Want to Spend Your Summer Law & Order Style?

Each summer, local and federal criminal prosecutor and defense offices hire law students to serve as legal interns. These positions afford students an opportunity to see the criminal justice system up close.

At the federal level, the United States Attorney's Office serves as prosecutors. The USAO has offices in all 50 states, with many of them offering unpaid internships to students. The deadline to apply for such positions is generally in January. While summer 2009 deadlines have not yet been set, you can view summer 2008 deadlines to get an idea of what this year's deadlines will be. In addition, this site will provide information on other U.S. Department of Justice unpaid internships, which are located in Washington, D.C. and are available to law students.

On the defense side, the Federal Public Defender's Office also has locations around the country, many of which will also hire students for summer positions.

At the state and local level, each city, county, region or state has its own prosecutor and defender offices. Your CDO advisor can help you identify the prosecutor or defender office in the city you are most interested in working this summer. Deadlines can vary. Some examples of upcoming opportunities:

Cook County State's Attorney's Office (Chicago, IL): Application period opens on January 1, 2009 with a deadline of April 15, 2009.

Los Angeles County Public Defender's Office: 1L applications should be received between December and late February. More information is available on the Office's website.

New York County District Attorney's Office: Internships are available for 1L and 2L students and are paid ($500/week). 2L students may begin submitting their applications on November 1. 1L students may begin submitting their application on December 1. The deadline for all submissions is December 15, 2008. To learn more, including how to apply, please view Symplicity job posting #4007.

Office of the Attorney General, Commonwealth of Massachusetts: Applications for unpaid internships will be accepted from January 2, 2009 to February 13, 2009. More information is available here.

Again, opportunities are available throughout the country including right here in South Florida. Please speak with your CDO advisor to learn more about the organizations in the city you would like to spend your summer in.