Volunteer

Application Process for Public Counsel Summer Internship

Summer clerks Andrea Rodriguez Boutros, Da’Nasjah Nyirenda, and Juan Espinoza Muñoz stand with Public Counsel Board member Dan Grunfeld (second from left) after receiving the 2019 Grunfeld/Regan Public Interest Scholarships

Public Counsel has seven exciting law projects that will accept law student interns in summer 2025 to work on a variety of direct services, policy advocacy, and impact litigation projects. They include:

  • A comprehensive children’s rights program that encompasses school climate and discipline, special education, adoptions, guardianships, and transition-age youth
  • A community development team that supports and protects affordable housing and assists non-profit and small businesses with a variety of transactional needs
  • An immigrants’ rights group that assists undocumented victims of crime, domestic violence, persecution, and torture
  • A homelessness prevention unit that defends unlawful detainer complaints, advocates for public benefits, and eliminates outstanding tickets and warrants for persons at risk of homelessness
  • A holistic legal initiative that addresses the specific needs of low-income women and gender-expansive individuals
  • A consumer rights and economic justice team that focuses on direct services, litigation, and policy advocacy to empower and protect consumers facing debt collection, foreclosure, and predatory lending, including sub-projects focused on bankruptcy and pro se assistance in federal cases
  • An impact litigation department (Opportunity Under Law) that addresses economic injustices on a national level through strategic lawsuits and other means to accomplish systemic reform
  • Click here to learn more about our practice areas and click on the links above to learn about our specific summer 2025 opportunities

Timeline

Public Counsel’s 2025 summer internship program will run for ten weeks, beginning Tuesday, May 27, 2025, and ending Friday, August 1, 2025. Both 1Ls and 2Ls are eligible for these internships. We begin accepting applications on November 1, 2024, and we will review them on a rolling basis. We strongly encourage applicants to submit their materials no later than February 1, 2025.

Equity and Inclusion

Public Counsel seeks summer interns who share our commitment to economic and racial justice. The large majority of Public Counsel’s clients are working-class people of color who have experienced a number of intersectional forms of oppression, often barring them from access to legal representation. We seek to have a group of interns who have a personal and/or professional understanding of these experiences. We are especially interested in receiving applications from historically underrepresented students in terms of race, economic background, and other characteristics consistent with our active, ongoing commitment to increasing equity and inclusion within our organization.

Funding

Public Counsel’s summer internship program is an unpaid volunteer opportunity. However, in spring 2025 we hope to be able to select five of our 2025 summer interns to receive a stipend in the amount of $7,500.00. Please be sure to consult with your law school’s public interest program to learn more about other available scholarships and financial awards that might support your summer internship

Application Process

Thank you for your interest in a 2025 summer internship with Public Counsel. Please click on the links below to submit your application(s).

Audrey Irmas Gender Justice Project 2025 Summer Internship: Apply Here

Children’s Rights Project 2025 Summer Internship: Apply Here

Community Development Project 2025 Summer Internship: Apply Here

Consumer Rights & Economic Justice Project 2025 Summer Internship: Apply Here

Homelessness Prevention Law Project 2025 Summer Internship: Apply Here

Immigrants’ Rights Project 2025 Summer Internship: Apply Here

Opportunity Under Law 2025 Summer Internship: Apply Here

“So many people are in dire need of legal services but have neither the financial means to retain counsel nor the experience to navigate bureaucratic institutions. I can’t think of a more rewarding way to utilize my legal skills.”

— Marie McTeague, Retired Attorney

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