LibGuides: Career &amp; Practice Guide: Criminal Law

Criminal Law Career Resource Guide

This career guide provides examples of opportunities for law students pursuing a career in criminal law. Please contact the CSO with any additional resources to supplement this compilation.

Please visit the CSO for individual job search guidance for internships and post-graduate positions.

Professional Associations & Networking Organizations

Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers of New Jersey
Membership provides access to a network of experienced criminal practitioners, periodic lectures and seminars, the ACDL-NJ Listserv, and the ACDL-NJ Brief Bank. ACDL-NJ members exchange information, share sample pleadings and briefs, and receive thorough and timely updates on New Jersey criminal case law.
Association of Federal Defense Attorneys
This site provides key updates on developments in federal criminal law, access to online seminars on a wide variety of topics in federal criminal law and other resources.
National District Attorneys Association
National Legal Aid & Defender Association (NLADA)
The NLADA site includes a job board, information about public defender events, annual conferences, and webinars, public defense resources, the Defender Research Library, and civil legal aid resources.
Pennsylvania Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers
This association is open to law students and attorneys admitted to practice before the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania.
Pennsylvania Bar Association Criminal Justice Section
Members of this section (attorneys from all counties of Pennsylvania) focus on the development, improvement and practical working of the Commonwealth’s criminal justice system.
Pennsylvania District Attorneys Association
This site includes job postings, the Pennsylvania District Attorney Directory, information about annual conferences and training seminars, and electronic newsletters.
Philadelphia Bar Association Criminal Justice Section
Join this section to meet and learn from criminal law practitioners, attend monthly meetings, and become involved with the group in examining issues that arise in the everyday practice of criminal law in Philadelphia.

Internships & Job Opportunities

If interested in interning at a prosecutor’s office or public defender, the CSO strongly recommends casting a wide net and submitting applications to offices in several counties (e.g., Camden County, Chester County, Montgomery County). Many DAs and PDs offices in the greater Philadelphia area and New Jersey participate in area job fairs and On-Campus Interviewing (OCI) at Kline School of Law. Some prosecutor’s offices in large counties, such as the Manhattan DA’s Office, will interview rising 2Ls as early as August for the following summer (they consider 1L candidates Dec. 1^st).

Philadelphia District Attorney’s Office
The DA’s Office recruits legal interns mainly through On-Campus Interviewing and Job Fairs. See Symplicity and CSO Announcements.
Defender Association of Philadelphia
Like the Philadelphia DA’s Office, the Defender Association of Philadelphia recruits legal interns mainly through On-Campus Interviewing and Job Fairs. See Symplicity and CSO Announcements.
Public Defender Association of Pennsylvania
Delaware Department of Justice
Federal Community Defender Office for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania
Gideon’s Promise Law School Partnership Project – Public Criminal Defense Fellowship
The Legal Aid Society (New York)
National Juvenile Defender Center
Summer and academic-year law clerk positions available.
New Jersey Office of the Attorney General, Division of Criminal Justice
Pennsylvania Innocence Project
Pennsylvania Office of Attorney General
Philadelphia Lawyers for Social Equity
Philadelphia Lawyers for Social Equity (PLSE) is a non-profit legal aid organization. PLSE’s mission is “to work toward just outcomes for low-income individuals who have had contact with the Pennsylvania criminal justice system.”
U.S. Attorney’s Office, Eastern District of Pennsylvania (Philadelphia) – Summer Internship Program
U.S. Department of Justice, Criminal Division
Attorney General’s Honors Program, Summer Law Intern Program (SLIP), and Volunteer Legal Internships

Career Fairs & Additional Resources

Equal Justice Works Public Service Career Fair and Conference
Philadelphia Public Interest/Public Service (PIPS) Career Fair – Contact the CSO for information.
Juvenile Defense Policy and Practice Career Resource Guide (National Juvenile Defender Center, December 2016): See Symplicity Document Library.

Defender Services Office (DSO) of the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts
Defender Services Office: Employment Listings
Vacancy announcements for positions in Federal Public Defender Offices, although not an all-inclusive list.
Directory of Public Defender Offices by State
Equal Justice Works Public Service Career Fair and Conference
NYU Public Defender Handbook
PSJD
This is a wonderful (and free) resource for law students and lawyers interested in public service and public interest positions. It includes job postings (and job alerts), interview tips, a juvenile defense career guide, information about funding sources, and many other resources.
Sizing Up the Prosecution: A Quick Guide to Local Prosecution (Harvard Law School, 2010)

Criminal Law Concentration Contact

Professor Emily Zimmerman

From the Collection

Careers in Criminal Law by Ellen Brotman; American Bar Association, Section of Criminal Justice Staff (Contribution by)
Call Number: KF299.C7 C37 2010
ISBN: 1604427272
Publication Date: 2010-01-01
The American Bar Association Criminal Justice Section Padilla Task Force presents Padilla and beyond, the Criminal Justice Section symposium materials which include articles and reference tools for judicial, prosecutorial, and defense agencies as well as for the general public.

Tips from the Philly DA's Office

Co-op is a great way to gain experience at the DA’s Office. Serve your co-op no later than Spring Semester of your 2L year to better position yourself for a post-graduate position.
Limit your resume to one page!

Juvenile Defense Policy and Practice

Juvenile Defense Policy and Practice Career Resource Guide
A career in juvenile defense is challenging, rewarding, and achievable. The need for passionate advocates to represent children who cannot afford attorneys, the multi-disciplinary nature of the field, and the push to advance practice and policy reforms across the country present a wide range of opportunities for those interested in juvenile defense issues. In this field, one can represent youth as a front-line juvenile defender or an appellate defender, or work in policy advocacy with a law reform organization, juvenile defense or juvenile justice think tank, or other social justice
organization. With this broad range of options, juvenile defense is a great place for those interested in fostering innovation and creativity to bring about social, racial, and economic justice.

Career & Practice Guide: Criminal Law

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