Legal Intern/Extern (U.S. Legal Services)

Overview

This organization seeks two law students to serve as summer interns or externs with its U.S. Legal Services Department. The internship is remote, with the possibility of working from the organization’s New York City office space.

Priority will be given to applications received by October 30, 2026.

Responsibilities

• Support direct representation of forcibly displaced people and their family members seeking safe passage to the United States by drafting memos and briefs, conducting fact-finding, and interviewing clients
• Conduct intake interviews and identify client needs for direct services
• Participate in discrete special projects, including remote legal clinics
• Conduct outreach to affected communities, prepare legal information materials, and participate in public education efforts
• Draft and update legal practitioner guides by analyzing changes in law and newly released government documents, and create additional materials to assist staff and legal aid practitioners

Requirements

Education

• Must be a rising 2L or 3L, enrolled in a J.D. program in the United States

Skills and Competencies

• Strong research, writing, and analytical skills
• Strong interpersonal and communication skills
• Sensitivity to client empowerment and to working with clients of all backgrounds, including LGBTI clients, survivors of trauma, and other vulnerable populations
• Initiative to see projects through and ability to multitask
• Proficiency in Google Workspace
• Excellent English communication skills required; ability to speak Arabic, Dari, Farsi, Somali, Pashto, Kurdish, or Spanish is a plus
• Strong interest in refugee processing, immigration law, and human rights

Internship-related requirements

• Internship is remote, possibly with the option to work out of the New York office
• Full-time internship requiring a 10-week commitment
• Must have work authorization in the United States to apply for an internship (candidates may apply for an externship regardless of work authorization status)

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience: NA

Compensation & Benefits

• $17–$17 per hour

Interns/externs may be hosted in two ways:

• Paid interns (summer program): Students pursue public interest funding from their law schools first. If paid by the organization, compensation is $17 per hour (or the intern’s state minimum wage, to be applied) for 40 hours per week.
• Non-compensated externs for academic credit(s): coordinated in collaboration with the applicant’s school.

Internship and externship candidates will be considered equally.

Duration

• Full-time, 10-week commitment
• Begins Monday, June 7, 2027, and ends Friday, August 13, 2027
• Onboarding days scheduled from June 7 to 9, 2027, in the organization’s New York office
• If you are only able to work part-time (for example, if you are a part-time student) or are unable to begin on June 7, 2026, please still apply; applications will be reviewed.

Location

Remote internship with the option to work from the organization’s New York City office space. Onboarding occurs in the New York office.

Application Process

Only complete applications will be reviewed.

Submit:

• A 1-page cover letter describing your interest in working with the organization, including any relevant life or work experience (addressed to “Intern/Extern Hiring Committee”)
• A 1–2 page resume
• A brief legal writing sample (no more than 10 pages) that is not heavily edited by others (e.g., a research memo or an excerpt of a brief)
• A list of 2–3 professional references

If applying for multiple internship/externship opportunities, submit separate applications for each position for which you are interested and qualified.

Equal Opportunity Statement

The organization encourages applications from people with lived experiences in the communities served, members of other marginalized communities, and individuals whose identities are underrepresented in the legal profession.

The organization is an equal-opportunity employer and does not discriminate based on race, color, national origin, citizenship status, ethnic background, religion, political orientation, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, age, disability, or any other protected class. It considers all qualified applicants with criminal histories consistent with requirements of all local, state, and federal laws related to the Fair Chance Act.