The Career Fair held at TJSL coordinated by the Public Interest Law Foundation (PILF) on November 16 gave students the opportunity to meet with organizations that serve the public sector.
“I’m extremely interested in public interest advocacy and today's Career Fair was such a great opportunity to speak with some fantastic organizations," said Sara Denton 2L. “I learned that San Diego has some great opportunities to gain experience with internships in this field and that all of the guests were very helpful in pointing me in the right direction.”
The organizations conducted interviews with current students who are looking for jobs and who are interested in intern and externships.
“We always look to TJ for great interns to help us with all of our programs," said Elizabeth Lopez with Casa Cornelia Law Center. “We have great support from the Director of Clinical Externship & Pro Bono Programs Professor Judybeth Tropp. We have seen a growing number of students interested in Public Interest organizations such as ours in the past few years. It is so refreshing to see our prospective attorneys caring so much about giving back to the community, especially the immigrant population.”
The Career Fair gave students the opportunity to get informed about the many types of public interest law paths available. “I attend the Career Fair to see what opportunities are available in public interest,” said Ashley Salas 1L. “Before I decide what field of law I want to pursue, I want to try every type of law that interests me, and I think the best way to do that is to speak to people who are in those fields and get involved. I learned there were a lot more organizations out there that I did not know about, and I found some that really piqued my interest.”
"PILF's 11th Annual Career Fair was very successful!” said PILF President Kelly Hayes. “This was a huge opportunity for TJSL students to get their foot in the door, before other local law schools. Many of these employers interviewed and reviewed resumes with students to hire for next summer. We had 15 public interest law organizations attend and a great student turn-out. ”
Students met with representatives with:
• Legal Aid Society of San Diego Pro Bono Program
• Voices for Children
• SAY San Diego Teen Court
• Housing Opportunities Collaborative
• California Rural Legal Assistance
• California Innocence Project
• Office of the Family Law Facilitator, San Diego Superior Court
• YWCA of San Diego County
• Ochoa Legal Group
• Elder Law & Advocacy
• Casa Cornelia Law Center
• San Diego Volunteer Lawyer Program
• San Diego County Public Defender
• Equal Employment Opportunities Commission
