Internships
We offer semester-term and summer-term internships and externships for undergraduate, graduate and law students, as well as particular opportunities, such as the Public Policy Advocacy Clinic, for NYU School of Law students. Law students are sometimes able to earn credit for their work, may be able to develop law review pieces and other papers on subjects growing out of the Center's activities, and are encouraged to apply for post-graduate fellowships at the Center.
We are no longer accepting applications for summer internships. All of our current opportunities are listed here and updated regularly. Please check this site frequently for updates.
Current Opportunities
Fall and Spring Internships for Law Students
Public Policy and Advocacy Clinic at NYU School of Law
Fall and Spring Internships for Law Students
The Brennan Center for Justice brings impact litigation, advises lawmakers on the constitutionality of bills, drafts legislation and regulations, and produces public education materials on a number of topics. We have two programs: Democracy and Justice. Under the Democracy Program, we work on election administration, voting technology, voter registration, expanding the franchise, redistricting, campaign finance reform and judicial selection, among other topics. Under the Justice Program, we work on habeas corpus, abuse of executive power, access to counsel, and the rights of prisoners and ex-prisoners, among other topics.
We seek interns to work alongside staff in our New York and DC offices on the Brennan Center’s policy advocacy, research, and litigation initiatives. Activities may include legal and policy analysis; legislative drafting at federal, state, and local levels; administrative and legislative advocacy; public education and scholarship; and litigation in trial and appellate courts.
Legal interns receive one-on-one supervision of their legal work by lawyers on our staff. If students need to complete a particular type of writing assignment for their coursework requirements, we can accommodate such requests by allowing students to write law review style articles about legal questions that arise in our work. Students are not compensated by the Brennan Center for their internships.
Qualifications: Excellent legal research, analysis, and writing skills; initiative, imagination, and versatility; and a passion for our issues. The Brennan Center, an equal opportunity, affirmative action employer, is strongly committed to diversity and welcomes applicants of all races, ethnicities, genders, and sexual orientations.
How to Apply: Interested students should send (1) a cover letter explaining which particular program or programs they are interested in joining, (2) a current law school transcript, (3) a legal writing sample, (4) a current resume, and (5) contact information for three references. These items should be sent by e-mail to .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) with Legal Internship in the subject line.
The application deadline for the fall term is September 15, 2009; November 15, 2009 for the spring term; and February 15, 2010 for the summer term. We encourage students with a strong interest in joining us to apply early. Opportunities are available in both our New York and Washington offices.
The Brennan Center Public Policy Advocacy Clinic
The Public Policy Advocacy Clinic "PPAC" is a year-long fieldwork clinic designed to teach public policy reform strategies in the context of the real world campaigns that form the core of the Brennan Center's work. During 2009-10 the Clinic will be co-taught by NYU Professor Sarah Burns and two lawyers from the Brennan Center, Erika Wood and Rebekah Diller. Recognizing that multi-strategy lawyering is increasingly necessary for dealing with societal inequities, including unjust laws and policies, the Brennan Center for Justice and the Clinical Law Program of New York University School of Law are combining efforts to promote the rigorous study of public policy advocacy. The aim is to understand and master the broad range of strategies and skills relied upon by activists seeking to affect decision-making on matters of public policy.
2007–2008 Public Policy Advocacy Clinic
Front row, left to right: Sara Conrath, Roy Herrera, Keren Wheeler, Michael Margulies.
Center row: Michael Young, Alice Mei Ho, Wendy Weiser, Erika Wood, Tracy Chin, Naseem Kourosh.
Back row: Prof. Sarah E. Burns, Louis Lipner, Mimi Franke, Elizabeth Cate, Alex Guerrero.