Public Service at Virginia

Virginia Law upholds Thomas Jefferson’s conviction that lawyers have a special obligation to serve the public interest. We are committed to nurturing the civic virtues that support his ideal of public responsibility: integrity, civility and service. The Law School offers hundreds of thousands of dollars in fellowships to students pursuing internship and permanent opportunities in the public sector.  Our loan forgiveness program, administered by the Financial Aid Office, helps remove the burden of debt repayment for students who choose lower-paying public service careers, making virtually any career a practical possibility.

Public Service Center Staff

Annie Kim Assistant Dean for Public Service and Director of the Mortimer Caplin Public Service Center	Kimberly Emery Assistant Dean for Pro Bono and Public Interest	Molly McShane Director of Public Service	Amanda Yale Director of Public Service	Andrew Broaddus Assistant Director of Public Service

 
Mortimer Caplin Public Service Center

Mortimer Caplin taught tax law for 33 years at the Law School, in addition to having a distinguished career as a tax attorney and founder of the Washington, D.C., law firm Caplin & Drysdale. He served as U.S. Commissioner of Internal Revenue from 1961-64 under President John F. Kennedy.

The Mortimer Caplin Public Service Center was created in 1996 to recognize the special counseling needs of students interested in pursuing careers in the public sector. Since then, the center has served as Virginia Law’s focal point for public service career counseling, programming and outreach efforts.  Staff members offer individual and group counseling to students and alumni considering internship and permanent opportunities, invite speakers to introduce students to the various aspects of public service lawyering, coordinate with student organizations to facilitate programming and run the annual Public Interest Interview Week.

The Virginia Law Pro Bono Program develops and administers pro bono opportunities for students while responding to the volunteer needs of community groups and other outside organizations such as prosecutors, public defenders, legal services, nonprofits, government agencies and private law firms providing pro bono services. The program administers several in-house projects, develops and identifies a variety of ad-hoc pro bono opportunities, and assists in placing hundreds of students each year into winter and spring break pro bono projects. More on the Pro Bono Program and the 75-Hour Challenge

Contact: publicservicelaw@virginia.edu
Pro Bono: lawprobono@virginia.edu
Schedule a Counseling Appointment: Symplicity