Volunteer Law Student (non-CLI)

The application deadline for Summer internships (CLIs and non-CLIs) is March 15; for Fall, it is July 15; for Spring, it is November 1. No applications will be accepted late.

Unpaid Volunteer Opportunities (non-CLI)

The Public Defender’s Office offers select volunteering opportunities for law students. Due to workload demands, the inability to closely supervise or for interns to assist with legal support, and the sensitive nature of the work, we are seldom able to offer volunteering opportunities to undergraduate or high school students. Volunteer law students (i.e., non-certified interns) are afforded invaluable experience working alongside skilled and dedicated assistant public defenders in one of the nation’s most challenging criminal justice systems. The law student intern selection process is highly competitive. When we have appropriate, time-limited, projects, the Public Defender occasionally invites one or more law or college students to volunteer on a project. Regrettably, due to the high demand for internships from law students, and lack of adequate supervisory resources and space, we do not offer internships to high school students, nor do we provide “shadowing” opportunities.

Interested in participating in our unpaid volunteer program? Write a statement of interest outlining why you want to do an internship with our office, what motivates you to work with individuals who cannot afford a lawyer to represent them on a criminal case, why you want to become a lawyer, and why you want to work in our office after law school. Complete the internship/job application, and email your resume and statement of interest to Yanelis Zamora.