10 Law Internships for High School Students
If you're passionate about the legal field, eager to gain practical experience, and in high school, the best thing you can do is land a law internship. But that can be fairly challenging! Curated here is a comprehensive list of law internships specifically tailored for high school students. Internships have a lot of benefits for high school students, even though they are challenging to find. So here are some tips on finding law internships!
How to Look for Law Internships as a High School Student?
Internships can add an edge to your profile, especially while applying to college. College admissions officers are looking for students who actively pursue skill-building and independent opportunities outside of their school curriculum - this demonstrates motivation and dedication toward a subject.
A legal internship can not only express this same motivation and dedication, but also help you gain insight into the legal profession, and even open doors to a future career in law.
Consider reaching out directly to law firms or organizations that interest you, even if they don't advertise internships. Express your interest and inquire about any available opportunities.
Seek out volunteering opportunities at local legal aid clinics or organizations that provide legal services to underserved communities. This can showcase your passion and provide valuable experience.
Be proactive and persistent in your search. Follow up with organizations after submitting your application and express your continued interest in interning with them.
Now, let’s dive into our list of 10 (plus a bonus opportunity!) of the best law internship programs for high school students!
The New York City High School Law Internship Program aims to connect high school students in the city with legal employers. The employers include law firms, corporations, non-profit organizations, and government agencies. The internship offers you practical training, panel discussions, and networking events to help you prepare for a career in law.
Internship duties may include assisting paralegals, filing paperwork, maintaining records, and organizing documents. You will also receive exposure to the legal profession through development programs offered by your employer.
Cost: Fully-funded, paid ($15 – $21 hourly)
Location: New York City
Application Deadline: Last week of January
Program Dates: May 29 – August 28
Eligibility: NYC public high school students are eligible to apply
The California Innocence Project is a law clinic that provides pro-bono service to wrongly convicted individuals. The California Innocence Project hires a legal intern for their office every trimester. If you are interested in post-conviction law or criminal law, then this internship could be insightful. The CIP provides in-house training for their interns, so you will receive an introduction to wrongful convictions as well as the responsibilities and work you will do as a part of their mission. As a legal intern, you will be required to help with legal research, copying, filing, and client support.
Cost: No cost, unpaid
Location: San Diego
Application Deadline: Summer – March 1
Fall – July 1
Spring – November 1
Program Dates: Summer, Spring, and Fall sessions
Eligibility: High school, college, law, and post-bar students
The Atlanta Bar Association offers a rigorous summer internship to high school students. As an intern, you will perform numerous duties, including copying, summarizing depositions, making deliveries, Bates stamping documents, answering phones, and assembling trial notebooks. Each intern will have the chance to attend a deposition or Court hearing. Before beginning the internship, you will participate in orientations focused on confidentiality, professionalism, and more. You will also have weekly meetings, where you will be assessed on your progress.
Cost: No cost, stipend provided of $2000 for 6 weeks
Location: Atlanta
Application Deadline: not specified, opens in February
Program Dates (subject to change): May 31 to July 21
Eligibility: High School Juniors and Seniors
The United States Attorney’s Office Eastern District of New York Student Internship offers several internships to students interested in law. Some of the placements offered are Automated Litigation Support, Library Legal Information and Resource Center, and Paralegal-Legal Studies. If you’re interested in studying pre-law, criminal justice, accounting, information technology, library management, human resources, or community crime prevention, then internships at the US Attorney’s Office are a good opportunity.
Cost: No cost, unpaid
Location: Brooklyn and Central Islip, NYC
Application Deadline: Rolling basis
Program Dates: TBA
Eligibility: Entering seniors from an accredited high school
The San Francisco District Attorney's Office High School Internship offers an opportunity for high school students interested in criminal justice to gain insight into the workings of the DA's office. As an intern, you will assist prosecutors in a variety of tasks, such as organizing and preparing case files for trials, contacting witnesses, and managing subpoenas and records surrounding both pre-trial hearings and jury trials (subject to attorney approval and supervision).
Cost: No cost, unpaid
Location: San Francisco
Application Deadline: TBA, but based on previous years, mid/late April
Program Dates: Between June and August, for 11 weeks.
Eligibility: High school students
The Baltimore City Law Links is an initiative managed by Maryland Youth and the Law (Non-Profit). It offers high school sophomores and juniors attending public high schools in Baltimore a full-time, paid summer internship for 7 weeks. You will be placed with a law firm or a law-related agency. You will also participate in the Law and Leadership Institute, a 56-hour educational seminar held at the University of Maryland Francis King Carey School of Law. The internship offers many activities, discussions with professionals from law firms, city agencies, and the courts, and field trips to Citi Watch and the Baltimore FBI Bureau.
Cost: No cost, paid hourly ($12.50)
Location: Baltimore
Application Deadline: Typically in April.
Program Dates (subject to change): TBA, roughly late June to mid August (7 weeks)
Eligibility: sophomore or junior year high school student attending a Baltimore City public high school
The Summer Law Intern Program is a joint initiative between the Dallas Bar Association and the Dallas Independent School District. You will be placed with a law firm, a non-profit, or a corporate legal department to intern for 8 weeks. Your work schedule, however, is set up with the employer you are partnered with, so you could work full-time or part-time. You will also receive a Summer Learning curriculum that briefs you on what’s expected as well as norms in law firms. Educational activities are organized for interns by the DBA, and an end-of-program reception. If you’re based in Dallas, this is a solid way to gain experience.
Cost: No cost, stipend provided. (between $1000 - $2000 depending on whether it’s part-time or full-time)
Location: Dallas
Application Deadline: TBA, usually March/April
Program Dates (subject to change): June-July (8 weeks)
Eligibility: High school juniors in Independent School Districts in Dallas
The Judicial Youth Corps Program is an intensive spring and summer internship offered by the Supreme Judicial Court in Massachusetts. It focuses on educating student interns and exposing them to the Massachusetts court system and the rule of law. Selected interns must attend two sessions. The first is an education training session with volunteer judges, lawyers, and court employees. This session covers a wide range of topics, including juvenile law, criminal procedure, family law, landlord-tenant disputes, the jury system, and the appellate process. The second session is the summer internship itself, where you are placed as a paid intern at a local courthouse.
Cost: No cost, paid hourly (minimum wage or slightly more – $15/hour)
Location: Massachusetts (Boston/Worcester)
Application Deadline: TBA
Program Dates (subject to change): two compulsory components – education and training session from May through June (dates TBA) and Summer internship from July through August (dates TBA).
Eligibility: High School Students
Interns at the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office are exposed to an insider view of the criminal justice system. The internship experience entails 35 hours of work per week, and interns get to engage in workshops and discussions surrounding criminal justice, civic engagement, and leadership. Interns take part in a series of presentations and conversations with staff to build a foundational understanding of how policies are developed and implemented. The internship lasts six weeks.
Cost: No cost, stipend of $175 per week
Location: Manhattan, NY
Application Deadline: March 30
Program Dates (subject to change): July 10 – August 25
Eligibility: Sophomores, juniors, and seniors who live in or attend school in Manhattan
The Brooklyn District Attorney offers a paid summer internship to high school juniors and seniors in Brooklyn. Interns will be assigned to a unit within the DA’s office and will support the work of Assistant District Attorneys and other members of the DA’s staff. Interns assist with legal research and analysis using the Internet, news articles, and legal periodicals. You will assist attorneys on pretrial matters, work on case preparation, discovery, file maintenance, organize court documents, and participate in trial zone workshops. You will also go on field trips and observe criminal proceedings.
Cost: No cost, stipend of $150 per week
Location: Brooklyn, NY
Application Deadline: TBA but usually late April
Program Dates (subject to change): July 5 – July 28
Eligibility: High school juniors and seniors who live and attend school in Brooklyn
If you feel like you have exhausted all options, check if your local bar association does a high school internship! They might have something in store.
Another way you can demonstrate motivation and dedication is by conducting independent research. If you are interested in doing university-level research in law, ethics, and policy, then you could also consider applying to the Lumiere Research Scholar Program, a selective online high school program for students that I founded with researchers at Harvard and Oxford. Last year, we had over 2100 students apply for 500 spots in the program! You can find the application form here.
Stephen is one of the founders of Lumiere and a Harvard College graduate. He founded Lumiere as a Ph.D. student at Harvard Business School. Lumiere is a selective research program where students work 1-1 with a research mentor to develop an independent research paper.
Image Source: NYC Bar logo