So trial advocacy is your favorite part of law school, you own the whole Law & Order series on DVD, and you have glorious dreams about litigating in a courtroom. Chances are you’ve taken a Criminal Law course and find yourself enthralled by the stories of crime and punishment held in the casebook.

If this is true for you, it may be time to take a look at PSJD’s Careers in Criminal Prosecution or Public Defense guides. With information on hiring and links to other resources, these guides offer up lots of help in deciding whether this kind of career is for you.

You may also want to check out our State & Local Government Career Resources center, which includes general information about working on a broader range of legal issues for state and local governments.

And, just for fun, check out our post on Nathaniel Burney’s Illustrated Guide to Criminal Law – a series of anecdotal drawings detailing core concepts of criminal law.

Published annually by the Network of University Legal Aid Institutions (NULAI) Nigeria, the African Journal of Clinical Legal Education & Access to Justice is devoted to law and legal education of significant research value. The Journal focuses primarily on developments within clinical legal education, justice education, and access to justice.

The Journal is currently inviting articles and commentaries for publication. (NULAI Nigeria is also hosting a Law Clinics Essay Writing Competition, open only to students and graduates of law clinics in Africa.) Articles are usually accepted for submission at anytime, but articles for the October 2013 edition must reach the editor before May 31, 2013.

Click here to view a list of guidelines for exclusive publication. Applicants can send articles and commentaries that meet the stated criteria to Ernest Ojukwu, Editor-in-Chief, at africanjournal-cle@nulai.org. Good luck!

Applying for a public interest fellowship – such as Equal Justice Works or Skadden – can be a daunting task. If you plan on applying for the 2013 cycle of fellowships, do yourself a favor and check out PSJD’s mini-guide “Project-Based Fellowships: Tips from Those Who Know“.

The downloadable 2-page handout includes advice about what works and what to avoid when building your project. You can also check out the whole Postgraduate Fellowships section of PSJD’s Resource Center for more information!

Advancement Project, a progressive civil rights organization dedicated to using innovative tools and strategies to strengthen social movements and achieve high impact policy change, has been working on ending the school-to-prison pipeline. This pipeline is used by many school systems to shut off academic opportunities and funnel troubled youth into the juvenile and criminal justice systems. Suspensions, expulsions and school-based arrests are being used more and more to deal with disciplinary and behavioral problems, pushing students out of school and into jail.

Advancement Project invites those who are currently engaged in community-based efforts to dismantle the school-to-prison pipeline to apply to their 2013 Action Camp 2.o. Groups including youth, people of color, LGBTQ-identifying persons, and people with disabilities are strongly encouraged to apply. As stated on their website:

ActionCamp 2.0 Goals

There are three goals for ActionCamp 2.0:

1. Achieve a shared understanding of the School-to-Prison Pipeline.
2. Arm participants with strategies and tools for dismantling the School-to-Prison Pipeline at the local, state, and national levels.
3. Broaden and strengthen the community-led grassroots movement against the unfair discipline and criminalization of students.

What Will be Covered at ActionCamp 2.0?

ActionCamp 2.0 is designed as a deeper dive into the skills and strategies necessary to dismantle the School-to-Prison Pipeline with a new focus on action planning. The curriculum is designed to both share the best practices as defined by the ActionCamp Training Team and take advantage of the collective experience and knowledge of participants. We will offer a range of workshops including:

1. Base building, Mobilization, & Direct Action – Bringing supporters to your campaign and organizing them to create change
2. Strategic Communications –Using media and communications tools to advance your campaign
3. Alternatives and Solutions to the School-to-Prison Pipeline – Examining the alternative models for school discipline
4. Alliance and Coalition Building – Best Practices for building local, state, and national coalitions
5. Data & Policy Analysis  – How to interpret and use data on school discipline for your campaign and understand current and potential policies
6. Talking to Policy Makers  & Power Analysis – How to identify those with the power to help your cause and strategies for talking with policy makers about school discipline issues
7.  Popular Education: The School-to-Prison Pipeline in Historical Perspective –Tools for educating communities on the School-to-Prison Pipeline with a focus on connecting it with the various historic systems of oppression.
8. Grassroots Fundraising –Strategies for securing the resources to keep your work viable

Make sure you check out the Action Camp Tumblr page for a little more information about the program. The New Orleans Action Camp will take place during the spring, from April 19 – 21, 2013. The Denver Action Camp will take place during the summer, from June 28 -30, 2013. Click here to apply!

Interested in standing out from crowds of job applicants, but in ways other than a cover letter or resume? Try attending one of the below public interest conferences or career fairs to add a few influential names to your networking circle, or apply for the chance to win a legal writing competition centered around human rights law:

1. 2013 Public Interest Environmental Law Conference

Held at the University of Oregon School of Law, the 31st Annual Public Interest Environmental Law Conference claims to be one of the world’s most important environmental legal gatherings. The goal is to inspire renewed commitment to collaboration and outreach among attendees. Spanning four days (February 28 – March 3, 2013), the conference usually brings in more than 3,000 activists, attorneys, students, scientists, politicians, authors, philosophers and concerned citizens. Registration is still open.

2. 2013 Lavender Law Conference & Career Fair

The National LGBT Bar Association’s annual Lavender Law Career Fair was created specifically with LGBT candidates in mind. Conference attendees will speak directly with LGBT-friendly recruiters from law firms, government agencies, LGBT rights groups, and corporate legal departments. The National LGBT Bar Association will host two live, interactive webchat sessions before the Career Fair to answer any questions. The Career Fair will take place in San Francisco from August 22-24, 2013. You can register here.

3. Trinity Law School’s Center for Human Rights Law Writing Competition

The 2nd Annual Center for Human Rights Law Writing Competition invites the submission of scholarly papaers on the topic of “Evolving Tension between the Freedom of Expression, Freedom of Religion, and Hate Speech and Blasphemy Laws”. Specifically, the Center for Human Rights Law would like essays to address this growing tension in a way that best expresses the depth and scope of the continually evolving issue. Prizes range from $500 – $3,000, and include expedited consideration for publication in the 2013/2014 Trinity Law Review. The deadline to submit papers is March 25, 2013.

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Don’t forget to check out our Public Interest Career Fair Calendar, located in PSJD’s Resource Center, for even more career fairs!

Found the perfect summer public interest job opportunity, but no way to fund the work? Check out PSJD’s Resource Center for lots of guides and lists full of fellowships, stipends, and advice! We’re constantly updating these lists, so make sure you check back every week for new links:

1) Summer Funding Resources Available for Work in Any Geographic Location

This guide lists funding resources for public interest work across the United States. From scholarships to fellowships, these programs help law students serve communities in need without going broke.

2) Summer Funding Resources for Work in Specific Geographical Regions

This guide has the same information as the one featured above; however, this guide is limited to programs that only allow applicants who will be working in certain regions.

3) Finding and Funding International Public Interest Opportunities

This guide, produced by NALP members at the University of Arizona, University of Georgia and William & Mary law schools,  provides background information and recommendations for law students and lawyers interested in international public interest careers.

4) BONUS: Financing a Public Interest Career – Background & Resources

While you’re looking for ways to fund your summer public interest work, it couldn’t hurt to do a little research on financial planning and debt management for public interest lawyers! Help yourself become more financially literate by reading our guide, which includes links to additional resources and information on the basics of loan repayment assistance programs.

Georgetown Law’s Office of Public Interest & Community Service posted info about what prospective NY bar applicants need to know regarding the new 50-hour pro bono requirement.  The post includes links to FAQs and other resources.  (While a little bit of the content is directed specifically at G’town students, most content is of use to everybody.)

While we’re on the topic, here’s an oldie-but-goodie, “How Pro Bono Can Help You as  a Law Student,” which we came across on the Twitters.

Life is good in the Emerald City and Columbia Legal Services is hiring!

Columbia Legal Services seeks an attorney with experience in child welfare, education, or juvenile justice cases.
The position is full-time and will be located in Seattle or time can be split between Seattle and Olympia if residence is in between.
The CYP attorney will help with the Project’s cases and other advocacy, splitting time between litigation and other policy advocacy. The attorney will:

1. Work with a team of attorneys on complex litigation or appeals and policy advocacy;
2. Be available to travel occasionally around the state as well as spend some time in Olympia during the legislative session.

…

Applicants must be members of the Washington State Bar or seek admission as soon as possible after employment.

Read the full posting on PSJD (login required).

It’s never too late (or too early, for that matter) to start managing your law school debt. And with the Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program, financing a public interest legal career may not be as heavy of a burden as you think.

Want to know the ins and outs of the Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program? Take a look at this very important message from Equal Justice Works’ about how they can help you figure it all out:

Student debt remains a crippling burden for far too many, and especially for those who want to pursue careers in public service. Equal Justice Works provides in depth information on loan repayment assistance programs and relief programs like Income-Based Repayment and Public Service Loan Forgiveness to help everyone pursue the career of their dreams.

If you or someone you know needs a detailed guide to dealing with their student loans and earning forgiveness, consider purchasing our comprehensive eBook, Take Control of Your Future. It goes into the details borrowers need to understand and the exact steps they need to take to manage their educational debt and take control of their future. Even better, the proceeds help fund Equal Justice Works’ student debt program so we can help more people!

One of the things it will help us continue is our weekly U.S. News blog, the Student Loan Ranger. Last month featured an interview with the author of the Student Loan Forgiveness Act petition, took a close look at the value of online education, asked where all your tuition dollars are going and examined the impact of student loans on credit scores.

Every month, our free, live webinars also provide a comprehensive overview of the debt relief options available for students and graduates – including Public Service Loan Forgiveness and Income-Based Repayment – and provide viewers with the opportunity to ask questions. Click here to view a schedule of our webinars and to register for an upcoming session.

Our February sessions include:

 Drowning in Debt? Learn How Government and Nonprofit Workers Can Earn Public Service Loan Forgiveness

Wednesday, February 13, 1-2 p.m. EST

Thursday, February 28, 3-4 p.m. EST

 A must attend for anyone with educational debt planning to work or currently working for the government or a nonprofit, this webinar explains how you can benefit from the College Cost Reduction and Access Act, the most significant law affecting public service in a generation, and includes updates on President Obama’s new Pay As You Earn program.

This webinar will teach you how to:

– Understand your federal loans

– Manage your monthly payments using income-driven repayment plans like Income-Based Repayment plan

– How to qualify for Public Service Loan Forgiveness

Are you a Latina public interest attorney interested in improving your leadership skills for the sake of the communities you serve? Check out this opportunity presented by the Hispanic National Bar Association:

The Hispanic National Bar Association’s Commission on the Status of Latinas in the Profession is sponsoring a Public Interest Latina Leadership Workshop to inspire and train the next generation of diverse leaders in public interest law. In 2010, the Hispanic National Bar Association (HNBA) commissioned a national study, “La Voz de la Abogada Latina: Challenges and Rewards in Serving the Public Interest.” The research findings suggest that Latinas are not well represented in leadership positions in public interest and government organizations and that there is a need to create programs to help minimize barriers to promotion and professional success. The research conducted by the HNBA provides the foundation for this innovative and ground breaking training for Latinas working in the public interest sector.

The Latina Leadership Program is open to attorneys who have been in practice for 5 or more years at legal services, public interest nonprofit organizations, and government positions, including military personnel. Space is limited, so we encourage interested individuals to apply without delay. Additional requirements for eligibility include (a) Good standing in the bar of your current state of admission; and (b) Confirmed membership in the Hispanic National Bar Association- to become a member of the HNBA, click here.

To download the application, click here.
The deadline to submit application is February 8, 2013.
All applicants will be notified by February 15, 2013.

Any questions? Contact the Public Interest Latina Leadership Workshop at latinaleadershipworkshop@yahoo.com!