Harvard Law School Plan – What Is “Public Interest”?
We previously blogged about the Harvard Law school plan to waive third year tuition for law students who decide to do public interest work. Some have asked “What is public interest?” Here is an excerpt from the plan that answers that question:
Public Service Job Requirements
Recipients of PSI grants must take an eligible public service job immediately after graduating from law school and must remain in an eligible job for 5 years. Graduates with PSI grants must report their job status to HLS at regular intervals. Final decisions on job qualification will be made by an HLS Public Service Initiative Committee. Under the Initiative, public service work is defined as:
- Any full time job for a governmental unit, which includes federal, military, state, or local government, or the overseas equivalent.
- Any full time job for a nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization or the overseas equivalent, with the exception of jobs at institutions of higher education.
- Any full time job for a political campaign.
Clerkships
Up to one year of a clerkship can qualify toward the 5 year commitment. Graduates taking a second clerkship year must complete 4 more years of public service work after the second clerkship year.Private sector, private public interest firms, and academia
Jobs in the private sector, including jobs at private public interest firms, and jobs at institutions of higher education do not meet the public service work requirement of the Public Service Initiative. Graduates in these jobs can qualify for LIPP assistance based on their income and eligible debt.Self-employment, part-time work, and periods of unemployment
Self-employment, part-time work, and periods of unemployment do not meet the public service work requirement. Temporarily unemployed graduates may ask to have the PSI grant placed in short-term suspension rather than enter repayment.
For the text of the entire plan, see “Public Service Initiative Program Guidelines” on the Harvard Law School Website.
DAB