Pathway: Public Service & Public Policy

The Public Service and Public Policy Pathway is designed as a guided curriculum that will prepare you for a career in public service/public policy. Public service work may include legal work in all levels of government, and/or work on behalf of underrepresented people or causes. Public service lawyers work in government agencies, the courts, legislative bodies, legal services, non-profit, non-governmental (NGO) and law reform organizations. Practice may include litigation, transactional work, rulemaking, and/or policy analysis. Lawyers who work in the area of public policy may analyze issues that affect the public good and/or use a variety of strategies to influence public opinion and government decision-making.

Faculty Advisors

Professors Shelley Broderick, Twinette Johnson, Marcy Karin, and Saleema Snow

Curriculum

^{REQ. = Required course for all students | CORE = At least 3 core courses are required
RALWR = An opportunity to complete the Research Paper requirement | CR = An opportunity to complete the Clinic requirement}

Community Service/Summer Fellowships/Externships

UDC Law has extensive connections with non-profit organizations and governmental agencies in the DC metropolitan region that provide students with the opportunity to spend a semester actually working in their chosen fields. The following are some examples of relevant placements students have obtained with outside organizations and agencies:

• American Bar Association Commission on Law and Aging
• American Psychiatric Association
• The Campaign for the Fair Sentencing of Youth
• The Climate Reality Project
• Coalition for Juvenile Justice
• Council for Court Excellence
• DC Board of Ethics and Government Accountability
• DC Council
• DC Department of Employment Services
• DC Department of Health
• DC Department of Housing and Community Development
• DC Executive Office of the Mayor
• DC Office of Administrative Hearings
• DC Office of Human Rights and Commission on Human Rights
• DC Office of Planning
• DC Office of Policy and Legislative Affairs
• DC Office of the Attorney General
• DC Office of the People’s Counsel
• DC Public Service Commission, Office of the General Counsel
• DC Shadow Senator’s Office
• DC Superior Court and Court of Appeals
• EarthJustice
• Equal Justice Under Law
• Food and Water Watch
• Government Accountability Project
• Human Rights First
• Humane Society Legislative Fund
• Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law
• The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights
• Manna, Inc.
• Maryland District Court, Circuit Court and Court of Appeals
• National African American Drug Policy Coalition
• National Association for the Education of Young Children
• National Health Law Program
• National Legal Aid & Defender Association
• Pension Rights Center
• Transformative Justice Coalition
• US Coast Guard Judge Advocate General
• US Commission on Civil Rights
• US Consumer Financial Protection Bureau
• US Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit
• US Court of Federal Claims, Office of Special Masters
• US Department of Energy
• US Department of Health & Human Services
• US Department of Homeland Security
• US Department of Housing and Urban Development
• US Department of Justice
• US Department of Labor
• US Department of Transportation
• US Department of Veterans Affairs
• US District Court for the District of Columbia
• US District Court for the District of Maryland
• US District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia
• US Environmental Protection Agency
• US Federal Trade Commission, Bureau of Consumer Protection
• US Green Building Council
• US House of Representatives
• US Securities and Exchange Commission
• US Senate, Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions
• Virginia Office of the Attorney General
• Washington Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights and Urban Affairs