About the role
Internship
Internships provide high school, college and law school students, recent law school graduates, and members of the community with an opportunity to not just learn about the criminal legal system, but to advocate for justice on behalf of our clients.
We welcome individuals with a variety of backgrounds and skills who are committed to and passionate about fighting for our clients.
There are several ways interns can get involved, including:
- Representing clients in criminal, immigration, youth or mental health cases.
- Interview clients in-custody
- Gathering facts and conducting fieldwork with our Investigators
- Clearing records to enable clients to get jobs, housing, or professional licensesthrough our Clean Slate Unit
- Raising awareness and pushing for legislation that benefits our clients with our Policy Team
- Supporting our clerical, IT, and administrative teams.
Except for interns who join us through the City’s Opportunities for All Program – https://www.opps4allsf.org (see College and High School Students section below), we are unfortunately unable to pay interns. The cost of travel, living expenses, insurance and accommodations are the responsibility of the intern. We cannot accept responsibility for costs arising from accidents or illness incurred during the internship.
Interns are required to sign a confidentiality agreement and may never discuss individual cases or information obtained during the internship. This obligation continues even after the conclusion of the internship. Interns must comply with all rules and policies applicable to Public Defender Staff.
We believe in diversity, equity and inclusion. We are an equal employment opportunity employer. We do not discriminate on the basis race, color, religion, sex, handicap, sexual orientation or national origin.
Investigation Unit Interns
Public Defender Investigators are critical to great outcomes for our clients. They are responsible for reviewing police reports, witness statements and pictures taken by the police, identifying and interviewing witnesses (some of whom the police failed or neglected to interview), taking photographs, measuring distances, securing video surveillance, serving subpoenas and reviewing and retrieving documents.
If you are a smart, curious, a good listener, and a committed to indigent defense work, please apply to be a Public Defender Investigator intern.
Minimum time commitment: two days a week, sixteen hours a week, three months, one semester or one quarter.
Please have a cover letter and resume ready for submission and apply below.