Civil Practice Legal Intern - Spring 2025 - New York, NY

The Legal Aid Society's Civil Practice has non-paid internships in its various NYC Borough offices and specialized units for Spring 2024. Legal interns assist the Civil Practice attorneys, who work to improve the lives of low-income New Yorkers by helping vulnerable families and individuals obtain and maintain the basic necessities of life - housing, health care, food, and subsistence income or self-sufficiency. The attorneys enhance family and community stability and security by resolving a full range of legal problems, including but not limited to anti-eviction, domestic violence, family law, immigration, employment, tax, health, elder law, HIV/AIDS, and consumer law issues.

Currently, the Legal Aid Society seeks interns in the following units:

Community Development Project CLOSED Consumer Law Project Education Law Project CLOSED
Employment Law Unit Family Law/Domestic Violence Practice Foreclosure Prevention Project Government Benefits and Disability Advocacy Practice Health Law Unit
HIV/AIDS Representation Project (H/ARP)
Housing Justice Helpline Housing Justice Unit - Group Advocacy Housing Practice Housing Justice Unit - Tenant Defense Immigration Law Unit CLOSED
Low-Income Taxpayer Clinic Project

For more information about the work of the Civil Practice and our specialized units please go to:

https://www.legalaidnyc.org/programs-projects-units/

ESSENTIAL DUTIES/RESPONSIBILITIES

• Interns will work directly under the supervision of Civil Practice attorneys
• Duties may include drafting motions, pleadings, memoranda of law, and affidavits
• Conducting legal research; attending court and administrative hearings with attorneys;
• Assisting with client interviews
• Other duties as assigned

TRAINING AND QUALIFICATIONS

• Is a current 2L or 3L law school student in good standing
• Relevant clinical program or work experience is preferred, but not required
• Demonstrated commitment to and interest in serving racially and socioeconomically oppressed communities
• Ability to work collegially and collaboratively with all members of the staff
• Ability to manage multiple tasks, deadlines, and think critically
• Fluency in languages besides English, in particular Spanish, is helpful but not required

Applicants will be notified whether they have been selected for an interview. Our hiring process is extremely competitive, and we encourage students to apply early.

REQUIRED DOCUMENTS

Please submit these documents as a single combined PDF when you apply via the LAS (Legal Aid Society) Recruitment Portal.

• Resume
• Cover letter

STIPENDS & BENEFITS

Interns who meet the eligibility criteria have an opportunity to receive a $1,000 stipend from the Howard Rossbach fund. The Stipend was established in memory of Judge J. Howard Rossbach, Attorney-in-Chief of The Legal Aid Society (1950-1952, 1953-1955), whose mentorship encouraged young lawyers' dedication to civic engagement through legal aid. The J. Howard Rossbach Internship Stipend, awarded through a lottery system, aims to support 4-5 interns annually who demonstrate financial need and lack funding for their internship at The Legal Aid Society. To be considered for this stipend, interns must:

• Applicants must be enrolled as a degree seeking undergraduate or graduate student at any accredited institution
• Complete the Howard Rossbach Internship Stipend Form at the time of submitting their internship application.
• Must ultimately be accepted to participate in an internship program at LAS
• Must demonstrate financial need
• Must lack funding for their internship
• Must submit a statement reflecting the student's strong interest in working at Legal Aid upon graduation

Application deadline (s):

Please refer to the deadline listed on the internship description you wish to apply to.

Stipend application:

To be considered for the J. Howard Rossbach Internship Stipend, simultaneously fill out the J. Howard Rossbach Internship Stipend Form during the submission of your internship application. Only one application per applicant per year is permitted. If more than 4 or 5 applicants are eligible, then recipients will be selected by lottery. Please do not submit multiple forms even if you are applying for multiple internships. Selected interns will be notified prior to the start of their internships. The stipend will be treated as taxable income.

For additional information or inquiries about the internship stipend, please reach out to jobpostquestions@legal-aid.org.

OUR COMMITMENT TO DIVERSITY, EQUITY, AND INCLUSION

The leadership of The Legal Aid Society is committed to a work culture of zealous advocacy, respect, diversity and inclusion, client-oriented defense, access to justice and excellent representation. We are dedicated to building a strong professional relationship with each of our clients, to understanding their diverse circumstances, and to meeting their needs. Our ability to achieve these goals depends on the efforts of all of us.

HOW TO APPLY

Applicants interested in applying to the Housing Justice Unit should submit an application exclusively to the Housing Justice Unit. All other Civil Practice Units should be listed by order of placement preference.

Please list any of the following units in order of preference:

Community Development Project CLOSED Consumer Law Project Education Law Project CLOSED
Employment Law Unit Family Law/Domestic Violence Practice Foreclosure Prevention Project Government Benefits and Disability Advocacy Practice Health Law Unit
HIV/AIDS Representation Project (H/ARP)
Housing Justice Helpline Housing Justice Unit - Group Advocacy Housing Practice Housing Justice Unit - Tenant Defense Immigration Law Unit CLOSED
Low-Income Taxpayer Clinic Project

All applications must be completed online. We do not accept paper submissions. Please visit our Careers Page to review all current job postings, and instructions on the application process. For technical difficulties or questions regarding this posting, please email jobpostquestions@legal-aid.org.

As an Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) Employer, The Legal Aid Society prohibits discriminatory employment actions against and treatment of its employees and applicants for employment based on actual or perceived race or color, size (including bone structure, body size, height, shape, and weight), religion or creed, alienage or citizenship status, sex (including pregnancy), national origin, age, sexual orientation, gender identity (one's internal deeply-held sense of one's gender which may be the same or different from one's sex assigned at birth); gender expression (the representation of gender as expressed through, for example, one's name, choice of pronouns, clothing, haircut, behavior, voice, or body characteristics; gender expression may not conform to traditional gender-based stereotypes assigned to specific gender identities), disability, marital status, relationship and family structure (including domestic partnerships, polyamorous families and individuals, chosen family, platonic co-parents, and multigenerational families), genetic information or predisposing genetic characteristics, military status, domestic violence victim status, arrest or pre-employment conviction record, credit history, unemployment status, caregiver status, salary history, or any other characteristic protected by law.