David J. Epstein Program in Public Interest Law & Policy

The program seeks to admit students who are committed to pursuing long-term careers in public interest advocacy.

In reviewing applications, we are interested in students who represent a broad range of backgrounds, are pursuing a diversity of public interest practice areas, and are motivated to explore the many different forms of lawyering and advocacy that are part of public interest practice. The Program values demonstrated commitment to public interest work, including through activities before law school as indicated in the applicant’s job history, extracurricular activities, and academic pursuits. The majority of the students admitted to the program as 1Ls have meaningful post-college public interest work experience, though we recognize that financial circumstances may limit some applicants’ abilities to participate in unpaid or lower paid activities. We look for evidence of personal qualities conducive to public interest advocacy, such as leadership, persistence, initiative, and resilience. In addition, we value special abilities or experience that enable the students to serve underrepresented groups and communities, including insights into community needs, cultural familiarity, or language skills.

We seek students who are intellectually curious and eager to learn the broad range of skills needed to address the world’s most pressing problems. We welcome applicants who already feel committed to a certain area of public interest practice or working on behalf of specific communities, as well as those who open to exploring and do not definitively know what kind of law they plan to practice or what kind of lawyer they plan to be.

The program is quite competitive – for the JD Class of 2028, we received over 1300 applications. For each incoming 1L JD class, we create a cohort of 25 students. JD students at UCLA Law can also apply to join the Epstein Program at the end of their first year, as can students applying to transfer to UCLA Law. In recent years, the Epstein Program has admitted 20-25 JD students to join the program in their second year. We also have several LLM students apply to join the specialization each year as well. All of these students become valued members of our student and alumni community.

If you are interested in applying to the Program as a first-year student, you must follow the J.D. application procedures and complete and submit the specific Program application, which consists of two questions requiring short answers. The Epstein Program application is included in the general J.D. application.

The Admissions Committee that reads applications to the Epstein Program works in parallel with the Admissions Office. Applications are reviewed on a rolling basis. An applicant may receive an offer of admission to UCLA Law before being informed whether they have been admitted to the Epstein Program.

JD students applying to join the Epstein Program at the end of their first year at UCLA Law are required to submit a resume, two optional letters of recommendation, and complete a short application. The deadline to apply is usually in March and students are notified before the end of the spring semester.

If you are interested in applying to the program as a transfer student from another law school, you must follow the J.D. transfer application procedures and complete and submit the specific program application. The Epstein Program application is included in the general J.D. application.

The School of Law’s LL.M. Program itself allows students to pursue a specialized LLM degree, including one in public interest. If you are interested in applying to the Program as an LL.M., you must follow the LL.M. application procedures and complete and submit the specific Program application.

1. Participate in all mandatory Epstein Program courses:
   1. During 1L year (for those admitted as 1Ls): Law 150-Epstein Program 1L workshop and Law 108 A/B-Epstein Program Legal Research & Writing section
   2. Before graduation, take the Epstein Program upper-division seminar, Law 541 -  Problem-Solving in the Public Interest.
2. Fulfill all other Epstein Program specialization requirements, including the writing requirement and at least one unique class in each of the following categories: (1) substantive law, (2) advocacy sites, (3) inequality, and (4) applied advocacy (live-client clinic).  (More information here).
3. Help build and nurture the Epstein Program community, including supporting one another and strengthening relationships across the program (students, alumni, faculty, and staff).
4. Meet with your assigned public interest career counselor upon joining the Epstein Program and stay engaged with career counselor(s) regarding summer and post-graduate job searches.
5. Engage in pro bono or other volunteer work, such as through the Judge Rand Schrader Pro Bono Program or organized by student organizations.
6. Make a long-term commitment to public interest law, with the goal of a long-term career in public interest advocacy.

We recognize that commitment may take many forms and we do not prescribe any particular path to a public interest career. We support students and alumni in thinking through how best to pursue careers in keeping with their values through the many turns careers can take.

The Epstein Program’s curricular requirements are designed to develop attorneys with a deep understanding of how law, policy, and the legal profession might need to change to achieve a more just society.

In addition to educating law students, the Epstein Program consciously seeks to build a community of students, faculty, staff, and alumni. Members of this community have a diversity of interests and perspectives, but they share the common goal of using the law to achieve a more just world, and support each other in developing the skills and resilience to do so.

Epstein students receive public interest counseling through the Office of Public Interest Counseling. Epstein Program students also participate in alumni and faculty mentoring programs and community-building events. The Epstein community is truly a hallmark of the program. Alumni regularly return to campus to speak to students in classes, more formal events, and informal coffee chats, and the student community is a resource in and of itself, as students generously share their experiences and wisdom on questions like picking classes, joining law review, applying to clerkships and fellowships, and more.

Admission to the Epstein Program does not come with an Epstein-specific scholarship to UCLA Law.

UCLA School of Law public interest-minded students and graduates have access to financial support through the School and the larger university. Support is available for incoming students, students working in unpaid (or partially paid) public interest summer positions, graduating students, and graduates engaged in public interest work. More information can be found here.

UCLA Law offers public interest counseling to all students, whether or not they are in the Epstein Program, through the Office of Public Interest Counseling. The Schrader Pro Bono Program is also a great resource and community for students interested in public interest law and access to justice. Other than Epstein-specific courses, all other courses taught by Epstein faculty are available to all students. Students with particular interests, such as in international human rights or in immigration, can get involved with our incredible centers and institutes. We have a truly rich and broad public interest community at UCLA Law!

Yes! A significant percentage of Epstein students also complete other specializations. The most common specialization Epstein students also obtain is in Critical Race Studies, as many of the same courses can meet requirements for both programs. But Epstein alumni have also graduated with specializations in other areas as well.

We have outstanding job outcomes for Epstein alumni, including those who have just graduated. Some alumni provide direct legal services through legal aid organizations and public defender offices. Others are litigation directors at national civil rights organizations, pursue policy advocacy at local, state, and federal levels, and work at government agencies at every level. We also have alumni who work in the private sector, at labor law firms, plaintiff-side law firms, civil rights and human rights law firms, and as solo practitioners.

Tom Cormons (Class of 2006)
Executive Director, Appalachian Voices

“Since deciding to attend law school, I have been committed to a public interest career focused on environmental issues. The Epstein Program, which is what drew me to UCLA School of Law, supported this commitment every step of the way. Because the culture and support structures of top law schools generally focus on preparing students for careers with large corporate law firms, the Program’s robust support for a public interest career path is a unique and very important asset. From the start, the Program gave me access to the experience and perspective of a wide range of accomplished faculty and alumni focused on using the law for positive change. Beginning with my 1L year, I also benefited tremendously from the Program’s career counseling and commitment to helping students seize the best job opportunities to build experience in our chosen fields. In combination with the School of Law’s excellent course offerings in environmental law, the Program laid the foundation for a fascinating and rewarding public interest career focused on the issues that first motivated me to become a lawyer.”

Francis V. Guzman (Class of 2012)
Staff Attorney, National Center for Youth Law (Oakland, California)

“I was drawn to UCLA School of Law because of the David J. Epstein Program in Public Interest Law and Policy. As a former ward of the state of California with a history defined by disadvantage and injustice, I committed my life and career to serving the public interest, specifically low-income communities, especially children, to ensure they have the resources, support, and opportunities they need to live healthy and productive lives. The Program offered me a legally and socially relevant curriculum, taught by experienced and accomplished administrators and faculty members who possess the creativity and the will to make a positive difference in the lives of our most vulnerable citizens.

Furthermore, the Program provided me with a premier legal education in a supportive and nurturing environment, surrounded by advocates who became my friends and members of my extended family. The Program community supported me through my personal struggles and encouraged me to pursue my highest, seemingly unattainable, dreams and aspirations of becoming an attorney and helping my family and community. With the help of my Program family and community, I have grown and developed as a person and a legal advocate and have developed the knowledge and skills necessary to help others in need.

Ultimately, UCLA School of Law’s Epstein Program taught me to step outside of the traditional role of attorney and advocate and think creatively to identify and develop solutions to difficult and complicated legal and social issues. Using a variety of tools and strategies in law, policy, education, and organizing, I have now attained my dreams and have begun to make a positive impact on poor communities, and especially in the lives of underserved and vulnerable children.”

Thuy Thi Nguyen (Class of 2000)
General Counsel, Peralta Community College District (Oakland, California)

“As a member of the inaugural class of the Epstein Program, I am forever grateful to the faculty and staff of the Program for helping shape my perspectives of the legal profession and the direction of my legal career. I was not initially accepted into the Program, but found myself continuing to be drawn to the work Program students were doing even as 1Ls. They were seemingly a group “set apart” from the rest of the UCLA School of Law community, with such a strong sense of community and social justice that I knew I had to reapply. I am so glad I did.

The study of law during 2L and 3L years then had a meaningful framework for me, part community lawyering and part public policy, thanks to the Epstein Program. As a Program class, we collaborated with the ACLU on the initial stages of the Williams case – a seminal case in equity financing of K-12 education today. We worked on an environmental justice case, and learned beyond what any law book could possibly teach: empathy for our clients, creative legal thinking, creative non-legal solutions, and the importance of perseverance. These lessons are incredibly valuable to me as a lawyer today.

I am now General Counsel for the Peralta Community College District. My practice involves education law, community relations, public policy, and legislative affairs. My responsibilities require not only addressing legal issues and managing litigation, but also initiating new legislation and developing legal strategies with sensitivity toward the needs of the larger community.

I am a Vietnamese refugee from East Oakland who was given the opportunity to serve the community from which I came. I became General Counsel when I was 28 years old – barely three years out of law school, and I am grateful that the Program prepared me well for this career in public service.”

Paul Seamus Ryan (Class of 2001)
Deputy Executive Director, The Campaign Legal Center (Washington, D.C.)

“The existence of the Epstein Program at UCLA School of Law is precisely why I applied for admission to UCLA. I had decided, years before applying for admission to law schools, that I would pursue a public interest legal career specializing in voting rights, campaign finance reform and other democracy-building aspects of law and policy. While exploring law schools, I quickly determined that UCLA’s Epstein Program would be the perfect fit – and it was. I was admitted to UCLA through the Epstein Program. The Program provided me with support and encouragement to pursue the public interest legal career to which I was committed. The Program provided me with funding to work at election law-focused nonprofits during both of my law school summers, which led one of those nonprofits to offer me paid part-time work during my 3L year and a full-time job upon my graduation from UCLA. Public interest law jobs are incredibly competitive; the Program enabled me to get my foot in the door and demonstrate my capabilities at nonprofits that lacked the resources initially to pay me. I am now Deputy Executive Director, The Campaign Legal Center (Washington, D.C.). Driving to my office moments ago, I heard a recorded interview of me on NPR’s All Things Considered discussing an unfolding campaign finance scandal, and it made me think ‘how did I get here?’ UCLA School of Law’s Epstein Program is a big part of how I got here, and I will forever be grateful.”