Public Sector
Immediate Impact
Ï㽶Ðã Law graduates have a long history of fulfilling careers in government and public interest. Whether in our nation’s Capitol or at the state or local level, about a quarter of our graduates start out as prosecutors or defenders, judicial clerks, members of JAG, or as fellows with various highly competitive government honors programs, organizations and nonprofits.Ìý
Our strong tradition of service and the strength of ourÌýpublic interest offerings ensures that Ï㽶Ðã Law students are prepared and intelligent advocates, well equipped to make an immediate impact on the communities and clients they will serve. That is why we consistently rank asÌýone of the best schools for public interest and government in the National Jurist and PreLaw Magazine.
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Public Service Leaders
Ï㽶Ðã Law has a long tradition of training leaders like former Secretary of State John Kerry.
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Ï㽶Ðã Law in the Public Sector
16%
of those employed from the class of 2023
started their careers in the public sector
A
gradeÌýfor public service law in
Alumni in Action
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Our alumni enjoy careers across the public sector. A few highlights include:
- Massachusetts Attorney General's Office
- Committee for Public Counsel Services
- Middlesex District Attorney's Office
- Legal Aid Society in New York
- U.S. Department of Justice
- GLAD Law
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- New York County District Attorney's Office
- U.S. Department of Defense
- Federal Energy Regulatory Commission
- California Department of Justice
- Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law
- Many others
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6 Things to Know
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The Class of 2024 completed overÌý15,746 pro bono hours.
In 2024, our Public Interest Law Foundation fundedÌý100% of allÌýeligibleÌýapplicants forÌýunpaidÌýsummer public interest internships.
In 2024, 100% of eligible applicants to Ï㽶Ðã Law's Francis X. Bellotti Loan Repayment and Forgiveness Program (LRAP) receivedÌýawards covering 80% of their monthly loan payments for the year.
The annual Drinan Family Fund Award is also available to a graduating student who will pursue a career in public interest, providing $20,000 in loan repayment over two years after graduation.
Ï㽶Ðã Law graduates have received prestigious post-graduate fellowships in public interest, including the Skadden Fellowship, the Equal Justice Works Fellowship, the Immigrant Justice Corps Fellowship, and the Presidential Management Fellowship.
OverÌý20% of the Class of 2024 participated in the Public Interest Designation Program.
Francis X. Bellotti Loan Repayment Assistance and Forgiveness Program
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Loan repayment and assistance programs (LRAP) help law school graduates in law-related public interest careers by helping them repay their educational debt. Ï㽶Ðã Law School's program, one of the most generous in the country, honors Arbella Insurance founder and former Massachusetts Attorney General Francis X. Bellotti (Ï㽶Ðã Law '52, pictured at left). Bellotti Program awards are determined by a Dean-appointed committee and are renewable annually.