WASHINGTON, March 30 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The following release was issued today by Equal Justice Works:

What:

The E-Guide to Public Service at America's Law Schools is a free interactive online resource that provides a broad range of information about public interest programs and curricula at 116 law schools. Equal Justice Works, a Washington-based nonprofit public interest law organization, created The E-Guide to fill the void in existing commercial publications by providing information about public service in law schools and about factors many consider essential to a quality legal education. Newsweek.com hosts The E-Guide at http://ejw.newsweek.com/.

Why The E-Guide:

The E-Guidedetails how the nation's law schools are preparing the next generation of lawyers. It provides comparable information on a range of key factors such as:

-- Availability of clinical and externship programs -- Number of staff dedicated to administering public service programs -- Loan repayment assistance for graduates who enter public service.

Without resorting to rankings or ratings, The E-Guide presents information in an accessible format, highlighting such areas as public interest curriculum, debt load and career placement. Many of these factors simply are not part of the U.S. News & World Report ranking of law schools. Instead, The E-Guide encourages users to create their own top-tier law schools based on the chief attributes of a quality legal education.

For whom:

The E-Guide is for law school applicants, current law students, pre-law advisors, faculty, lawyers and judges and anyone who cares about legal education and the fair administration of justice in the U.S.

What's next:

Look for the second annual edition of The E-Guide to Public Service at America's Law Schools in August 2007. This next edition will be even more comprehensive (more than 150 participating law schools) and feature enhanced interactivity.

The E-Guide to Public Service at America's Law Schools is a partnership between Newsweek.com, which hosts the site, and Equal Justice Works, a nonprofit, nonpartisan 501(c)(3) organization founded in 1986 and dedicated to working for equal justice on behalf of underserved communities and causes. Today, Equal Justice Works is the national leader in creating summer and postgraduate public interest opportunities for law students and lawyers as well as in urging more public interest programming at law schools. For more information, visit http://www.equaljusticeworks.org/.

CONTACT: James Carroll of Equal Justice Works, +1-202-466-3686,
ext. 137, or jcarroll@equaljusticeworks.org

Web site: http://www.equaljusticeworks.org/
http://ejw.newsweek.com/