Law & Policy Internship – Semester

Description and Qualifications

Juvenile Law Center seeks second- and third-year law students for semester internships. Interns assist Juvenile Law Center attorneys in researching children's rights issues, writing legal and policy memoranda, preparing training materials, supporting ongoing litigation and legislative initiatives, and responding to requests for assistance.

Time Commitment and Course Credit

Semester interns are unpaid and are generally expected to work at least 10-15 hours a week for about 14 weeks per semester. Juvenile Law Center works with interns to create an internship schedule based on their class schedule and any course credit requirements. Juvenile Law Center supervises internships for law school course credit.

Virtual/In-Person Attendance  

Juvenile Law Center currently uses a hybrid work model where some staff come into the office several times a week, and some staff work remotely full-time. Interns are welcome to either work remotely or come into the office. Interns desiring to work in the office must provide proof of vaccination prior to their start date.

To Apply

Please submit an application packet to [email protected] with “Fall/Spring Law and Policy Internship” in the subject line. Your application packet should include a single pdf with a cover letter indicating your interest in the position, resume, writing sample, and at least two references, with email addresses and phone numbers. We want to know why you are applying for an internship with Juvenile Law Center. In your cover letter, please discuss your interest in working with Juvenile Law Center; any personal, professional, or academic experience or interest in the juvenile justice or child welfare systems; and/or how you will support Juvenile Law Center’s commitment to diversity.

Juvenile Law Center’s mission is to advocate for rights, dignity, equity, and opportunity in the child welfare and justice systems. We also work to reduce the harm of the child welfare and justice systems, limit their reach, and ultimately abolish them so all young people can thrive. The diversity of our staff is critical to fulfilling this mission.

Juvenile Law Center is committed to cultivating an inclusive space that affirms and celebrates the backgrounds, learned and lived expertise, whole identities, and individual perspectives of our staff. We are committed to the diversity of our staff as it pertains to race, color, ethnicity, class, sex, marital or parental status, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, size, disability, religion, national origin, and/or child welfare or juvenile or criminal justice involvement, including prior record of arrest, adjudication, or conviction. Applicants of all backgrounds and experiences are encouraged to self-identify during the application process.

Juvenile Law Center is an equal opportunity employer.

Deadlines

Please read and comply with the following deadlines:

Fall Semester (August/September through December): We accept applications on a rolling basis from June 1 until August 1. 

Spring Semester (January through April): We accept applications on a rolling basis from October 1 until December 1. 

Organization Background

Juvenile Law Center fights for rights, dignity, equity, and opportunity for youth. We work to reduce the harm of the child welfare and justice systems, limit their reach, and ultimately abolish them so all young people can thrive.

 

Founded in 1975, Juvenile Law Center was the first nonprofit, public interest law firm for children in the country. As an advocacy organization we now use multiple approaches to accomplish our mission: legal advocacy, policy advocacy, youth-led advocacy, and strategic communications. Our strategies are interconnected. We pair impact litigation with policy advocacy and community organizing to push for lasting and transformative change. Our policy agenda is informed by—and often conducted in collaboration with—youth, family members, and grassroots partners. Our youth advocacy campaigns respond to legal and policy opportunities in the field. In all our work, we seek out strategic communications opportunities to enhance the work and to shape public opinion. We seek opportunities across the country to work where we can respond to identified needs in the community, build on local partnerships, leverage legislative and legal reform opportunities and create momentum for change. We strive to ensure that laws, policies, and practices affecting youth advance racial and economic equity and are consistent with children's unique developmental characteristics and human dignity.

Current issues on which we work can be found here