Greatrgood recognizes that public interst law is an industry as much as it is a calling. It’s a lifestyle and a topic of intense debate. We decided the time was long past due for a website that reflects what we are living as people trying to use law as a tool of social change.

So here we go. Part industry rag, part community builder, Greatrgood is the brainstorm of three young lawyers — Zafar Shah, Naureen Shah and Natasha Quiroga — who were looking for jobs and laughing (somewhat bitterly) at how pathetic the state of Public Interest Law had become. In a time of “deferred law firm associate” fellowships and reposts of outdated legal aid job listings, we discovered we had a lot to say about what we really wanted from this career path. We wanted ear-to-the-ground advice, critical opinions about a less-than-transparent industry, and a sense of collectivity and shared struggle (as opposed to competition).

Young P.I. lawyers and law students are told all the time, “Find a mentor.” But how many of us have one? These days, even your mentor needs a mentor!

Greatrgood is our response to the dearth of information on issues critical to our livelihoods as public interest lawyers. Instead of a dedicated, accessible, go-to forum for information about public interest legal work, the community relies on career services staff at their alma mater institutions, informal contacts built via expensive conferences or often impersonal issue/campaign-driven listservs, and, of course, word of mouth. Young P.I. lawyers and law students are told all the time, “Find a mentor.” But how many of us have one? These days, even your mentor needs a mentor! The truth is, public interest law is an industry, whether we “P.I. folks” want to admit or not. It’s time we truly have an industry publication; and it’s time we have a way to talk back to this industry. At the same time, it’s time we have a sense of talking to each other more openly about the struggles we face. We chose this career path to help change society, but are we? Are there better roles for us to take on, and more progressive organizations to join? As we clamor to get jobs –sometimes, any job will do — we still wonder if it’s the right job for us. The job hunt and the work itself can be demoralizing; many P.I. students and lawyers feel isolated from peers who pursue more stable and financially beneficial paths, and from family and friends stung by the long work hours and unpredictable travel schedules some P.I. jobs demand. Friendships built in law school and organizations suffer as careers move forward. But throughout our careers, we need a network of support; we need to show each other support. We need to be invigorated by our ideas, and the ideas of others.

Greatrgood taps into this huge need for real info. We want to create what we don’t already have: (1) trust-worthy, friendly advice about how to manage this crazy career path and (2) reliable, critical, ‘crowd-sourced’ information about what’s going on in this public interest law “industry,” which organizations and positions are worth committing to, and why. We are building a forum to raise new ideas and models for public interest lawyering. Using social media to generate content and disseminate it widely, Greatrgood doesn’t replace all the ‘traditional’, atomized sources of information and advice; this project makes them better. We offer something wholy new, too: the twin dynamic of an online publication and an online community that are unaffiliated with any one cause, issue, or professional bar.

List of contributors:

• Natasha
• Naureen
• TeamGG
• Zafar