What Is Public Interest Law

Attorneys working in government serve at the federal, state, and local levels, across every state, county, and city. They operate within the legislative, executive, and judicial branches, playing vital roles in shaping, enforcing, and interpreting laws and policies that impact communities and the public at large.

Government attorneys work across nearly every area of law and practice type. Their responsibilities may include prosecuting and defending criminal cases, representing the government in civil lawsuits, drafting and analyzing legislation, developing and enforcing regulations, representing agencies in administrative hearings, advising policymakers and public officials, or investigating compliance with labor, environmental, or public health laws.

These attorneys serve in a wide variety of settings, including the Department of Justice, state attorneys general offices, local criminal prosecuting offices, city or county attorneys' offices, state governors' offices, state legislatures, and executive agencies of all kinds.

Public interest attorneys practice in diverse settings, addressing a broad range of substantive issues, including civil rights, housing, immigration, environmental justice, education, and criminal justice reform. Though public interest organizations vary widely in their structure and mission, they commonly share a commitment to increase access to justice and serving underrepresented communities. 

Common types of public interest organizations include:

Nonprofit/Legal Service Organizations: These groups typically provide direct legal assistance and representation to low-income individuals and communities, often focusing on civil matters such as housing, immigration, family law, public benefits, and financial stability. 

Impact Litigation Groups: These organizations pursue strategic lawsuits designed to bring about broad legal and social change. By targeting systemic issues, they aim to influence laws and policies on a larger scale. Well-know examples include the ACLU, Earthjustice, and the NAACP Legal Defense Fund. 

Public Defender Offices: These government-funded offices provide criminal defense services to individuals who cannot afford private counsel, ensuring the constitutonal right to fair representation. 

This is a broad category used to describe private, for-profit firms that dedicate a substantial portion of their caseload to serving underrepresented individuals, groups, or causes. Their mission-driven approach in a private setting often leads to differences in client selection and billing practices, which may include no-fee or sliding-scale arrangements, contingency fees, or cases involving attorney fee recovery. Because they operate on a for-profit basis, unlike traditional public interest organizations, private public interest firms must often consider both the merits and potential profitability of a case when deciding whether to take it on. 

Common area of practice at these firms include civil rights, employment rights, environmental law, and consumer protection. 

A labor union is an organization comprised of workers who unite to advance their collective interests, including fair wages, benefits, and improved working conditions.  

Attorneys working with or for labor unions support workers' rights through collective bargaining, grievance procedures, and labor-related litigation. They may also help shape labor policy and defend unions against legal challenges. 

Labor union attorneys may work in-house as part of a union's legal team or at union-side labor law firms, which represent unions and their members in a wide range of matters, including grievances, arbitration, litigation, and internal disputes. 

Coalition building involves uniting various stakeholders, such as legal service organizations, community groups, and advocates, to work together toward common goals. In public interest work, coalitions often bring together different strengths--such as legal expertise, grassroots organizing, policy advocacy, and direct services--to amplify their impact. Coalitions can operate locally, statewide, or nationally, strengthening campaigns by increasing visibility, sharing resources, and developing unified strategies. 

Examples: 

• Coordinating a citywide coalition of housing advocates, tenant unions, and legal aid providers to fight for stronger tenant protections
• Participating in statewide criminal justice reform coalitions composed of public defenders, impacted communities, and policy groups
• Supporting national alliances of immigrant rights organizations to push for federal legislative reform 

This tool is used by a wide range of public interest actors, including nonprofit and legal service organizations, grassroots movements, and community leaders. 

Community education and outreach involves providing the public with accessible, practical information about their rights, legal options, and available resources. Many individuals never seek help because they don't know they have legal rights. By meeting people where they are through workshops, resource fairs, know-your-rights trainings, and other outreach efforts, these tools empower individuals to better understand and navigate the legal and social systems that affect their lives. At the same time, they build trust and strengthen connections between communities and public interest organizations, fostering ongoing support and advocacy. 

Examples: 

• Hosting a "Know Your Rights" session on interactions with law enforcement or immigration officials
• Leading workshops on housing rights and eviction prevention in partnership with local tenant groups 
• Distributing plain-language legal guides on workers' rights at community centers or public events
• Participating in brief advice clinics to connect people with free or low-cost legal services

Community education and outreach are used by nonprofit and legal service organizations, law school clinics, and grassroots groups. 

Community lawyering is a collaborative legal approach that prioritizes the goals, strategies, and leadership of grassroots communities. This model aligns legal expertise with community-driven efforts, centering the voices of those directly impacted and helping shift power to the communities leading the call for change. The goal is to support lasting, systemic change grounded in the needs and vision of those on the front lines. 

Examples: 

• Providing legal backup to community organizers fighting displacement
• Assisting farmworkers in securing fair wages and safer working conditions
• Supporting Indigenous communities in land rights battles
• Backing immigrant-led groups advocating for sanctuary policies and protections from deportation

This work is carried out by nonprofit and legal service organizations that partner closely with community groups to provide direct legal support and advocacy. 

Direct services involves providing legal advocacy to individuals or families facing legal issues, often at no cost to the client. It can include formal representation in court or administrative hearings, as well as non-litigation support such as negotiating with landlords, helping clients access public benefits, or preparing essential legal documents. Attorneys using this tool work closely with clients to protect their rights, ensure basic needs are met, and prevent further harm. 

For many, direct services is the difference between crisis and stability. It can determine whether someone keeps their home, maintains custody of their child, or avoids unjust incarceration. Legal challenges such as eviction, deportation, or domestic violence are often overwhelming on their own, particularly for those without resources or knowledge of their rights. Direct services helps level the playing field and expand access to justice for those who might otherwise be left without support. 

Examples: 

• Representing a tenant facing eviction 
• Advocating with a school for a child's special education services
• Helping an asylum seeker file an application and prepare for an interview
• Assisting a domestic violence survivor with a protective order and safety planning
• Supporting a veteran in appealing a denial of VA benefits 

This work is carried out by nonprofit and legal service organizations, public defenders, and private public interest law firms. 

Appellate litigation involves challenging or defending legal decisions in higher courts after a case has been decided. This work focuses on interpreting the law, correcting errors, and setting legal precedents that can impact not only the parties involved but also future cases. While some attorneys handle both trial and appellate work, appellate litigation is generally considered a specialized area. 

Examples: 

• Appealing wrongful convictions or unfair sentencing decisions in criminal cases 
• Contesting administrative agency decisions such as denial of disability claims 
• Challenging lower court rulings in landlord-tenant disputes, such as wrongful eviction decisions
• Defending landmark civil rights rulings from being overturned
• Arguing constitutional issues before state supreme courts or the U.S. Supreme Court

Appellate litigation is used by nonprofit and legal services organizations, public defender/prosecuting offices, government agencies, and private public interest law firms. 

Class action litigation is a tool used to represent a large group of individuals who have experienced similar harm, typically by the same defendant, in a single lawsuit. Rather than bringing hundreds or thousands of individual claims, a class action consolidates them into one case, making it possible to address widespread misconduct more efficiently and effectively. These cases can lead to systemic change, monetary relief, and policy reform, particularly in areas like consumer protection, civil rights, labor law, and environmental justice.

Examples: 

• Suing an employer for widespread wage theft affecting hundreds of workers
• Challenging a housing authority for discriminatory practices impacting multiple tenants
• Bringing a case against a corporation for environmental contamination affecting a community 
• Holding a state agency accountable for denying benefits to a broad group of eligible applicants

Class action litigation is a tool used by some nonprofit and legal service organizations, as well as private public interest law firms. 

Impact litigation involves filing lawsuits with the purpose of setting legal precedents, invalidating harmful policies, or driving systemic reform. This form of strategic litigation is often used by national nonprofits, civil rights attorneys, and private public interest firms to tackle large-scale injustices that affect entire communities or populations. Instead of focusing on individual cases alone, impact litigation targets broader legal and institutional practices, often at the state or national level, to achieve significant and lasting change. 

Examples:

• Challenging a law that disenfranchises voters of color 
• Suing a school district over racial disparities in discipline 
• Litigating against a state's denial of Medicaid coverage for gender-affirming care

Trial litigation in public interest law involves representing parties before federal, state, or local courts to resolve legal disputes affecting individuals, communities, groups, or the public good. This work may include affirmative litigation, where attorneys bring lawsuits to enforce rights or challenge harmful practices, or defensive litigation, where attorneys defend against legal claims or government actions. 

Public interest trial lawyers handle cases involving civil rights, housing, consumer protection, family law, employment, environmental justice, and more. They work in nonprofit/legal aid organizations, government agencies, and public interest law firms. 

Examples:

• Representing tenants in eviction defense cases to prevent homelessness
• Litigating consumer protection claims involving unfair business practices or predatory lending
• Challenging unlawful government actions in civil rights or environmental justice cases 
• Representing clients in immigration removal or asylum hearings

Policy work involves developing and advancing strategies to address political and social issues. This process often begins when nonprofit organizations, advoacy groups, community coalitions, or think tanks identify systemic problems and develop strategies to promote change. 

The government's response to a policy issue may take the form of a new law, regulation, or a broader framework of rules that govern a particular area. To influence those outcomes, policy advocates engage in a wide range of ongoing efforts aimed at shaping how government policymakers understand issues, set priorities, and take action. These efforts may include: 

• Conducting research and publishing reports or policy briefs that higlight issues and propose solutions
• Organizing community meetings or town halls to ensure the voices of affected populations are heard
• Building coalitions among nonprofits, advocacy groups, and other stakeholders to strengthen advocacy efforts
• Educating lawmakers, regulators, and the public about key issues
• Participating in public comment periods during rulemaking processes
• Engaging the media through op-eds, social media campaigns, and presentations to raise public awareness
• Lobbying elected officials to support or oppose legislation 
• Pursuing impact litigation to drive or complement policy reform efforts

Policy work takes place in a wide variety of practice settings, including nonprofit and legal services organizations, government agencies, and think tanks.  

While transactional atorneys most commonly work at private law firms, they may also practice at nonprofits and government agencies. In the public interest context, transactional work may involve advising individuals, small businesses, and nonprofits on legal matters such as estate planning, contracts, entity formation, and regulatory compliance. 

Examples: 

For Individuals

• Preparing wills, trusts, powers of attorney, healthcare directives, and other estate planning documents
• Providing guidance on government benefits applications
• Drafting and reviewing personal contracts, such as leases and employment agreements

For Nonprofit/Community Organizations

• Incorporating and applying for 501(c)(3) tax-exempt status
• Drafting bylaws and governance policies
• Advising on operational issues, such as fundraising, board development, and the development of effective policies and procedures

In Government Agencies 

• Drafting and reviewing interagency agreements
• Assisting with procurement, grants, and public-private partnerships
• Advising on legal aspects of community development or housing initatives 

Public interest attorneys engage in transactional work within a wide variety of practice settings, including nonprofit/legal service organizations, government agencies, public interest law firms, law school clinics, and labor unions.