Internships

Legal Internship Opportunities

NILC invites applications from law students to remotely contribute to projects that support low-income immigrants in key areas. These include ensuring equitable access to education, health care, driver licenses, and economic assistance; defending workers’ rights, particularly those involved in labor disputes and seeking deferred action; advocating for fairness in immigration entry and sponsorship processes; and advancing pro-immigrant policies at federal and state levels.NILC’s recent work has focused on litigation challenging the termination of Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA); litigation to challenge the government’s conduct of a Trump-era worksite immigration raid; litigation to challenge the exclusion of certain immigrants from eligibility for driver’s licenses in Indiana; and advocating for legislative and administrative policies to protect low-income immigrants and their families, including advocacy around the government’s proposed regulatory changes to “public charge.”

Summer internships are full-time, for a minimum of 10 weeks. NILC also considers applications for full- and part-time externships during the academic year.  We prefer the school year externship duration to be at least 6 to 10 weeks, with a minimum of 12 hours per week, though a 10-hour weekly commitment will be considered. There is no monetary compensation for school year externships, but academic credit may be available, depending on the school or institution where the student is enrolled.

To Apply

Applications will be accepted from 2L law students. Applications consist of a cover letter, résumé, brief legal writing sample, and list of two references.

The application period for summer law student internships begins Oct. 1. Interested students are encouraged to submit applications as early as possible, but no later than Jan. 31. Applications will be considered on a rolling basis.

When the application period is open, applications should be made through our Careers page.

NILC is an equal opportunity employer. People of color and individuals from diverse backgrounds are encouraged to apply. NILC does not discriminate based on race, color, national origin, citizenship status, ethnic background, religion, political orientation, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, age, disability, or any other protected class. We consider all qualified applicants with criminal histories in a manner consistent with the requirements of the Los Angeles Fair Chance Initiative.

First Generation Civil Rights Fellowship

FirstGEN is a ten-week summer program for undergraduate students who are the first in their immediate families to attend an institution of higher education and who are passionate about pursuing careers in social justice. The program’s mission is to identify, support, and advance emerging first-generation social justice leaders. Fellows gain hands-on experience working on civil rights matters as full-time public policy and social justice interns, while also participating in a parallel training program. FirstGEN creates a greater community of advocates by linking emerging leaders with existing ones and by creating a FirstGEN alumni network. Each fellow receives a $1,500 stipend.

FirstGEN is a Lawyers’ Committee, NILC, CLINIC, and AAJC collaborative program, with the Lawyers’ Committee serving as program lead.

For more information about FirstGEN Fellows, visit www.FirstGenFellows.org, follow FirstGEN on Twitter and Instagram, and like FirstGEN on Facebook.

Application is available at http://firstgenfellows.org/apply/.

Please visit our Careers page for more opportunities.