Often times, undergraduate students or recent college graduates have asked me how they can intern with a legal aid or non profit organization in the public interest sector. Some are interested in civil rights or practicing law representing clients from vulnerable communities, such as practicing immigration law. Others simply want exposure to the legal field to get a sense of what law practice can be to inform or confirm their decision to apply to law school.
In my opinion, there isn’t a sure fire way for undergraduate students or recent college graduates to land positions at a law firm, government agency, or nonprofit organization to gain exposure to the legal profession. In my experience, internship hiring can vary even within the same organization or entity, especially if hiring is decentralized and left up to each department, division, unit, or project within the organization at large. In terms of getting hired, it depends on the employer. In both instances – whether searching for an internship or a job – it’s important to consult your network to learn more about the role and the hiring entity. In some instances, finding a position can be random – and that was my experience before law school!
My Post-College Opportunity in Public Interest Law
About 15 years ago, during a recession, I moved back to California from Minnesota. At that precise time, law school was no longer my immediate goal. Instead, I aimed to earn a Master’s degree in Public Policy. To explore graduate programs, I attended the Idealist.org Grad School Fair. There, I started a conversation with someone whose wife worked at a legal nonprofit as a researcher. Intrigued, I offered to volunteer on that research project. With my background in collecting and analyzing data, I had skills they needed and I thought it was a good way for me to keep those quantitative analysis skills fresh.
Eventually, I connected with the organization’s Legal Director and joined the project as a volunteer researcher. Since this was before the era of remote work, I went to the organization’s office every day. Even though I volunteered, I treated it as a job and showed up and met with the project lead to ensure we were on track.
While at the legal nonprofit organization, I met several attorneys, many of whom encouraged to reconsider my path to law school. As a result, I promised to apply to a pre-law fellowship program. This volunteer experience set me on the path to the pre-law fellowship program, then to law school, and, ultimately, to a legal career. As a bonus, I made lifelong mentors and friends.
This was my entry into the nonprofit legal sector, several years before I went to law school. It was a random encounter, but one that happened because (1) I showed up to an event; (2) I networked out of a desire to be helpful; and (3) I followed up.
Tips for Finding Public Interest Law Internships and Jobs
While there is no guaranteed route to land a role as an undergraduate student or recent college grad at a public interest interest law firm, here are a few ways to go about your search:
Seek Internship or Job Opportunities: Look for internships or job opportunities with government agencies, nonprofit organizations, or private public interest law firms. Job or intern openings come and go, so be sure to routinely check the websites for the entities you want to work or intern at.
As I shared above, it may be the case that not every nonprofit legal organization you research has internship opportunities for undergraduate students or recent college grads. However, some organizations may have job positions that are good fits for college students or recent college graduates. Consider using platforms like Idealist.org or LinkedIn to find volunteer opportunities and internships with nonprofit legal organizations. If there is a specific organization you want to work with, search their website directly for internship opportunities.
As a helpful tip, I encourage you to make a list of 10-20 government agencies (for example, cities, counties, states, tribal governments, public or tribal college or universities), non profit organizations, or law firms where you may want to volunteer, intern, or work at. For each entity on your list, check out their website and find the page that advertises job, intern, or career opportunities and bookmark it. Periodically visit the page to learn of new opportunities and apply if it interests you. Use a note, word doc, or spreadsheet to help you track opportunities.
You can also use software like Google Alerts for job posts in the field you’re interested in. For example, you can do search query like “Los Angeles + immigrants’ rights” or “Los Angeles + immigration law” for a broad category if you’re seeking job posts in Los Angeles to do immigrants’ rights advocacy or work. You can narrow by adding other search terms, or being more specific like adding “job post” or “intern post” or other words or phrases to narrow in on what you’re looking for.
Attend Events or Webinars: Participate in events hosted by law schools, government agencies, bar associations, or legal aidsto network and learn from professionals in the field. Be sure to introduce yourself and then follow or connect with people on LinkedIn.
Attending events or webinars may help you learn more organizations or entities that do work that is interesting to you. So talk to people at networking events or watch the webinars. Keep track of people who work at entities that appeal to you.
If you want to learn more about bar associations generally or find a list of bar associations in Los Angeles, check out my post.
Volunteer: Offer your time to nonprofit legal organizations to develop relevant skills and demonstrate your commitment to public service.
The added benefit when you volunteer is that you can meet more people in the field, ask questions, and gain more insight into the profession.
If you’re fortunate, you may also make lifelong friends or mentors.
Support Advocacy Campaigns: Get involved in advocacy efforts to understand the intersection of law and social justice activism. If you’re still in school, for example, and may not have time to volunteer on a consistent basis, sometimes plugging into advocacy campaigns may give you some flexibility to deepen your community involvement. For example, legal aids that also engage in legislative advocacy to support legislative bills in line with their mission may offer opportunities to call or email your legislator, or show up for a rally at a local board meeting. These are ways that can help magnify impact even if you don’t have the bandwidth to sustain a volunteer position.
Good luck!
I wish you the best of luck in your journey!
Have you secured a public interest law internship or job? Share your experiences and tips in the comments below! If you have any questions, feel free to reach out.
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