Professor Emily Buss, the program’s faculty director, said, “We’ve long been committed to supporting students who want to pursue public interest and public service work. But there was a sense among students that there could be more institutional support—that when they looked around, the structures and rhythms of law school life seemed geared toward private-sector paths. This program is designed to change that narrative and make visible how deeply we value this work.”

Meet five students participating in the inaugural cohort of the Public Interest Leadership Program.

Building Community and Confidence

At its core, the Public Interest Leadership Program seeks to provide both practical guidance and moral support for students navigating a more complex—and often longer—job search cycle than their peers entering large law firms. 

Participants enroll in a faculty-led, one-credit seminar, attend “What’s On Your Mind?” lunches with faculty and career services staff, and are paired with alumni mentors working in public interest or government roles. 

The lunches, Buss said, are meant to sustain connection and normalize the different pace of public service hiring. “These jobs don’t follow the same recruiting model as big firms,” she explained. “They hire when there’s a need or funding. The lunches give students a space to talk about their concerns, learn from one another, and see that their paths are not only valid but vital.” 

The program, which students in the future will apply for during the second half of their 1L year, also features community-building events, including dinners, receptions, and a graduation celebration honoring participants’ commitments.

To qualify for the program, students are required to have a stated goal of working in public interest or public service after law school and must have done (or plan to do) public interest/public service work during all or at least a substantial part of both their first year and second year summers.

For Lois T. Casaleggi, associate dean for career services, the program represents a significant next step in how UChicago Law signals its commitment to public service.

“We’ve always been supportive of students pursuing these careers,” Casaleggi said. “But large law firms have resources and visibility that public interest employers simply don’t. This program puts a bigger, clearer thumb on the scale—it says, in a visible and institutional way, that we value and want to grow this part of our community.” 

Faculty engagement has been central from the start. Each seminar session will be hosted by a different professor, creating new avenues for conversation across disciplines and experiences.

“There’s been tremendous enthusiasm among faculty,” Buss said. “This is about making sure students doing public interest work feel fully part of the intellectual and professional fabric of the Law School.” 

A Chicago Approach to Public Service

The program builds on a legacy of alumni leadership and investment in public service at the Law School—a legacy championed by Lillian E. Kraemer, ’64, whose generous gift established the Law School’s only endowed chair dedicated to public service. The Lillian E. Kraemer Clinical Professor in Public Interest Law, held by Alison Siegler, was celebrated this fall with an inaugural endowed chair lecture. 

“I believe it is the responsibility of members of the legal profession to engage in some form of public interest work,” Kraemer said. “It’s particularly important for great law schools like Chicago not only to make it possible for people to go into public interest law, but to do things to encourage it.” 

Kraemer’s vision—of a law school where public interest work is both valued and visible—has helped create an environment for a new program like this to thrive.

Both Buss and Casaleggi emphasized that the program reflects the Law School’s distinctive culture: its interdisciplinary spirit, its intellectual rigor, and its commitment to open dialogue.

“Chicago just does things in a Chicago way,” Casaleggi said. “We’re thinking deeply about how to support and encourage students pursuing public service careers in a way that’s uniquely grounded in our values of rigorous thinking, open exchange, and a sense that understanding one another’s work makes us all stronger.” 

As the first cohort begins its work, Buss hopes the program will inspire more students to pursue careers devoted to public service—and will reassure those who already plan to do so that they are not alone.

“These students are making an extraordinary commitment,” she said. “Our goal is to stand beside them—to provide a cohort, a community, and a message that says: This work matters, and so do you.”