The Office of Career and Professional Development's Rachel Lawrence, Assistant Director for Legal Recruiting, recently had an article published by the National Association for Law Placement's (NALP) magazine Bulletin. Lawrence's article, "“Tiny Ripple of Hope” Insights for Promoting Public Service Career Paths", examined how Career Services Offices inspire students to consider a career in public service. The article also acknowledged the importance of reminding students of the benefits of public service as a good starting point.

Bulletin, a monthly digital magazine, presents news and issues of professional interest to NALP’s membership of more than 2,500 legal career professionals who advise law students, lawyers, law offices, and law schools in the U.S., Canada, and beyond.

NALP Bulletin
“Tiny Ripple of Hope” Insights for Promoting Public Service Career Paths
By: Rachel Lawrence
Date: January 2023 

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Those of us who work in law school career services appreciate the willingness of our private sector employers to participate in on-campus recruitment opportunities. However, we also counsel students interested in nonprofit and government career pathways, making it important to understand how expanding both private and public sector campus recruitment opportunities will benefit our students.

In December 2020, Trisha Nakamura and Whittley Pike advised how smaller Career Services Offices (CSOs) could realistically provide the resources to students that they need to build skills through public interest and government clinical and experiential learning opportunities (see “Leveraging Creative Placement to Build Student Skills beyond Traditional Associate and Law Clerk Roles,” NALP Bulletin, December 2020). But the question remains: How do CSOs inspire students to consider a career in public service when they may also be facing the stark contrast of Big Law salaries and more on campus recruitment opportunities to interview with private sector employers?
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