Navigating Your Legal Career, Together
In addition to offering extensive resources and interviewing opportunities available to all students and alumni, our Career Development Office will support you in crafting a custom career plan that aligns with your professional goals.
Our Career Development Advisors will help you build the skills, network, and experience you need to hit the ground running.
Arizona Law graduates are in high demand.
Sector Highlights
Private Sector
Our CDO helps students and alumni explore career paths with top law firms and businesses around the world-from global and boutique firms to multinational corporations and tech startups. Each year, the office hosts robust on-campus interview programs which attracts 50+ private sector employers, including Kirkland & Ellis, Husch Blackwell, Polsinelli, Dickinson Wright and Snell & Wilmer, to our campus. In the 2023-24 academic year, 120 private practice positions were offered through the OCI program.
Arjun Puri, '26
Summer Associate, Quarles & Brady LLP
"This summer, I worked for Quarles & Brady in Phoenix. The job involved working with attorneys to provide services to clients and shadowing attorneys during depositions, oral arguments in court and other teachable legal experiences. The opportunity to work on many different written projects throughout the summer allowed me to hone the skills I learned throughout my first year at Arizona Law, especially legal research and legal writing. I have additionally enjoyed getting to know the attorneys and other summer associates through lunches and social events. "
Judicial Clerkships & Internships
University of Arizona routinely outperforms the national rate of judicial clerkship employment, and not just by a small margin. The class of 2023 saw a rate of 17.94% compared to 10.4% nationally. Since 2000, we've placed over 300 graduates in prestigious positions across federal, state appellate, and trial courts. Our CDO has staff who specialize in clerkship employment who can guide you through the unique process of securing one of these coveted positions. The CDO also supports students interested in spending their summer in chambers and helps connect students with summer positions with judges.
Jennifer Shim, '26
Summer Clerk for Hon. John Hinderaker
"My summer clerkships provided me with a firsthand glimpse into the behind the scenes of the judicial process: I observed judges making decisions in real-time, both in chambers and the courtroom, learned about the duties of judicial clerks, and watched various trials and hearings. It was an invaluable opportunity to apply what I learned in my 1L year to real-life issues under top-tier supervisions. After observing several trials from start to finish, I gained the confidence to consider litigation as a possible practice area. Although I am primarily interested in working in the private sector, the experience piqued my interest in pursuing a federal clerkship after law school."
Public Interest
We have a longstanding tradition of supporting public interest work. Check out the resources offered by the college for students interested in pursuing this career field.
- Our annual Sonoran Public Sector Interview Program is devoted to government agencies, nonprofits and other public interest groups.
- The Federal Work Study program, a federal financial aid program, funds student employment at nonprofit, federal or state employers.
- The Justice Advocates Coalition provides stipends to students working in unpaid summer positions with nonprofit law organizations.
- The CareerCAT job directory posts nearly 200 public interest positions monthly.
Bridget (Konya) Saidu, '25
Justice Advocate Coalition Fellow
Legal Intern, Committee for Public Counsel Services (Child and Family Division)
"When I was a Justice Advocate Coalition Fellow, I worked for the Committee for Public Counsel Services (Child and Family Division) in Salem, MA. I shadowed attorneys in court and conducted research. I also went along on client home visits and helped draft motions. Public sectors are desperately in need of passionate attorneys, but when many of the opportunities being offered are unpaid, it can lead people to consider different paths. Justice Advocate Coalition provides adequate funding for those of us that are drawn to the public field but still need financial stability."
Government
A career in government service offers the opportunity to shape policy, uphold the rule of law, and serve the public at the local, state, and federal levels. Our CDO provides extensive resources to help students and alumni secure roles in agencies such as the U.S. Department of Justice, state attorneys general offices, public defenders' offices, and legislative bodies.
Kaylee Sharp Bauer, '25
Summer externship with the Minnesota Board of Public Defense
"My summer externship with the Minnesota Board of Public Defense was everything I could have asked for and more. I was in court almost every day, working with clients and getting comfortable advocating for their interests in court. When I wasn't in court, I was reviewing discovery and writing briefs to fight for our clients' constitutional rights. My colleagues were just as invested in my learning as I was, which meant I was always working on something meaningful. My externship taught me what it meant to be an effective lawyer and legal advocate. Within the first week I knew that a career in public defense was the perfect fit for me. I went into 3L with a post-grad job and the confidence that I have what it takes to be a great lawyer."