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The United States Department of Justice

Southern District of New York

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LAW STUDENT VOLUNTEER INTERNSHIPS

For many years, our Office has prided itself on conducting an active and exciting summer internship program for law students from schools throughout the nation. The program accepts both first-year and second-year law students into the Civil Division and Criminal Division. Students participate in the full range of work that Assistant United States Attorneys perform, and are encouraged to take advantage of the wonderful observation opportunities available to them. Our Office also traditionally hosts a variety of summer events designed to educate our interns about government lawyering and the legal profession in general. In the past, these events have included among others, a question-and-answer session with the United States Attorney, panel discussions on the value of judicial clerkships, panel discussions with judges from the Southern District of New York, and tours of the Metropolitan Correctional Center, the local federal prison facility.

There is one hiring process for both Divisions. Furthermore, while we ask interns to designate their Division preference (i.e., Civil, Criminal), all assignments are made at the ultimate discretion of the summer program coordinators. Interns are required to commit to working a minimum of ten weeks in our Office, beginning in May or June. In limited instances, law students may be permitted, upon request, to split their summer between our Office and another employer. In those instances, a seven-week minimum stay at our Office will be required.

Approximately fifty to sixty law students work in our Office each summer. All interns are paired with one or two Assistants, who are responsible for their work assignments. Typical intern assignments include research and writing projects, participation in witness interviews, document analysis, assistance in preparing for depositions and court conferences, and assistance with trials. Interns are assigned to the full range of cases that Assistants in the two divisions handle. Traditionally, the Civil and Criminal Divisions also host a series of training sessions and brown bag lunches designed to introduce interns to the Office’s different practice areas and improve interns’ research and writing skills.

In addition, during the school year, students attending law schools in the New York City metropolitan area may join the Office as part-time student assistants. Second and third year students may apply and are expected to commit approximately 12-15 hours a week to the program. Some students from further away are permitted by their law schools to join the Office on a full-time basis for a semester as interns.

Avoiding Conflicts of Interest. Although law student interns are not directly subject to the New York Rules of Professional Conduct or to the Office of Government Ethics regulations applicable to federal employees, see 5 C.F.R. Parts 2635 & 3801 and 28 C.F.R. Part 45, potential conflicts will generally be analyzed as though those rules and regulations were applicable to law student interns. You should be aware in advance that a law student intern cannot work for or be paid by another law firm or similar entity during the time you work with us.  Nor can you participate in any law school or other legal clinic involving litigation with or proceedings before the United States or any federal entity during the time you work with us; and you must obtain our written consent to participate in any other type of law school or legal clinic, or in any other type of outside employment, during the time you work with us.

Funding Your Internship. Because of fiscal constraints, the Office can not itself fund any summer internships. However, students who demonstrate financial need may apply for stipends that are generously offered by several private fellowship associations founded by former Assistants of this Office. Furthermore, other privately funded stipends or public service fellowships may be available through individual law schools. Finally, this Office is happy to cooperate with school programs that provide academic credit for the internships. We are not able, however, to provide matching funds for work-study programs.

You must indicate on your resume your preference for either the Criminal or Civil division. Application packages must be complete and contain all of the above items when submitted and will only be accepted during the dates provided below:

Summer 2008Internship

2nd year law students: September 15, 2008 - October 6, 2008

*1st year law students: December 1, 2008 - February 28, 2008

*We will be conducting on campus interviews for 1Ls during Jan/Feb of 2008 at the following schools; Brooklyn, Cardozo, Columbia, Fordham NYL, NYU, Pace, Georgetown, Harvard, Howard, Yale and possibly other schools based on the needs of the Office. Please contact your school’s career center or public interest office for interview information. All 1Ls, including students attending the above schools may submit their resumes during the window above for early consideration. It is anticipated that most slots will be filled after the on-campus interviews.

Please email your complete application package to:

usanys.summer@usdoj.gov

Note: Resumes and attachments must be submitted in either WP, Word, or PDF. No ZIP Files will be accepted.

If you do not have email access, you may submit your application within the same time frame to:

U.S. Attorney’s Office, SDNY
Attn: Human Resources, Summer Intern
86 Chambers Street, NY, NY 10007

All 2nd year students will receive a decision on their applications by the end of November 2008.

All 1st year students will receive a decision on their applications by the middle to end of March 2009.

Law Student Internship booklet

For further information concerning our Office please click the link below and read the attached booklet.

SDNY Booklet

NOTE: The link below pertains only to those students who have received and accepted an offer with this office.

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