Many public-interest minded law students and attorneys serve as advocates in the criminal justice system by prosecuting alleged criminals or protecting a defendant’s constitutional right to counsel.

Public Defenders

Public defenders provide counsel for indigent defendants in criminal cases on the local, state, and federal levels. Public defenders’ offices may be structured either as government or quasi-government entities, or as independent nonprofit organizations.  Some states have a statewide public defender system, and others are organized on a local basis. Federal public defenders represent indigent defendants in federal court. Some public defender offices, particularly in urban areas and other busy jurisdictions, also have specialized departments that focus on, for instance, juvenile, capital, or appellate litigation.

Law graduates are hired directly by public defenders’ offices, providing tremendous opportunities to gain immediate litigation experience.

The National Legal Aid & Defender Association is a member organization for public defenders.  You may learn more about the history of public defense and the right to counsel in the U.S. through NLADA's website. 

Career Resources - Learn more about public defender careers with the following resources:

• Harvard Law School Public Defender Career Guide: This guide is designed to help students determine if a career as a public defender is suitable for them.  The Guide elaborates on differences between federal, state and local public defender programs, provides information on interviewing for public defender positions, and includes narratives of different individuals serving as a public defender.
• New York University School of Law Public Defender Career Handbook:  This publication is ideal for students looking for public defender internships and post-graduate jobs.  The Handbook is divided into two main sections, (1) Frequently Asked Questions about public defender careers and (2) a listing and brief descriptions of the major public defender offices that regularly hire post-graduate attorneys.  The Handbook also includes an appendix with very specific examples of hypothetical interview questions.
• University of Virginia School of Law How to Get a Job in a Public Defender's Office: This guide, published by the Mortimer Caplin Public Service Center, is designed to help students decide if they would like a career as a public defender.  It was also created to assist committed students in successfully landing a job at a defender's office.  Among other features, this publication includes information on how to choose the right public defender's office for you, how to develop a public defender resume, and how to prepare for a public an interview for a public defender's office.

Prosecutors

Prosecutors work on at all levels of government – local, state, and federal.  Larger cities may have their own prosecutors, in many instances an elected official. Smaller cities and towns may rely on the county or state prosecutors – sometimes referred to as county, district state attorneys’ offices. Sometimes, the responsibility for prosecuting misdemeanors and felonies is split among different offices in the same jurisdiction.  Offices of state attorneys general may also have some responsibility for criminal matters of statewide significance or for criminal appellate or post-conviction matters. Federal criminal matters (e.g., financial crimes, drug enforcement, and organized crime) are typically handled by the U.S. Attorney’s Office either exclusively or in cooperation with the Criminal Division of the Office of the U.S. Attorney General.

Hiring by Federal Prosecutors -  The United States Department of Justice's Office of Attorney Recruitment & Management provides information about federal prosecutor careers.  Typically, U.S. Attorney’s offices do not hire law grads directly out of school.  But the DOJ does, for instance through the Attorney General’s Honors Program.

U.S. Attorney's Offices and the DOJ take on law students for work experience.  Learn more at DOJ's Opportunities for Law Students page.  Also, review the Harvard Law School Fast Track to a U.S. Attorney's Office publication, and the Guide to Criminal Prosecution Careers, published by Yale Law School.

For information on background check and security clearance processes, see PSLawNet's Government Careers page.

Hiring by Local/State Prosecutors' Offices -  Immediate law graduates and experienced attorneys are hired by local and state prosecutors. Law students may also gain experience through various clerkship/internship/externship experiences.  Harvard Law School's Sizing up the Prosecution Guide provides detailed information on careers in local prosecution, and Yale's the Guide to Criminal Prosecution Careers provides information on summer and career experiences in local prosecutors' offices.  The National District Attorneys Association website links to prosecutor office websites throughout country.  Finally, useful information about careers in state-level prosecution may be found at the The National Association of Attorneys General website.