Legal Intern/Extern (U.S. Legal Services)

We will prioritize reviewing applications sent by January 17, 2025, so interested students should apply as soon as possible.

The International Refugee Assistance Project (IRAP) seeks three law students to work as summer interns with our U.S. Legal Services Department.

In particular, IRAP seeks candidates who are interested in working mainly with IRAP’s direct legal services team, although interns/externs will also have the opportunity to work on assignments with other departments.

This is a remote internship but candidates will have the option of working from IRAP’s New York City or Washington D.C. office spaces.

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;
• Contributing as needed to the work of other programmatic departments, such as by:
• Participating in litigation efforts as appropriate, including conducting factual and legal research, preparing litigation documents, and cite-checking;
• Conducting legal research in support of a multi-organizational working group on climate change;
• 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.

Requirements:

Qualifications

Education:

• Must be a rising 2L or 3L, enrolled in a J.D. program in the United States. (Only rising 2L and 3L candidates enrolled in J.D. programs in the United States will be considered)

Values, Competencies and Skills:

• Strong research, writing, and analytical skills;
• Strong interpersonal and communication skills;
• Sensitivity to client empowerment and to working with clients of all backgrounds, including LGBTI clients, survivors of trauma, and other vulnerable populations;
• Initiative to see projects through and ability to multitask;
• Proficiency in Google Workspace and Westlaw or LexisNexis;
• Excellent English communication skills required.
• Ability to speak Arabic, Dari, Farsi, Somali, Pashto, Kurdish, or Spanish is a plus;
• Strong interest in refugee processing, immigration law, and human rights.

Legal Internship/Externship-related Requirements:

• Must have work authorization in the United States for application for an internship (candidates may apply for an externship regardless of work authorization status).
• This position can be in-person in Washington, DC or New York City, or remote.
• This is a full-time internship and requires a 10-week commitment.
• This position doesn’t require in-office availability.

Compensation/School Credit

IRAP can host interns/externs in two ways:

Paid internship where students are compensated $16 per hour (or intern’s state minimum wage to be applied) for 40 hours per week;

Non-compensated positions for academic credit(s) (must be coordinated in collaboration with an applicant’s school).

Internship and externship candidates will be considered equally.

Duration

This is a full-time position and requires a 10-week commitment beginning on Tuesday, May 27, 2025, with an onboarding week (May 27-30) in IRAP’s New York office. If you are only able to work part-time (for example, if you are a part-time student) or are unable to begin on May 27th, please still apply, and we will review your application.

Application Process

Please visit IRAP website to apply and 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;

• Brief legal writing sample

(no more than 10 pages) not heavily edited by others, e.g., research memo or excerpt of a brief;

List of 2-3 professional references.

We will prioritize reviewing applications sent by January 17, 2025, so interested students should 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.

IRAP believes that diversity is critical to fostering a strong workplace and serving our clients well. We strongly encourage applications from people with lived experiences in the communities that we serve, members of other marginalized communities, and individuals whose identities are underrepresented in the legal profession.