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Area of law

Government & Public Sector Law

Lawyering for and within public institutions.

Find schools with programsAll areas of law

What this area covers

Government lawyers advise officials, draft legislation and rules, and represent public bodies in court. They work at every level, from city attorney offices to federal departments.

Also called: Government Law, Legislation, Public Law, Public Sector Law.

Typical legal work

  • Advising officials and agencies
  • Drafting legislation and regulations
  • Representing government bodies in litigation

Common subareas

Government ContractsBuying and selling goods and services to public agencies.Municipal & Local Government LawThe powers and duties of cities, counties and special districts.

Where lawyers work

  • Federal, state and local government
  • Legislative offices
  • Attorney general and city attorney offices

A setting is where you work; an area is what the work is about. The same area is practised in very different settings.

Schools with verified programs

A school is listed here only when its own website names a concentration, certificate, clinic, center or field placement in Government & Public Sector Law or one of its subareas. Schools are in alphabetical order. The list is not a ranking, and a school that is absent may still teach the subject.

17 schools · 1 certificate · 11 clinics · 4 centers and institutes · 2 externships and field placements

Filter these schools in the directory

Program types counted as evidence: clinics, certificates, concentrations and specializations, centers and institutes, externships and field placements. Joint degrees and advanced degrees are described under Degrees & program types.

Sources

These references informed what the area covers. The description above is PreLaw Advisor’s own and does not reproduce their text.

  1. 1.American Bar Association. Government and Public Sector Lawyers Division (opens in a new tab) Retrieved Sep 2026.

Description reviewed Sep 2026. Each school program links to the page it was verified against.

Government & Public Sector Law — areas of law · PreLaw Advisor