Application Process for Public Counsel Summer Internship

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Public Counsel | Public Interest Law > Volunteer > Law Students > 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 2027 to work on a variety of direct services, policy advocacy, and impact litigation projects. They include:

A comprehensive child, youth & family program that encompasses advocating for families at risk of separation due to immigration enforcement or family policing systems, assisting transition age youth with various legal needs, and serving families needing legal help with adoptions or guardianships.
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.
An education equity team that advances students’ rights in areas such as special education, gender equity, Title IX, school discipline, and protections for students from immigrant backgrounds, as well as pregnant and parenting students.
A consumer rights & 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; self-represented litigant assistance in both federal cases and state appellate cases; and Cancer Justice, a national cancer legal helpline.
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.

Timeline

Public Counsel’s 2027 Summer Internship Program will run for ten weeks, from Tuesday, June 1 through Friday, August 6, 2027. Both 1L and 2L law students are eligible to apply. We begin accepting applications on September 1, 2026, and applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis. We strongly encourage applicants to submit their materials by February 1, 2027.

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

We encourage all applicants to attempt to secure funding through their law school’s public interest program, as well as external fellowships, scholarships, and other funding opportunities that may support their summer internship.

Public Counsel is working to develop funding to offer fellowship opportunities to summer interns who are unable to secure other financial support for their internship. Additional information about potential fellowship opportunities will be provided to students who are hired.