Job Search Resources

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Helpful Job Search Sites | Maryland Public Interest Organizations & Government Agencies

Are you looking for a public interest internship or post-graduate job?

We can be very helpful in identifying potential opportunities and helping you with your application materials. Schedule an appointment with a counselor on-line from your Symplicity homepage.

If you don't know where to start, you may find inspiration by reviewing the list of public service employers where other students have recently worked.

There are many public interest opportunities posted every day on Symplicity. However, there are other very helpful job search sites that you should monitor on a regular basis as well. Set job alerts on multiple sites and save yourself time.

As always, contact any organization that interests you directly even if you do not see a job posting.

Helpful Job Search Sites

PSJD.org
PSJD.org is an online clearinghouse for law students and lawyers to connect with public interest opportunities and information on public interest careers.  PSJD is a free resource for University of Baltimore law students and alumni to search among thousands of public interest job opportunities and employer profiles.  In addition to its database, PSJD offers an online library of educational and career-building resources for those interested in pursuing a career in public service. 

PSJD also provides extensive resources on post-graduate fellowships. Fellowships are a common way that nonprofit organizations hire third-year law students and recent graduates for entry-level positions. Over 300 employers offer fellowship programs, and you can find a directory of fellowship opportunities with a very helpful application calendar.

2012-13 Federal Legal Employment Opportunities Guide
A very useful overview of federal legal careers.

2012-13 University of AZ Government Honors and Internship Handbook
This handbook is not a comprehensive directory of legal internship opportunities with the federal government, but it is an excellent place to start. (Contact the LCDO for the login and password.) Additional federal job search sites for internships include USAJobs and United States Department of Justice Legal Careers Page. If there is a particular agency or office that interests you, go directly to the agency’s website to find internship opportunities. (Many agencies only advertise openings on their website!)

D.C. Consortium of Legal Services Providers
This listserv is an excellent source for Washington, D.C. area public interest events and opportunities.

Idealist
Idealist contains information about (primarily non-legal) public interest careers both domestically and abroad.

National Legal Aid and Defender Association
You can find a national directory of openings on the jobs page.

Nonprofit Career Network
A job board for those seeking non-legal employment with a nonprofit. You can also search a directory of nonprofit organizations.

Opportunity Knocks.Org 
A national online job site and career development website focused exclusively on serving the nonprofit community.

Roll Call Jobs
Roll Call is great resource for students interested in public policy and lobbying.

Maryland Public Interest Organizations & Government Agencies

Office of the Attorney General of Maryland
The Maryland Office of the Attorney General (OAG) offers law students a variety of volunteer positions in its offices in the Baltimore and Annapolis areas. There are opportunities in a wide range of practice areas, including criminal investigations, criminal appeals, health care, natural resources management and environmental enforcement, antitrust and consumer protection, insurance, education, juvenile affairs, and transportation. The OAG has a rewarding full-time summer associate program, and accepts volunteer applications for all semesters. 

Maryland Office of the Public Defender
Office of the Public Defender (OPD) has 12 District offices and more than 7 Divisions throughout the State of Maryland. Law students and recent graduates work as law clerks assisting in the defense of criminal cases in the various county Circuit, District and Juvenile Courts. Law clerks are teamed with attorneys and assist in all aspects of those attorneys' criminal cases, which range in seriousness from misdemeanor theft to homicide. The OPD accepts volunteer applications for all semesters and for the summer.

Baltimore City State's Attorney's Office
The Baltimore City State's Attorney's Office (SAO) has on-going opportunities for unpaid internships/externships in over 13 different divisions, including Major Investigations, Homicide, Juvenile, Family Violence, and Victim and Witness Services.

The other State's Attorney's Offices in Maryland offer similar opportunities for law students. You must apply to each office separately. If the website does not offer instructions on how to apply for a legal internship, you can look up the office in PSLawnet.

MLSC – Funded Legal Services Providers - Descriptions & Websites 
If you are looking to intern with a public interest organization but are not sure what you want to do, then this is a great place to begin. Maryland Legal Services Corporation helps to fund many of Maryland's leading public interest organizations, listed below.