Perspective 01
Which legal aid route fits me?
Compare summer work, fellowships, roles before bar admission, and entry-level jobs. Start with your career stage and what you want to learn.
Build my pathway
For law students and recent graduates
Find your place in the work.
Explore summer work, fellowships, and early-career roles in California legal aid. Find a starting point that fits your interests and career stage.
Three short questions. A suggested route and example opportunities. No account required.
Interactive concept for LAAC · Example opportunitiesThe Design Factory proposal
Across the legal aid community
Choose your starting point
Start where you are.
Finding your first role, building a team, or guiding a student? Begin with what brings you here.
A career is not a single doorway
Many routes. Meaningful work.
Find a starting point that fits your stage. See what the work involves and when to begin.
ROUTE 01
During law school
Summer legal work
Build experience, relationships, and writing samples alongside a legal aid team.
Planning note
Begin exploring during 1L fall or early winter.
ROUTE 02
Planning for graduation
Project-based fellowship
Develop a legal project with an eligible host and pursue fellowship funding together.
Planning note
Planning may begin a year or more before graduation.
ROUTE 03
Around the bar
Bridge fellowship
Work under supervision around bar preparation and results, where program rules permit.
Planning note
Plan around graduation, program cycles, and bar dates.
ROUTE 04
Before admission
Pre-bar employment
Find organizations prepared to hire or host graduates before full bar admission.
Planning note
Check each employer’s bar-status requirements.
ROUTE 05
After admission
Staff attorney roles
Move into legal aid practice through an open entry-level attorney position.
Planning note
Hiring follows each organization’s available roles.
ROUTE 06
Across career stages
Other ways to serve
Explore policy, advocacy, operations, research, and legal support careers.
Planning note
A legal aid career can take more than one form.
Find the work that fits
See what fits. Understand why.
Choose your interests, location, and career stage to compare example opportunities. See what matches, what needs checking, and what you can do next.
See how matching worksExplore a sample profileExample listings only. These are not current vacancies.
2 examples to explore. Confirm the missing details before expressing interest.
California Rural Legal AssistanceSummer · Central Valley
Rural Justice Summer Law Clerk
A required detail needs confirmation- Interest: Housing
- Interest: Rural justice
- Preference: rural service
Centro Legal de la RazaSummer · East Bay
Immigrant Justice Law Clerk
A required detail needs confirmation- Explore the role details to see whether the work interests you.
Fictional profile. Choices stay in this browser. Required criteria are checked separately from preferences.
Open the full comparisonA statewide legal aid network
Across California. Close to community.
Explore organizations by region, practice area, community, work setting, and whether they are open to summer, fellowship, or pre-bar talent.
Explore organizationsStatewidemember network
Regionalfilters and context
Humanreview and control
A CRLA staff member greets a client · CRLAPeople make the pathway real
See the work before you choose the route.
Legal aid is built in community rooms, rural offices, court hallways, and teams that know their neighbors by name.
Explore photographs from the field and follow the sources to learn more about each organization.
Explore stories from the fieldUseful now
All resources Guidance for the next decision.
Guide7 minExplainer6 minField guide8 min
Fellowship first steps
Understand the people, project, host, and calendar involved before you begin an application.
Working before bar results
Questions to ask about supervision, permitted work, role expectations, and bar-study time.
Considering rural legal aid
Explore community impact, travel, local relationships, courtroom exposure, and relocation realities.