Career Services and Public Service: Achieving Career Objectives and Sustaining the Tradition of Giving Back
The simple fact is this: an enormous part of the appeal of law school is the unparalleled potential of a law degree to present an array of options for one’s career. Michigan Law’s students and graduates have ambitious goals for meaningful and exciting careers — and they have unsurpassed success in achieving those goals. What makes Michigan different than many other highly selective law schools is the degree to which we encourage students to consider and pursue a wide range of options. Our graduates are found in significant numbers in the most desirable geographic markets in the United States and abroad, and go on to work in all the available employment sectors, rather being concentrated in one particular field. This success begins at the Office of Career Services (OCS) and the Office of Public Service (OPS), which provide a variety of panels, workshops, and guest speakers, as well as individualized counseling, all aimed at helping students explore a wide range of professional possibilities while in law school. Then, a network of highly engaged alumni, faculty, and upper-class students, as well as the professional Attorney-Advisor staff, participate in programs to enhance students’ exploration of career choices and provide individually tailored advice designed to maximize employment success — whether private firm, public interest, government, academia, judicial clerkships, or business. As a result, no law school in the nation extends to its graduates a wider array of career opportunities.
For those interested in private sector work, hundreds of the nation’s most prestigious private law firms annually send representatives to Ann Arbor to participate in the Law School’s comprehensive on-campus interviewing program. Last fall, over 700 employers came to Ann Arbor and conducted almost 8200 interviews with about 470 of our second- and third-year students who chose to participate. (Most interviewing takes place in late August, prior to the start of classes, but a smaller interview program directed principally at first-year students is held in the winter.) In addition, over 1,800 jobs were posted with the Law School.
Michigan also has a comprehensive program, organized in conjunction with members of the faculty, to assist students who seek judicial clerkships. Faculty members provide counseling and recommendations on behalf of students exploring clerkship opportunities. At any one time, approximately 100 Michigan Law graduates hold clerkships. Many obtain prestigious judicial clerkships in federal and state appellate and trial courts immediately following graduation. Others clerk after a year or two of legal work. Our graduates also clerk internationally — with recent placements at the European Court of Justice, Supreme Court of Israel, Inter-American Court of Human Rights, and International Court of Justice. Additionally, 1 or 2 Michigan Law School graduates clerk with the U.S. Supreme Court every year; fourteen have done so in the last decade.
Michigan graduates are leaders in obtaining other challenging legal positions as well. Over 400 of our graduates teach law, making Michigan one of a handful of feeder schools for this profession. Likewise, Michigan has graduated the third highest number of state and federal judges in the United States.
As part of a great public institution, of course, the University of Michigan Law School encourages its students to consider legal careers that serve all segments of society, and correspondingly, major government agencies and public interest employers come on campus to interview our students. For students interested in careers in public service or with public interest organizations, the experienced staff of OPS offers individual counseling, designed to develop the specialized strategies needed to seek and obtain these challenging and rewarding positions. Moreover, public service at the Law School can be experienced in a variety of ways, beyond career assistance from OPS — by participating in our nationally respected clinical programs, or via individually arranged pro bono service. These opportunities expose students to a range of legal problems and practice areas, allow students to utilize their legal skills on behalf of underserved populations, and help students acquire sought-after credentials and build invaluable professional relationships.
OPS can also be an important resource for students interested in pursuing summer internships and post-graduate fellowships. Among other summer funding opportunities, Michigan Law offers the Dean’s Public Service Fellowship to 20 second-year law students interested in pursuing a public interest or government career. The Bates Oversees Fellowships, Program in Refugee and Asylum Law internships, Cambodian internships, and AIRE Centre internships support international experiences. Michigan’s Student Funded Fellowship (SFF) program provides summer funding to students who choose low- or non-paying public interest and government positions. And the University’s International Institute awards similar fellowships to students and graduates for legal internships abroad. Michigan Law’s support also extends to our students interested in post-graduate government and public interest fellowships: The Robert Fiske Fellowship for Public Service is awarded annually to three of our graduating students working in government. Additionally, our students have been successful in capturing highly coveted post-graduate fellowships such as, among others, the Skadden Fellowship, the Equal Justice Works Fellowship, Fulbright-Hays Fellowship, Luce Fellowship, and the Echoing Green Fellowship.
Finally, OPS helps students address practical concerns such as financial planning. The Law School encourages students and alumni to pursue a diverse range of employment through Michigan’s Debt Management Program. As one of the most generous loan repayment assistance programs in the country, our Debt Management Program funds about 100 graduates a year, providing them with maximum financial flexibility to choose modest-paying jobs in any law-related area. For a brochure about this watershed resource, please contact the Admissions Office.
Simply put, no law school is more dedicated to helping students find and follow the right career path for them, rather than funneling students to particular markets and jobs. Certainly, our graduates can easily and successfully pursue careers at the best New York City firms — but so can they explore the best public-interest organizations in the Pacific Northwest, as well as all points in between.