Many public interest internships are unpaid but there are internships that come with funding.
Getting a Paid Public Interest Internship
You can identify paid internships by going to:
- CUNY Law Symplicity
- www.PSJD.org. To search for paid summer internships, click Jobs > Job Type(s) > Job Schedule > Internship Summer and Salary Level > Stipend
- Government Honors and Internship Guide (“Arizona Handbook”). Lists federal, state and local government internships and whether the position is paid.
- USAjobs.gov. Search “Pathways” summer internships for paid internships.
Also, see below a list of organizations and agencies that have historically funded internships.
Securing Funding for an Unpaid Summer Internship
- CUNY Law Foundation Public Interest Summer Grants
- CUNY Law Student Group Fellowships
- Federal Work Study. Find out from Financial Aid if you qualify for summer funding.
External Sources of Summer Funding
Accenture’s Legal 2024 Summer Analyst (Internship)
AFL-CIO Lawyers DOOR (Diversity Opportunities Outreach Recruitment) Program
Alaska Conservation Foundation – Ted Smith Conservation Internships
American Bar Association – Judicial Intern Opportunity Program
American Bar Association – The Janet D. Steiger Fellowship .
American Society of International Law Arthur C. Helton Fellowship Program
Animal Legal Defense Fund Summer Litigation Program Clerkship
Asian American Bar Association of the Greater Bay Area Law Foundation
Asian Pacific American Bar Association Educational Fund Summer Fellowship Program
Center for Budget and Policy Priorities
Federal Communications Bar Association Foundation (The Tech Bar)
Federal Defender Services Non-Capital Diversity Fellowship Program
Fellowships at Auschwitz for the Study of Professional Ethics (FASPE)
Fish and Richardson 1L Diversity Fellowship
Franklin H. Williams Judicial Commission for Promoting Racial and Ethnic Fairness in the Courts
Fred T. Korematsu Summer Fellowship, NAPABA NLF and Fred T. Korematsu Institute
NAACP Summer Fellowship Program
National Lawyers Guild – Haywood Burns Memorial Fellowships
National Public Radio – Policy and Representation Internship
New Hampshire Diversity Internship Program
New Jersey Legal Services – Deborah T. Poritz Summer Public Interest Legal Fellowship Program
New York City Bar Association Diversity Fellowship Program
New York City Law Department – Honors Program
NYSBA and NYS Bar Foundation – see below
Organizations that have Funded Summer Interns
American Civil Liberties Union
Bronx District Attorney’s Office
Kings County (Brooklyn) District Attorney’s Office
Center for Constitutional Rights – Ella Baker fellows
Center for Elder Law and Justice [need link]
Colorado State Public Defender
Community Justice Project in Miami
Cornell Law School, First Amendment Clinic
Cornell Law School, Death Penalty Information Center
Federal Defenders Northern District of Texas
Juvenile Law Center, Philadelphia
Legal Services of Hudson Valley
Mobilization for Justice
New York City Law Dept. Honors Program
New York Lawyers for the Public Interest
New York Civil Liberties Union
New York County (Manhattan) District Attorney’s Office
New York Lawyers for the Public Interest
New York State, Office of the Attorney General
TakeRoot Justice
Texas Rio Grande Legal Assistance
Queens Defenders
Queens District Attorney’s Office
Yale Law School – Jerome N. Frank Legal Services Organization (LSO)
Youth Represent