Just in time for the upcoming spring semester, the University Law School will launch a new law and public service program for first- and second-year Law students.
The program "is designed to offer a select group of students the opportunity to receive intensive and appropriate training that will prepare them for a career in public service," said Jim Ryan, the faculty director of the new program.
Securing entry-level positions in public service currently is very challenging, said Yared Getachew, assistant dean for public service at the Law School. "Students in the program would be able to offer prospective employers additional indicia of demonstrated commitment to public service, as well as training and preparation to take on work immediately after graduation," he explained.
Students accepted to the program will be required this spring to take a Law and Public Service course taught by Prof. Anne Coughlin, to participate in a colloquium in their final year of Law School and to complete an independent study project.
One of the distinguishing features of this program is the intensity and involvement of faculty as mentors who will guide students' independent study projects.
"The mentoring relationship will be unique and, we hope, quite useful because students will pick faculty who are experts in the areas that interest them most," Ryan said.
Faculty mentors will help students put together a course sequence conducive to specialization within the public service domain of their choice, Ryan said, adding that faculty will also serve as "sounding boards for employment opportunities and interests."
In addition to mentoring services, program participants will be guaranteed summer funding for public service jobs, assuming compliance with the prerequisites established by the Public Interest Law Association for summer grants, Ryan said. Participants will be required to spend at least one summer working in the field of public service. The program will accept 20 first-year students, along with five second-year students.
"[The program] will be limited, in part because a key element will be faculty mentoring, which in turn requires that the program be kept to a reasonable size," Ryan said. "Many elements of the program, however, will be open to other students, including the introductory class on law and public service, as well as the third-year colloquium."
There is already significant student interest in the program, Ryan said. About 80 students attended the first interest meeting Monday.
"This program will only bolster the public service community at U.Va. Law and will prove to be a huge benefit to the students and the Law School," said third-year Law student Susan Edwards, president of the Public Interest Law Association at the University.
Applicants for the program's inaugural class must submit a resume, transcript, recommendation and personal statement to Ryan by Nov. 6.
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