Northeastern is extremely well-respected in the public interest employer legal community, and the school's success in educating and training public service lawyers is reflected in the high number of graduates working in public interest positions. On average, an impressive 15 percent of Northeastern law graduates work in legal services, advocacy organizations or public defender offices, while another 10 percent enter careers in local, state or federal government.

In addition to the many graduates who accept positions in traditional public interest/service settings such as legal aid and advocacy organizations, Northeastern alumni/ae have been awarded a variety of prominent public interest fellowships, including those granted by Equal Justice Works, Georgetown and Berkeley Law Foundation, among others. Graduates have also been selected for a variety of federal government honors programs, including those with the US Department of Justice, US Securities and Exchange Commission, US Equal Employment Opportunities Commission, Presidential Management Fellowship Program and the National Labor Relations Board. There are also a number of graduates who work in private, progressive, public interest law firms focusing on civil rights, employment and labor issues, immigration or criminal defense.

In the Office of Career Services, Associate Director Valerie Kapilow, concentrates on advising students and graduates who are interested in public interest/service careers. The office offers a "core curriculum" of public interest related career programs, including the "Public Interest Job Search Process," a "Fellowship Information Session" and "Searching for Positions in Federal and State Government." In addition, the office presents a variety of targeted programs focusing on careers in specialized public interest fields, including labor and employment law, juvenile rights/child advocacy, criminal defense, envirnonmental law, international human rights and immigration law. The office also invites representatives from many of the national fellowship programs to speak at the law school about their respective opportunities.

The Office of Career Services participates in two Massachusetts area law school Government and Public Interest Recruitment Programs and a selection of public interest employers interview on campus each fall. Many Northeastern students and graduates also attend the Equal Justice Works Career Fair in Washington, D.C., the nation's largest public interest career fair and conference, which takes place annually in October.