Researching Legal Careers

Seattle University's Access to Justice Institute (ATJI), through its collaborative student, school, and community partnerships and programs,  prepares students for a lifetime in law in furtherance of social justice.

ATJI provides a range of funding for prospective, current, and former students interested in a career in public interest. You can find more information on their Fund Your Passion page. 

Additional information on finding ATJI partnership projects, public interest and social justice opportunities, and pro bono opportunities can be found on their Opportunities and Connections page.

Seattle University's Public Interest Law Foundation (PILF) is a student-led organization that has created and supported programs that enable students to explore and engage in public interest careers. Through fundraising, and with the help of individual donors and law firm and institutional partners, PILF is able to support the PILF Summer Interest Grant Program, which provides grants to Seattle U Law students working in unpaid summer jobs at nonprofits or public agencies that provide quality legal services to low-income and marginalized communities. 

While not a source of direct funding for public interest work, many writing competitions provide monetary prizes for competition winners. This prize money can help make other opportunities possible.

Berkeley Law's guide to Writing Competitions lists numerous opportunities, organized by student type (all law students, JD students only, and LLM and SJD students only) as well as by areas of law. Click on the name of the competition to find more information, details and deadlines.

For a list of student writing competitions organized by date, see this Student Writing Competitions guide from the GSU Law Library. 

AccessLex provides an extensive databank of Law School Writing Competitions. Browse the listings, or use the filters to search by deadline, award amount, interest area, and more.