The New York Legal Assistance Group's Special Litigation Unit seeks law student interns for the summer of 2013. NYLAG is a not-for-profit law office that provides free civil legal services for low-income New Yorkers. Last year the organization directly served over 56,000 vulnerable New Yorkers. In addition to more than 100 paid legal staff members, NYLAG leverages the services of over 800 volunteer lawyers, law students, and interns to maximize our impact while training and inspiring the next generation of public interest lawyers. NYLAG's Special Litigation Unit (SLU) engages in class-action and impact litigation to ensure access to public benefits and services (such as public assistance, food stamps, Medicaid, and home care) and to enforce the rights of immigrants, people with disabilities, and consumers.
Interns will work on a broad range of substantive issues from immigration to public benefits and consumer protection. Current SLU lawsuits include the consolidated cases Johnson v. Shah and Spitzer v. Shah, challenging home health care agencies' reductions or terminations of Medicaid-funded care without procedural protections and state regulations that deny such protections in limited circumstances; Hercules v. Doar, challenging the improper denial of certain public assistance benefits to families with children; Tsamcho v Napolitano, challenging a USCIS immigration policy that threatens to deprive asylees of the opportunity to reunite their families in the United States; Brito v. New York City Housing Authority, challenging systemic failures to maintain and repair elevators in New York City public housing developments; and Shakhnes v. Eggleston, challenging widespread delays in providing hearings to challenge denials of Medicaid-funded home care. SLU is presently developing litigation challenging the predatory practices of for-profit schools and debt-buying companies that exploit consumers.
Working closely with SLU attorneys, interns will assist with various aspects of federal litigation. Responsibilities will include conducting legal research and factual investigation, drafting legal memoranda and court documents, and assisting with motion practice and discovery in pending lawsuits. Interns will also have the opportunity to attend court proceedings.
Qualifications: The internship requires excellent research, writing, and analytical skills, and a strong commitment to public interest law.
Salary: All internships are unpaid volunteer positions. We are happy to help students secure funding from outside sources.
