Editor’s Note: a number of HL Record members signed this compact.
Early Interview Program (“EIP”) is Harvard’s signature law firm recruiting event, where more than 700 law firm offices from across the country (and some international) seek to hire HLS students. The event focuses on hiring for “Big Law” firms, which tend to represent corporate clients, employ over 500 attorneys, and pay starting salaries well above $150,000 for first year students. Because of their clientele, their associates often provide legal work shaping the law in controversial ways that invite negative attention. In the 2023 HLS class, out of 598 hiring placements, 320 graduates joined firms with 501+ employees. (From HLS’ recent employment data statistics)
The following are testimonials and signatures from students committing to not participate in EIP and not pursue a career in Big Law in the future. They also emphasize that despite the apparent pressure towards Big Law, that there are other avenues for students can take to an ethical, happy, and healthy legal career.
Testimonials
Why you are chose or are choosing not to participate in EIP:
- Kayleigh Hasson, HLS ‘27 (certain they will not do EIP): “I came to law school to advocate for vulnerable communities, not corporations; There is a great community of students who have made the same choice!”
- Zerxes Bhadha, HLS ‘27 (certain they will not do EIP): came to law school and to Harvard because I want to work for, with, and in my communities. EIP (and especially BigLaw employment) is exactly the opposite of that goal, and I refuse to let this institution pressure me into thinking that private sector employment is the only path to a “successful” career.
- Amber Magnusen, HLS ‘27 (certain they will not do EIP): Sounds bad, folks!
- Mary Enloe, HLS ‘27 (certain they will not do EIP): We are more than the commodities this school tries to turn us into!
- Hunter Callaway, HLS ‘27 (certain they will not do EIP): I feel like coming to this school is a once in a lifetime opportunity, and I want to use that opportunity to give back to the society that helped me get here.
- Angela Li, HLS’26, 2L (did not do EIP, quit EIP, or rejected all offers): I thought about sitting in my biglaw office late at night formatting documents while my public interest friends and comrades are on the frontlines defending our rights under attack and moving us towards a better future, and I knew I could not survive the feelings of guilt and powerlessness that I would experience.
- Samantha Goerger, HLS ‘25 (did not do EIP, quit EIP, or rejected all offers): I came to law school to fight the oppressors, not to become one.
- Vinny Byju, HLS ‘25, (did not do EIP, quit EIP, or rejected all offers): I think Big Law is bad.
- Ariel Boone, HLS’26, (did not do EIP, quit EIP, or rejected all offers): I was taught at an early age to do everything I can with my educational advantages and power to work to lessen suffering in this world. Working in Big Law is counter to that goal in every way. Our lives amount to what we spend our time on.
- Kaiya McCullough, HLS ‘25, (did not do EIP, quit EIP, or rejected all offers): There are other viable pathways for young lawyers that don’t involve big law firms. You are not alone!
- Owen Averbuch, HLS ‘25, (did not do EIP, quit EIP, or rejected all offers): I came into law school wanting to do PI work and I am lucky that I have the privilege to pursue jobs that pay 1/3 of what my classmates will be entering.
- Irene Ameena, HLS ‘25, (did not do EIP, quit EIP, or rejected all offers): How you spend your days is how you spend your life—and I want to spend my life working to make our world better.
- Troy Brown, HLS ‘25, (did not do EIP, quit EIP, or rejected all offers): I chose not to do EIP for the same reason I came to HLS–because I’m committed to advancing the public interest by doing the work of finding systemic solutions for systemic problems. Entering law school, I knew that the work I would want to do–to advance justice for everyday people–wasn’t going to happen in a biglaw setting. And as I get ready to leave law school, I’m more confident and more secure than ever in the choices I made. I’m getting ready to start a career doing work that I’m excited and feel good about that lets me use the law on behalf of people who have historically not benefited from the full protections and guarantees of our legal system.
- John Fry, HLS ‘25 (did not do EIP, quit EIP, or rejected all offers): I came to law school to fight for social justice, not corporate profits.
- Radhika M. Kattula, HLS ‘25 (did not do EIP, quit EIP, or rejected all offers): Because as Tim Snyder said, “[O]ver time, beginning in youth, an accumulation of decisions makes us who we are. Then a moment comes when we do what we must because of what we have chosen to become.” I came to law school because I chose to be a public servant–and that’s what I’m going to do.
- Mirella Baker, HLS’26 (did not do EIP, quit EIP, or rejected all offers): I decided I wanted to be a lawyer in high school after learning about the Civil Rights Movement. At that point, I thought I wanted to be a Civil Rights lawyer (maybe I still do), but then later learning about slavery and its direct through line to mass incarceration, I knew that I wanted to spend my career representing and advocating for those most marginalized in our society as a public defender. My understanding of the law came directly from public interest spaces, as it so often does. As I continued on into college and learned more about our country’s social and political issues, I was more certain than ever that the law was the career path for me. With such a strong desire to pursue a career in public interest, it felt disingenuous to even think about pursuing a career in “big law,” something I knew I would personally never find rewarding. It is difficult to see your friends go through the process, see them get “wined and dined”, hear the large salaries they will get as a first year associate. But I feel lucky to have a cause I feel so strongly about, and I know that I will truly be happy pursuing a public interest career where I will actually be helping people.
- Leah Smith, HLS’26 (did not do EIP, quit EIP, or rejected all offers): It just didn’t align with my professional goals! I had a fun and meaningful 2L summer doing the type of work I’d like to do long term.
- Luisa Graden, HLS’26 (did not do EIP, quit EIP, or rejected all offers): Financially, it made more sense to have my huge burden forgiven through PSLF than try to pay it out of pocket. I will graduate with $250,000 of debt but my repayment will be $0! And of course—I get to find joy and meaning in my work.
- Anonymous 1L (certain they will not do EIP): “What’s the point of this fancy education if not to use it on behalf of those most in need?”
- Anonymous 3L (did not do EIP, quit EIP, or rejected all offers): Not only is big law net bad for the world, it is not even interesting or good training! You will get substantially more hands on work in basically any PI job or plaintiff-side litigation. $230k is not worth me working terrible hours, while being bored out of my skull, and being a lawyer with training wheels who doesn’t even first chair a deposition for the first five years or ever stand up in court. I did not have any family help in attending law school and am taking all three years as debt. However, I knew that when I started here – no one held a gun to my head and forced me to go to Harvard Law School. If I was truly unwilling to stomach debt without doing something I’m morally opposed to, I would have taken a scholarship elsewhere or not gone to law school. instead, I came in knowing debt would be part of my reality but was not a source of moral absolution. And it’s not that unmanageable! I have done significant financial planning and know that I will be just fine on a sub-big law salary, despite my loan payments and living in a HCOL city. People here have totally distorted what a normal salary is. When I was in college and took a high-paying consulting job, my starting salary in NYC was similar to the government salaries that people treat as so meager. Unions, PD jobs, and government jobs all routinely pay above $80k. Plaintiff side firms, though variable, pay between $100k and $220k. If you think that this is impossible to live on this money or pay off debt with LIPP, maybe the issue is your assumptions rather than public interest pay.
- Anonymous 2L (did not do EIP, quit EIP, or rejected all offers): Because I came to law school to do work I genuinely care about.
- Anonymous 1L (certain they will not do EIP): I’m not doing EIP. I didn’t come to law school to be funneled into a system designed to maximize profits for institutions that have never prioritized people like the ones I came here to serve. Harvard is already burying me in incomprehensible debt—why should I also let it market me as a product to firms that exist to protect corporations, not people? I understand why others do it. The stability, the prestige, the promise of a salary that makes the loans feel less suffocating. But that’s not why I’m here. I came to law school to fight for communities that don’t have a battalion of lawyers ready to shield them from harm. I want to work for David, not Goliath. So no, I won’t be bidding, I won’t be scheduling interviews, and I won’t pretend that this process is the inevitable next step for me. I came here to serve people, not power.
- Anonymous 2L (did not do EIP, quit EIP, or rejected all offers): As Harvard students, we have so much power and privilege that we can use to change the world. I want to take the opportunities I have been given to do something that helps make the world a more just and better place.
- Anonymous 3L (did not do EIP, quit EIP, or rejected all offers): I always knew I wanted to do PI work! I struggled with the ethics of big law and knew I didn’t want to contribute to that.
- Anonymous 3L (did not do EIP, quit EIP, or rejected all offers): Money matters, but I’ll make enough. I get to leave here with so much excitement to do the work I came here to do.
- Anonymous 1L (certain they will not do EIP): We do not have to perpetuate the myths that big law is valuable, necessary, desirable, or deserving of prestige. These myths are created by those with power to serve their own ends. I came to law school to learn how to serve incarcerated people, and that is what I will do.
What you have learned from the experience of choosing not to do it:
- Louis Lin, HLS ‘25 (did not do EIP, quit EIP, or rejected all offers): You don’t need to do EIP to secure a summer internship and post grad job. In fact, not doing EIP allows you to focus on pursuing opportunities that you are actually passionate about. Without EIP, I have been able to take part in the most fulfilling summer internships and now pursue my dream fellowship. You are not alone!
- Samantha Goerger, HLS ‘25 (did not do EIP, quit EIP, or rejected all offers): The PI route might be harder, but Harvard has immense resources and ensures you leave with a position after graduation. Getting your dream job is more than possible.
- Vinny Byju, HLS ‘25 (did not do EIP, quit EIP, or rejected all offers): Not doing EIP has allowed me to stay the course and pursue a career in public defense and do my best to help people, which was the reason I came to law school.
- Mackenzie Saunders, HLS ‘25 (did not do EIP, quit EIP, or rejected all offers): My chances of securing summer and post-graduation employment weren’t at all affected by my decision to opt out of EIP. With the help of OPIA, I secured my dream summer job and dream post-graduation fellowship. I came to law school to become a civil rights lawyer, and doing EIP wouldn’t help me accomplish that. EIP would only set me off that path. You’re not doing anything wrong by opting out of EIP. You’re trusting your gut and pursuing the work you love— don’t let anything take you off that path.
- Ariel Boone, HLS’26, (did not do EIP, quit EIP, or rejected all offers): I’ve had a very easy time doing VPIIP and finding public interest employment, and also a strong and passionate community on campus of others doing the same!
- Owen Averbuch, HLS ‘25 (did not do EIP, quit EIP, or rejected all offers): Stick with your values and principles and you’ll be happier.
- Jonathan Griffin, HLS’26 (did not do EIP, quit EIP, or rejected all offers): I participated in V-PIIP instead of EIP because of my commitment to a career in public interest law. V-PIIP is an excellent program with a lot of fantastic opportunities that allows you to have a job nailed down early in 2L. Through V-PIIP, I interviewed with five different district attorney’s offices across three states. Instead of spending my summer at a big law firm, I will be in the courtroom making a difference for my community.
- Liana Wang, HLS’26 (did not do EIP, quit EIP, or rejected all offers): Not doing EIP made me think more seriously and do more research on what kinds of places I actually wanted to work at after law school. As a result, I found out about a wide range of interesting public interest and plaintiff-side law firms and connected with older students and attorneys alike who carved out a life focused on public interest work from the beginning. I’m happy to be at two wonderful places for my 2L summer where I know I’ll do impactful work, meet amazing colleagues, and still be well-compensated for my efforts!
- Anonymous 1L (certain they will not do EIP): I am realizing how much stress I’ve spared myself. So many people spend their 1L summer with one foot in their work and the other in anticipation of EIP. Even this semester, it seems to be front of mind for my classmates who are always thinking a year ahead, strategizing, networking, worrying. I don’t have to do that. I get to be fully present in my work this summer, to learn from it, to engage with it completely, without feeling like it’s just a stepping stone to something else.
- Anonymous 2L (did not do EIP, quit EIP, or rejected all offers): having to actually make a decision in line with my own identity/desires is more honest, scary, and authentic than following groupthink
- Anonymous 3L (did not do EIP, quit EIP, or rejected all offers): The path less traveled is easier with friends. Find community here that builds you up and inspires you.
Deciding factor for not doing big law
- Angela Li, HLS’26, (did not do EIP, quit EIP, or rejected all offers): It’s not why I came to law school, it’s not why I worked so hard to get here, it’s not why I was granted the privilege of having access to and serving marginalized communities in the past which I wrote about in my personal statement and is the reason I’m here today. It’s not who I am.
- Anonymous 3L (did not do EIP, quit EIP, or rejected all offers): I did a few interviews just to waste time and asked questions about the firms’ diversity stats.
- Anonymous 2L (did not do EIP, quit EIP, or rejected all offers): No amount of money is worth doing harm to people and causes I care about, and no amount of pro bono can make up for all the harm and complicity caused along the way.
Signatories Pledging not to do EIP
- Allie Ryave, HLS ’25
- Anjali Katta, HLS ’26
- Esther Ritchin, HLS ’25
- Kayleigh Hasson, HLS ’27
- Jordan Hoogsteden, HLS ’26
- Eric Zhao, HLS ’25
- Mia Stone-Molloy, HLS ’27
- Luisa Graden, HLS ’26
- Carson Maconga, HLS ’27
- Molly Hayes, HLS ’27
- Leah Smith, HLS ’25
- Sofia Bottinelli, HLS ’26
- Sumita Rajpurohit, HLS ’27
- Sophia Leswing, HLS ’27
- John Fossum, HLS ’25
- Finlay Adamson, HLS ’27
- Camille Brunetti, HLS ’25
- Aashna Avachat, HLS ’25
- Corinne Shanahan, HLS ’25
- Christina Williams, HLS ’25
- Meredith Sullivan, HLS ’25
- Elyse Weissberger, HLS ’25
- Nora Van Horn, HLS ’25
- Catherine Ho HLS ’26
- Micah Herskind, HLS ’26
- Emily Sklar, HLS ’26
- Kyra Du, HLS ’25
- Sidd Jejurikar, HLS ’25
- Gabriel Eskandari, HLS ’25
- Eliza Davis, HLS ’25
- Ben Kane, HLS ’26
- Kieran Murphy, HLS ’26
- Jesse Lin, HLS ’25
- Lila Greiner, HLS ’26
- Liana Wang, HLS ’26
- Jonathan Griffin, HLS ’26
- Pat Healy, HLS ’26
- Sarah Berton, HLS ’25
- Ellen Teuscher, HLS ’25
- Jackie O’Neil, HLS ’26
- Amy Eisenstein, HLS ’26
- Richard Lin, HLS ’26
- Hayden Davis, HLS ’25
- Mikaela Rabb, HLS ’25
- Olivia Reichwald, HLS ’25
- Mirella Baker, HLS ’26
- Lexi Foman, HLS ’26
- Julia Kepczynska, HLS ’26
- Otto Barenberg, HLS ’26
- Radhika M. Kattula, HLS ’25
- R. Elliott DeRiso, HLS ’25
- John Fry, HLS ’25
- Caroline Arnold, HLS ’26
- Natalia Brown, HLS ’26
- Lauren O’Connell, HLS ’26
- Serena Jarwala, HLS ’25
- Jacob Linfesty, HLS ’26
- Troy Brown, HLS ’25
- Irene Ameena, HLS ’25
- Jane Merrick, HLS ’26
- Owen Averbuch, HLS ’25
- Alis Yoo, HLS ’25
- Joshua Lilly, HLS ’26
- Wesley Neal, HLS ’25
- Devon Johnson, HLS ’25
- Giovanna Garcia, HLS ’25
- Sunah Chang, HLS ’25
- Caroline Casey, HLS ’26
- Michael Pusic, HLS ’26
- Katie Mayopoulos, HLS ’26
- Jessenia Class, HLS ’25
- Wesley Streicher, HLS ’26
- Tony Maquiling, HLS ’26
- Laura Kern, HLS ’25
- Courtney, HLS ’27
- Justin McMahan, HLS ’26
- Sal DeFrancesco, HLS ’26
- Sydney LaPorte, HLS ’25
- Petal Niles, HLS ’25
- Riya Sood, HLS ’25
- Kaiya McCullough, HLS ’25
- Philip De Groot, HLS ’25
- Gilbert Placeres, HLS ’25
- Ariel Boone, HLS ’26
- Haley Florsheim, HLS ’25
- Mackenzie Saunders, HLS ’25
- Henry Bredar, HLS ’25
- Nelson Reed, HLS ’25
- Josh Freitag, HLS ’26
- Vinny Byju, HLS ’25
- Rachel Kennedy, HLS ’26
- Samantha Goerger, HLS ’25
- Lucy Sun, HLS ’26
- Liz Coughlin, HLS ’25
- Aarthi Kannan, HLS ’26
- Martha Ball, HLS ’25
- Tim Barbera, HLS ’25
- Ideal Dowling, HLS ’27
- Samara Trilling, HLS ’25
- Steven Rome, HLS ’25
- Tabitha Escalante, HLS ’26
- Panini Pandya, HLS ’25
- Julia Saltzman, HLS ’26
- Jason Brovich, HLS ’25
- Angela Li, HLS ’26
- James Morrison, HLS ’26
- Ben Gantt, HLS ’26
- Valerie McCarthy, HLS ’26
- Jenny Pigge, HLS ’26
- Holden Hopkins, HLS ’25
- Louis Lin, HLS ’25
- Cara Sierks, HLS ’25
- Hunter Callaway, HLS ’27
- Reilly Johnson, HLS ’27
- Mary Enloe, HLS ’27
- Rachael Maguire, HLS ’25
- Hannah Levine, HLS ’27
- Everest Fang, HLS ’25
- Divya Kumar, HLS ’26
- Grace Perret, HLS ’25
- Zachari, HLS ’26
- Margaret Amshay, HLS ’25
- Meredith Gudesblatt, HLS ’26
- Jayce Jimenez, HLS ’25
- Alinnah Qiao, HLS ’26
- Amber Magnuson, HLS ’27
- Peter Watson, HLS ’26
- Ilai Gavish, HLS ’26
- Kirsten “Shaw” Mettler, HLS ’26
- Lexi Roberts, HLS ’25
- Zerxes Bhadha, HLS ’27
- Abigail Moats, HLS ’26
- Tyler Armstrong, HLS ’27
- Rebekah Ninan, HLS ’25
- Devanshi Nishar, HLS ’26
- Oluwatobi Omotoso, HLS