Summer 2027 Internship

The National Center for Law and Economic Justice (NCLEJ) seeks law students committed to social justice work to intern with us in the summer of 2027.

NCLEJ advances economic, racial, and disability justice for low-income families, individuals, and communities across the country, using ground-breaking impact litigation, policy advocacy, and support for grassroots organizing. NCLEJ works to build systems that provide economic security, respect human dignity, and enable everyone to participate fully in our society. Specifically, our advocacy focuses on 1) safeguarding access to public benefits; 2) advancing the rights of lower wage workers; 3) combatting abusive debt collection and wealth extraction; and 4) advocating for disability justice, all of which we do through a racial justice lens. We litigate extensively in federal and state courts across the country, typically as lead counsel in class actions, and we partner with grassroots and community-based organizations, other legal organizations, and the private bar to achieve our mission.

Internship Description:

Students will work with staff attorneys to support ongoing impact litigation and class actions, policy analysis, and advocacy. Students have had the opportunity to assist with fact development and research for new litigation; discovery matters in pending litigation; legal and policy research on a variety of issues relating to federal court litigation; and collaborations with grassroots and community-based organizations. Examples of current NCLEJ advocacy include lawsuits challenging gross delays in fair hearing scheduling, racially discriminatory policing in Buffalo, disability discrimination in Illinois reentry housing, failure to provide timely SNAP benefits in Missouri and Alaska, or reasonable accommodations in emergency housing in Suffolk County, challenging demands for SNAP data from USDA, and partnering with grassroots groups to end 24-hour shifts for homecare workers.

Students will have the option to work in-person in our office in lower Manhattan, hybrid, or fully remote.

The internship program begins on Monday, May 24, and ends on Wednesday, August 4. Interns are expected to work 35 hours per week.

Qualifications:

• Students must have completed their first year of law school by summer 2027. • Experience in and/or a demonstrated commitment to social justice. • Excellent writing and research skills.

Vaccination Requirement: To help ensure that NCLEJ continues to operate in the safest manner possible, NCLEJ requires all employees and interns to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19. Requests for medical and/or religious exemptions from the vaccination requirement will be considered on an individual basis, to the extent required by law.

NCLEJ is an equal opportunity, affirmative action employer. We value a diverse workforce and an inclusive culture. We strongly encourage people of color, people with disabilities, LGBTQIA+ people, and people from other historically disenfranchised communities to apply. NCLEJ does not discriminate because of race, color, religion, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, age, national origin, marital or parental status, citizenship, disability, veteran status, record of arrest or conviction, or any other characteristic protected by applicable law.

Compensation:

NCLEJ supports students to whom it has offered a position in seeking funding from their law school or outside sources. If a student is unable to obtain other funding, NCLEJ will provide a stipend in the amount of $7,000 for the summer, including supplementing law school or outside funding up to that amount. (For example, if a student obtains a summer funding grant from their law school of $4,000, NCLEJ will pay that student $3,000). Accepted students will receive more information about this process after receiving notice of their acceptance.

How to apply:

We have two application periods: for 2Ls, please submit your application by midnight PST on Friday, September 25. We will have a second application period open to both 1Ls and 2Ls that will be open from December 1 through January 7 (due by midnight PST). Please send a cover letter, resume, list of three references, and short writing sample (legal memorandum or brief) in PDF format to student@nclej.org. Due to the high volume of applications, we are not able to respond to every email. We will contact you if we wish to schedule an interview.

NCLEJ does not use AI tools to screen applications or make hiring decisions. Likewise, in order to assess candidates’ authentic and unique skills, we discourage the use of AI tools to generate cover letters or answer interview questions.

NCLEJ is committed to providing reasonable accommodation to individuals with disabilities. If you are an individual with a disability and need assistance applying, please contact Michelle Peeples at 212-633-6967 or peeples@nclej.org. If you are selected for an interview, you will receive additional information regarding how to request an accommodation for the interview process.