Office of Career Services (OCS) & Office of Public Interest and Community Service (OPICS)

The Office of Career Services (OCS) and the Office of Public Interest and Community Service (OPICS) look forward to working with all of its students during their law school tenure in the exciting process of career exploration and decision making.

The legal field comprises a vast number of careers that require many different kinds of people. The skills necessary to be a successful criminal defense attorney are different from those required to be a lobbyist or a tax attorney. As you embark on this new adventure called law school, remember that you have an immense number of opportunities before you and we are here to help. We want to be partners in your legal career planning and help you make the best career choices for you .

OCS and OPICS work together to provide comprehensive career-related assistance to Law Center students and are committed to providing students with quality information, advice and service in the areas of career counseling, job search strategies and opportunities and professional development. And in particular, OPICS facilitates student pro bono activity and offers career advising to students and alumni seeking to pursue public interest opportunities.

In your first year of law school you will be assigned to a “Section.” Each Section has an advisor in OCS dedicated to answering all of the students in that particular section's career-related needs. That advisor will be responsible providing one-on-one assistance throughout your law school tenure. Students are welcome to work with any counselor they would like, but their section advisor will always be responsible for making sure that the students in his or her section are being well taken care of. Each section advisor also has a substantive “specialty” that cuts across each section, e.g., Judicial Clerkship Advising.

OPICS also is staffed by counselors committed to providing individualized assistance to students, but does not work on the section model. Any student who wants to pursue a public interest or government career is encouraged to meet individually with one of the OPICS counselors to get specialized advice in these areas. OPICS also houses the school's Pro Bono Program, open to all students regardless of career goals, which offers students assistance in finding volunteer legal opportunities during the academic year.