Irina Rodriquez is black, Puerto Rican, and the first person in her family to pursue a post�high school education. She decided to attend City University of New York School of Law to become a public defender, motivated by the experience of witnessing security guards harass black friends and family members. “It’s such a huge contribution to the community. It’s a noble thing,” Rodriquez says of lawyers who commit themselves to careers in public interest law.
But last summer Rodriquez, 28, interned at an antitrust boutique in New York. Afterward the firm offered her a permanent position as an associate once she graduates and a starting salary she would probably never see as a nonprofit attorney. (On average, law school graduates who take public interest jobs make $37,500 starting out, compared to $80,000 in private practice, according to the National Association for Law Placement.)
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