Naomi Ages was happy to land at Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher in New York after graduating from law school at the University of Southern California in 2010.

The global financial crisis was still roiling the legal industry, and while some classmates saw their start dates deferred, she was able to start right on schedule at the firm where she worked as a summer associate. And while Ages went to law school with a goal to pursue public interest work, she wanted to return to the East Coast, and nonprofits and NGOs had few resources for cross-country recruiting.