Activities outside the classroom at a law school may complement the curriculum (co-curricular) or serve other purposes (extra-curricular). It is important to determine what kinds of activities are commonplace and institutionalized at your prospective law schools. Such activities are indicators of the interests of students drawn to the school, the type of support students receive and the opportunities for leadership.

While some public interest centers on campus offer the opportunity for students to engage in legal work with faculty, other public interest centers and programs focus on promoting public interest issues in a different format. Some of these centers are faculty-run, but the lack of service opportunities leaves fewer options for students to get involved. Nevertheless, if the center or program is in your area of interest, the faculty running these centers can be great resources for you.

Most of these public interest centers are dedicated to promoting public interest issues within the law school and assisting law students interested in engaging in public service. Activities usually include career counseling and pro bono coordination. These centers are a visible, physical presence on campus where public interest-minded students can gather and get support from professionals with an expertise in public service.

Law schools are governed in large part by committees who work with or report to the dean. For example, schools typically have committees for admissions, academic policies and hiring. Some schools have also created committees dedicated to public service issues, suggesting that these programs are ritually considered and evaluated as part of the law school’s mission. Students are often involved in the decision-making in these committees, providing a great opportunity for students to gain leadership experience.

All law schools publish scholarly journals; some publish other types of periodicals as well. These publications give law students an opportunity to distinguish themselves as writers and explore in depth a social justice issue of their choosing. Law school publications on public interest topics are one indicator of a school’s support of public interest and social justice scholarship. These publications may include a serial journal publication on a public interest topic – such as poverty – or a single volume of a more general-focused law review that is devoted exclusively to one public interest issue, such as environmental justice.

The public interest events that a law school sponsors will tell you volumes about the strength of public interest programming and staffing at a law school. A law school can have special titles and offices for public interest but if nothing is happening outside the classroom on public interest issues, then there is a disconnect. The converse is also true. Some schools may have all the events you desire, but with no special public interest titles or programs.

When exploring public interest events, examine both annual events, which reveal the types of programs you can count on taking place again, and special programs, which indicate the level of engagement by faculty, administrators and students in public interest issues. Law Student Organizations Engaged in Public Interest Activities

Many law students, particularly those committed to pursuing public interest careers, often feel isolated in law school. Student organizations provide a community of support for their membership and a core of campus leaders to advocate for many of the programs and resources that can support public interest-minded students.

Student organizations are an indication of the level of engagement among students in the extra-curricular activities that you care about, as well as the institutional support for such activities. The level of support provided by law schools to student organizations and the resulting vitality of this community are important signs of the health and happiness of the student body.

You will want to explore:

• How many student organizations are active on the campus, what they are, and what they do;
• What percentage of organizations sponsor public interest events;
• Whether a school actively supports student organizations ; and
• Whether faculty members, clinicians and administrative staff are active in advising and aiding student organizations.

Some student groups exist to engage in pro bono service. Other groups exist as a community of like-minded students interested in holding events and engaging in service projects. Examples of typical law student organizations are:

• Environmental Law Society
• Juvenile Justice Society
• National Lawyers Guild
• American Civil Liberties Union
• Federalist Society
• American Constitution Society
• Street Law Program
• Volunteer Income Tax Assistance Program
• Women's Law Society
• Christian Legal Society
• Amnesty International

In addition, minority bar associations provide a voice for groups that have historically faced discrimination, such as:

• Black Law Student Association
• Women's Law Association
• Asian American Law Student Association
• Gay and Lesbian Law Student Association
• Hispanic and Chicano Law Student Association
• La Raza

Law students are expected to provide law-related pro bono service; many also help the community in other ways. Non-law related community service opportunities provide students the opportunity to get to know the community outside the law school walls, do something helpful for that community and, possibly, bond with fellow classmates. Some schools offer community service days, which are dedicated to students, faculty and administrators helping out on projects around the community such as stocking a food pantry, cleaning a vacant lot and helping build a house.

Many schools provide distinctions or awards to students for a range of honors and activities. Whether and how they also recognize pro bono and other public service is an indicator of how the school values such activities. The E-Guide provides information on how law schools recognize student service at events, with awards and on official documentation of your degree.

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