Leah Nicholls JD/LLM ’11, director of the Access to Justice Project at Public Justice, provides perspective on why she chose to pursue a career in public interest law, the resources she received while at Duke Law, her law school experience, her experience after graduation, and her advice to students pursuing public interest law.

Nicholls graduated from Duke University with a JD and an LLM degree in International and Comparative Law from Duke Law. She currently serves as a Consumer Fellow to the American Bar Association’s Consumer Financial Services Committee.

Sophia Tan JD/MA '19, a Clinical Law Fellow at Georgetown Law's Racial Equity in Education Law & Policy Clinic, offers insights into why she chose to pursue a career in public interest law, her road to law school, her law school experience, and her decision to start her public interest law career directly after law school.

Olivia Cole '17, a recipient of the prestigious Skadden Fellowship and Deputy Legal Director at Swords to Plowshares, shares about what inspired her to pursue a career in public interest law. Cole also talks about the experiences and resources at Duke Law, like the Office for Public Interest, that helped her to secure her career and prepared her to hit the ground running as a public interest lawyer right after graduation.

To learn more about public interest law at Duke Law, please visit https://law.duke.edu/publicinterest/.

Join us as we celebrate 30 students in the Class of 2021 who have earned the Certificate in Public Interest and Public Service Law.

Appearing: Dean Kerry Abrams, Stella Boswell (Assistant Dean for Public Interest and Pro Bono), Bethan Eynon (Director of Public Interest Careers), and Prof. Michelle Nowlin (Chair, Public Interest and Pro Bono Faculty Committee).

Will you be at a law firm at some point in your career? Going into private practice does not have to mean turning your back on issues and communities that need your help! In fact, many non-profits rely on pro bono attorneys at law firms to help them reach as many people as possible. Immigration is one of the best fields to get involved with as a pro bono attorney.

Professor Walter E. Dellinger III (former Assistant Attorney General in charge of OLC) discusses the role the Office of Legal Counsel plays in Executive branch decision making, key moments and figures in the Office's history, and stories from his time leading the office during the Clinton Administration. The discussion was led by Professor H. Jefferson Powell (former Deputy Assistant Attorney General, OLC).

Co-sponsored by the American Constitution Society, the Federalist Society, and the Government and Public Interest Society

The Duke Legal Clinics allow students to build an experiential bridge between law school and practice. Operating collectively as a public interest law firm with nine distinct practice areas and housed in its own wing of the law school, the Duke Legal Clinics provide students challenging opportunities to deepen their substantive legal knowledge, strengthen their lawyering skills, and build their professional identities.