Law, Juvenile Justice
Michele Pistone	Human Rights, Immigration, Legislation, Board Member, Pennsylvania Immigration Resource Center
Dveera Segal	Legal Services for the Poor (Family, Housing, Employment, Education, Consumer Law, Government Benefits, Civil Rights, Criminal Defense), Board Member, Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society
Walter Taggart	Board Member, Community Legal Services
Sheila Vance	Education, Board Member, Public Interest Law Center of Philadelphia; Board Member, Philadelphia Foundation; Board Member, Chester County Workforce Investment Board (Implements Federal Job Training Funds)

Network With VLS Alumni

Many VLS alumni have served the public interest with distinction. Villanova graduates can be found in a wide variety of public interest organizations and are another potential source for guidance. Below is a sample list of VLS alumni who are working in the public interest sector. For a more comprehensive list of VLS alumni working in public interest, please see the Alumni Office.

Students who received Public Interest Fellowships are eager to discuss their public interest experience and what they did to get the Fellowship. For a list of these students, see the Public Interest Fellowship Program (PIFP) website.

Informational interviews are a great way both to educate yourself on a particular area of public interest law and to network with people working in the field. Informational interviewing enables you to learn about the office's work and how you might get into that field. For more information about informational interviews, speak with the Career Strategy staff and see the website about "Networking."

The Public Service Law Network Worldwide is an on-line database of more than 10,000 public interest organizations worldwide. It contains thousands of fellowship, internship and employment postings. It is designed to foster law student community service and encourage all future lawyers to incorporate public service into their careers. It offers comprehensive, current information on a broad range of pro bono and public service opportunities, as well as resources and expertise to assist law schools in empowering lawyers as public servants. Go to http://www.pslawnet.org/.

The Career Strategy Office contains many public interest and job search manuals. One of the best guides is Public Interest Job Search Guide: Harvard Law School's Handbook and Directory for Law Students and Lawyers Seeking Public Interest Work. It is a comprehensive resource, which contains a description of types of public interest practices and settings, job search strategies, suggestions for networking and interviewing, a directory of public interest and government employers. It also contains an exhaustive annotated bibliography, for further research. See the Career Strategy Library Index or consult with someone in the office for more information about other helpful resources.

The Public Interest/Public Service (PIPS) Career Fair, sponsored by the Consortium of Greater Philadelphia Area Law Schools, including Villanova, and the Public Interest Section of the Philadelphia Bar Association, is held every February in Philadelphia. PIPS provides students interested in pursuing a public interest or public service career the opportunity to meet and interview with public interest and government employers. Additionally, prospective employers give presentations about their work throughout the day. Summer, permanent, full-time and part-time positions are available. The Career Strategy Office coordinates PIPS for Villanova and registration begins in November. For more information, see the Public Interest Career website at "Job Fairs."

Held each October in Washington, this Fair presents a unique opportunity for law students and graduates to meet and interview with employers from across the country in a single location. It is the largest job fair of its kind. It offers opportunities for those interested in the public interest sector to learn more about different fields of work, network with lawyers, attend informational interviews, and schedule interviews with potential employers. See the Public Interest Career website at "Job Fairs" or consult with Career Strategy for more information.

The Philadelphia Bar Association Law School Outreach Committee sponsors a series of brown bag lunches featuring information sessions presented by public interest organizations in the Philadelphia metropolitan region. Most public interest organizations in the Philadelphia area participate, including The Defender Association of Philadelphia, Support Center for Child Advocates, Women Against Abuse Legal Center, Disabilities Law Project, Pennsylvania Health Law Project, Regional Housing Legal Services, Community Legal Services and Philadelphia Legal Assistance. The series provides an opportunity for students to meet public interest attorneys and to learn about the different public interest organizations. For more information, please contact the Career Strategy Office.

There are tremendous job search resources available on the Internet that contain a wealth of information. Indeed, some employers and fellowship programs, for example, are now requiring that applications be submitted on-line and many public interest and government organizations have websites. The Career Strategy Office maintains a vast collection of public interest-related Internet Resources on its website. Check out "Library & Internet" resources on the Career Strategy website.

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