How Should Aspiring Public Interest Lawyers Choose a Law School?

Specialized programs such as public interest law allow aspiring lawyers to intensify or modify their knowledge in a particular area of ​​law. Public interest law specifically is a legal practice which seeks to help marginalized or less-privileged people and is often a ‘nonprofit’ profession.  

Students who are interested in this program have reward opportunities. Careers in this field involve fighting for public and community interests. An example is the investigation of human rights violations. Read on to discover the opportunities in this field and how to choose the right school.

Opportunities Public Interest Law Schools Offer Students

Public interest law schools are destined to provide a comprehensive university education seeking to insert students into the conception of professional social responsibility through actions of public interest that may benefit vulnerable groups or imply the strengthening of our social and democratic state of law.

The pedagogical purpose of the school is to provide students with skills and competencies to face diverse cases, preferably of high social incidence. It teaches them to investigate and reason legally, as well as to elaborate strategic documents in the context of a real case. It is about acquiring litigation skills through public interest actions of wide visibility.

Not only is it an academic training space for the professional practice of law, but it also allows the student to contrast the legal concepts learned in his career with a specific situation that challenges them. Finally, the public interest law schools fulfill a vital social role in promoting institutional changes through the tools that the law allows.

How to Choose the Best Public Interest Law Schools

Dealing with the basics first, an aspiring public interest lawyer must work hard on his qualifications if he wants to study in the most prestigious faculties around the world.

Entering, for example, a US or UK faculty to study law, in general, is not a simple matter since most have a low student acceptance rate. For instance, the Yale Law School, the best in Law in the US, had an acceptance rate of less than 8.4 in 2017, since only students with excellent grades and an impeccable score on the admission exams are admitted. So, if you want to gain admission into one of these law schools to study public interest law, you must have a history of excellent grades that can help you beat the crowd and deal with the challenge of being a student.

It is not enough to have attractive extracurricular activities. It is also necessary to have a balance between good grades and activities outside the school to show comprehensive preparation when applying for an important institution. For example, you could try your hands in student politics or activism. It also helps if you have published articles on specialized topics. You can even take up a custom writing service side gig that specializes in the field you aspire for. The activities that stand out are those that demonstrate leadership, athletics and voluntariness.

Getting a scholarship to go to college can make a big difference when choosing any school. Unfortunately, public interest law is a field of law which isn’t as lucrative as the corporate type. There is a slim chance of becoming rich as you may become in other fields of law. So, knowing this, it is important for aspiring lawyers to think of the financial costs of their preferred law school before choosing to enroll. And choosing a school which offers loan forgiveness and scholarships to students in this line is a great way to start.

Another factor that can increase your chances of being accepted is the experience you have in the workplace. It is advisable to finish college, work on something related to your career and then apply for a law school to complement your education since you are more mature.

A good letter of endorsement or recommendation will also be useful. You have to be able to explain with good arguments that your request is focused on the subject for which you want to study in such school and explain why it is your dream to be accepted. If the letters of recommendation are linked to the subject of the application, they increase the chances of being approved.

Conclusion 

In principle, we have envisioned these points for future public interest law students to consider before entering college. Of course, other analyses can also be done.

However, adherence to selection criteria does not fully guarantee a good choice, especially because the competition is always getting stiffer and the quality of teaching may worsen throughout the course. However, it will certainly reduce the risks of making the wrong choice right away.

Do your best to minimize the odds of failure now. Leaving it for a later time or in the hands of chance can be very costly. More costly than you can imagine!