Nonprofit
Legal Intern/Extern (U.S. Legal Services)
Details
Description
Opportunity
The International Refugee Assistance Project (IRAP) seeks two law students to work as summer interns or externs with our U.S. Legal Services Department. This is a remote internship, but candidates may have the option to work from IRAP’s New York City office space.
We will prioritize the review of applications received by October 30, 2026, so interested students are encouraged to apply as soon as possible.
Possible Responsibilities
- Supporting the direct representation of forcibly displaced people and their family members seeking safe passage to the United States by drafting memos, briefs, conducting fact-finding, and interviewing clients;
- Conducting intake interviews and identifying client needs for direct services;
- Participating in discrete special projects, including remote legal clinics;
- Conducting outreach to affected communities, preparing legal information materials, and participating in public education efforts;
- Drafting and updating legal practitioner guides, analyzing changes in law and newly released government documents, and creating other materials to assist IRAP staff and legal aid practitioners.
Benefits
IRAP can host interns/externs in two ways:
- IRAP’s summer program contemplates that interns will be paid, but asks interns to pursue public interest funding from their law schools first. If paid by IRAP, students are compensated $17 per hour (or the intern’s state minimum wage, to be applied) for 40 hours per week.
- Non-compensated externs for academic credit(s) (must be coordinated in collaboration with an applicant’s school)
Internship and externship candidates will be considered equally.
Location
Associated Location
How to Apply
Please apply thorugh our website. Link
Please submit the following materials here. We will only review complete applications.
- A 1-page cover letter describing your interest in working with IRAP, including any relevant life or work experience (please address your cover letter to: “Intern/Extern Hiring Committee”);
- A 1-2 page resume;
- A brief legal writing sample (no more than 10 pages) not heavily edited by others, e.g. research memo or excerpt of a brief;
- A list of 2-3 professional references.
We will prioritize the review of applications received by October 30, 2026, so interested students are encouraged to apply as soon as possible.
Applicants interested in multiple internship/externship opportunities should submit separate applications for each position for which they are interested and qualified.
