by Kristian Smith, PSJD Summer Projects and Publications Coordinator
This is the second part of a two-part series on Alternative Public Interest Work. Check out “Part One: Can I Do Public Interest Work at a Law Firm?” here!
As mentioned in Part 1 of this series, law firms and public interest work don’t always go hand-in-hand, but there are many ways for law students and lawyers to combine a law-firm setting with public interest work. Though typically smaller than a traditional law firm, private public interest firms provide a setting similar to that of other law firms while focusing their practice primarily on public interest work.
First things first: What is a private public interest firm?
According to a paper written by Scott L. Cummings of UCLA School of Law and Ann Southworth of University of California, Irvine School of Law, the term private public interest law firm refers to a range of “hybrid” entities that fuse private and public goals. The paper defines private public interest firms as “for-profit legal practices structured around service to some vision of the public interest. They are organized as for-profit entities, but advancing the public interest is one of their primary purposes—a core mission rather than a secondary concern.” Harvard Law School, which produces a Private Public Interest Law Firms guide in coordination with Columbia School of Law, similarly defines private public interest firms in the guide as “private, for-profit firms that dedicate at least a significant portion of their caseload to matters that have some broad social, political, or economic impact.”
Private public interest firms can be the perfect blend of the public interest work of non-profits and the resources of large law firms because, according to Cummings and Southworth’s paper, private public interest firms can take on large-scale social change litigation that non-profits can’t pursue because of resource limits and big-firm pro bono programs won’t take on because of business conflicts.
But not every private public interest firm is the same. Some firms focus solely on public interest issues and take on only no-fee or reduced-fee clients while others also take on plaintiff’s torts cases for funding. While civil rights and employment law are the most popular practice areas for private public interest firms, some firms specialize in other areas, such as environmental law. Most of these firms take on a large range of cases – from discrimination, housing and voting rights, to consumer protection, human rights, and plaintiff class action suits. These firms may also represent a wide range of clients, including individuals, nonprofits and community groups. Some examples of these firms include Traber & Voorhees, Chatten-Brown & Carstens, and Miner, Barnhill & Galland (where President Obama practiced!).
How to Get Hired
It may be more difficult to find jobs at these types of firms than at traditional firms due to their smaller size, but many of these firms still hire summer associates and entry-level attorneys. Some firms, such as Bernabei & Wachtel, also offer fellowships as a way to hire new attorneys. For a comprehensive list of public interest firms and their hiring practices, check out Harvard and Columbia’s private public interest firms guide.
