Civil Practice Legal Intern, 1L - Summer 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 Summer 2025. 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 civil units:

Community Development Project
Consumer Law Project
Education Law Project
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 Unit - Group Advocacy Housing Practice
Housing Justice Unit - Tenant Defense
Immigration Law Unit
Low-Income Taxpayer Clinic Project

Within the Civil Practice is the Legal Aid Society's Housing Justice Unit, one of the largest eviction defense and affirmative housing litigation practice in New York City. Legal Aid seeks to continue training law students to provide counsel to all tenants in eviction proceedings. The Housing Justice unit also brings affirmative litigation to obtain repairs and stop tenant harassment. The Housing Justice attorneys provide representation in all aspects of litigation including pre-litigation advocacy, substantial motion practice, discovery, oral argument, trial, and appellate work. Each borough has a General Housing Unit and a Group Advocacy Unit.

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
We are seeking dynamic, passionate, and creative legal interns committed to our mission. 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.

QUALIFICATIONS

• Current 1L 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

REQUIRED DOCUMENTS

Please submit a Cover Letter and Resume as a single PDF. Applications will be considered on a rolling basis, so applicants are encouraged to apply early. Applicants will be notified whether or not they have been selected for an interview.

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 J. 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 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.

Community Development Project
Consumer Law Project
Education Law Project
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 Unit - Group Advocacy Housing Practice
Housing Justice Unit - Tenant Defense
Immigration Law Unit
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.