Public Interest Law Center

NYU-Dedicated Summer & Term-time Internships

NYU Law offers a number of summer and term-time opportunities exclusively to its students. Students interested in the summer fellowships must complete program requirements for PILC Summer Funding in addition to the special program applications, since payment will be administered through the Summer Funding Program.


Term-Time Fellowships

Alan Klinger Civil Rights Fellowship at Anti-Defamation League

The Alan Klinger Civil Rights Fellowship is a paid term-time internship that will allow the fellow to work with the Anti-Defamation League’s VP of Civil Rights, National Civil Rights Counsel and other members of the Civil Rights team on various projects related to ADL’s mission to stop the defamation of the Jewish people and secure justice and fair treatment for all. These projects may include, but would not be limited to, legal research, amicus briefs, legislative testimony, social media posts, op-eds and blogs, and coalition-building.  The issues on which the Fellow would work include antisemitism, hate crimes, domestic extremism, cyberhate, voting rights, immigration, church-state separation, LGBTQ rights, and criminal justice reform.  Fellows will come away with greater familiarity with relevant civil rights laws as well as insight into how ADL develops and advances its civil rights agenda.

The Fellowship is being offered to students in the fall and/or spring terms of their second or third year of law school who have a demonstrated interest in pursuing civil rights and social justice work consistent with ADL’s mission. Fellows are expected to work 10-15 hours per week during the semester and will be paid $20 per hour. This equals up to $4,200 if working 15 hours per week for the full 14-week semester.

The Fellowship is accepts applications for the Fall and Spring terms on a rolling basis. To apply, please submit a cover letter and resume, via email to Steven M. Freeman at SFreeman@adl.org, with “Application for Alan Klinger Fellowship” in the subject line.

New York Women’s Bar Association Foundation Fellowship at Her Justice

Each fall and spring term, the New York Women's Bar Association Foundation funds one NYU Law student (JD or LLM) to complete an internship at Her Justice. The position requires 10-20 hours per week. The fellowship pays $2,000 per term (in two installments).

Since 1993, Her Justice has been dedicated to making a real and lasting difference in the lives of women living in poverty in New York City, many of whom are victims of gender-based violence, by offering them legal services designed to foster equal access to justice and an empowered approach to life. We provide free legal services and work towards systemic change in the areas of family, divorce, and immigration law. Our attorneys use a collaborative, client-centered and trauma-informed approach to provide our clients with legal services to address their urgent safety and financial needs. Informed by clients’ experiences, Her Justice works to reform the civil justice system such that it produces the most favorable outcomes for women like our clients, through processes that are as equitable, empowering, and as efficient as possible.

Position Responsibilities

The fellow will work under the supervision of Her Justice staff attorneys. Responsibilities will vary depending upon the applicant’s interests and the program needs of Her Justice. The fellow will learn basic interviewing skills through client interviews and will also learn substantive family, matrimonial and immigration law.

The fellow may be asked to:

  • Conduct client intakes and assist in case assessment
  • Assist clients with securing non-litigated divorces or immigration status through VAWA self-petitions and U-Visa applications
  • Draft responsive pleadings and motions
  • Research legal issues and attend working group meetings
  • Work with a litigating attorney on active cases in the Family and Supreme Courts and attend court appearances

Qualifications

  • NYU School of Law student (J.D. or L.L.M.)
  • Good interpersonal and strong organizational skills, self-starter and highly motivated
  • Demonstrated interest in domestic violence prevention or women’s issues
  • Ability to work collaboratively and independently
  • Knowledge of family, matrimonial and/or immigration law is helpful, but not required
  • Proficiency in Spanish, Mandarin, Korean, Bengali, Arabic or Russian preferred

Application Instructions

To apply, submit a cover letter, resume and writing sample, along with two references, to pilc.info@nyu.edu. Please specify “New York Women’s Bar Association Foundation Fellowship” in subject line of email. Incomplete applications will not be considered. Only applicants being considered for the position will be contacted by Her Justice.

The deadline for applications are March 30th for the fall term and October 30th for the spring term.


Summer Fellowships and Internships

Liberty Aldrich Fellowship at Family Legal Care

The Liberty Aldrich Summer Fellowship Program enables one NYU J.D. student to spend their summer working with Family Legal Care, whose mission is to increase access to justice in New York State Family Court by combining legal guidance, easy-to-access technology, and compassionate support to help unrepresented parents and caregivers self-advocate on critical family law issues, while working on reform that improves the system for everyone.

This fellowship was established in honor of Liberty Aldrich, an NYU Law alumna who has served as a family defense attorney and a Bronx Family Court judge. She is currently the Executive Director of the Children's Law Center.

In 1995, after observing first-hand the lack of information available to family court litigants and the dire consequences of this void, Judge Aldrich co-founded Family Legal Care, originally known as LIFT–Legal Information for Families Today. An active board member and supporter for 22 years, Judge Aldrich now has emeritus status and continues to support Family Legal Care’s work.

The Aldrich fellowship will give a law student with a strong interest in family and domestic violence law, direct services, and access to justice issues, the opportunity to provide legal assistance and guidance to Family Court litigants in matters of child support, custody, visitation and orders of protection. The Aldrich fellow will receive comprehensive training in providing direct services to family court litigants and ongoing supervision and support from Family Legal Care’s team. The fellow will also have the opportunity to conduct legal research, analysis and writing. The internship will likely be hybrid and entail a mix of virtual work and time at Family Legal Care’s Brooklyn office.

The Aldrich Fellow receives a $500 supplement in addition to their PILC summer funding for a 10-12-week internship at LIFT.

First and second year law students are eligible to apply. Applicants should submit a cover letter and resume to pilc.info@nyu.edu, with a subject FLC-Aldrich Fellowship.

The deadline for applications is generally late January.

Elizabeth Frankel Immigrant Rights Fellowship

The NYU Elizabeth Frankel Immigrant Rights Fellowship provides funding for NYU JD candidates pursuing a summer internship in immigrant services. The Fellowship was established in honor of the late Elizabeth Frankel ’05, Associate Director of the Young Center for Immigrant Children’s Rights, by her family and friends, in recognition of her having dedicated her legal career to protecting the rights of immigrant children. Each summer, the Frankel Fellowship supports two NYU Law students (one rising 2L and one rising 3L) engaged in immigrant rights work anywhere in the United States. Students with a special connection to the issue and a passion for working with immigrant children are encouraged to apply.

Rising 2L Fellows will receive $10,000 instead of a regular PILC grant, and rising 3L Fellows will receive $12,500 instead of a regular PILC grant. Fellows are required to submit a brief report of their internship experience at the end of the fellowship to share with the Frankel Family. Fellows will also have the option of writing a scholarly or advocacy piece of their choosing under the supervision of Professor Alina Das, Co-Director of the Immigrant Rights Clinic.

To apply, please submit a resume, a short bio and personal statement (up to 500 words) identifying a) where you will be working this summer, b) why you are choosing to pursue work in immigrant rights, and c) how this fellowship will enable you to accept an otherwise unpaid public service legal summer internship. Application materials should be sent to pilc.info@nyu.edu with the subject line “Elizabeth Frankel Fellowship.”

The application deadline for summer 2024 is Thursday, March 28, 2024. Selected Fellows will be notified in early May. 

John J. Galgay Fellowships in Bankruptcy and Reorganization Law

Two fellowships are offered each summer to J.D. students in the Judge John J. Galgay program in bankruptcy and reorganization law. The fellowships carry a stipend of $10,000 each, in lieu of the regular PILC grant.

The responsibilities of a Galgay Fellow include clerking full-time during the summer for a United States Bankruptcy Judge in the Southern District of New York. Although clerkships vary from year to year, such clerkships have provided Fellows opportunities to observe courtroom proceedings, meet with practitioners, and gain insights with respect to practice in the bankruptcy and reorganization areas.

In addition to the clerkship, each Galgay Fellow will engage in a research and writing project during the academic year following their summer clerkship. This project will be conducted under the supervision of an NYU Faculty member and will be designed to satisfy the law school’s substantial writing requirement.

Applicants for the Galgay Fellowship should prepare a one-paragraph document describing the applicant’s interest in the Fellowship and should submit this document, along with a current CV and an up-to-date (unofficial) transcript, to Nicole Arzt at nicole.arzt@nyu.edu.

The deadline for applications is generally early February. 

Abby Lyn Gillette Women's Rights Fellowship

The Abby Lyn Gillette Fellowship was established in honor of the late Abby Lyn Gillette, former assistant dean of academic affairs at NYU School of Law from 2000 to 2008, by her husband, Professor Clayton Gillette, and their son Alex. The Abby Lyn Gillette Fellowship honors her commitment to advancing women’s leadership in the legal profession with a $15,000 stipend to a rising 2L or 3L whose summer is dedicated to advancing women’s rights. (It is in lieu of a regular PILC grant – which offers $5,000 for rising 2Ls and $7,500 for rising 3Ls.)

Applications for the 2024 Abby Lyn Gillette Fellowship will be considered through Sunday, April 7, 2024, at 11:59 p.m. ET, and the recipient will be notified in mid-April. To apply, interested rising 2L and 3L students are asked to submit the following materials to womensleadership@nyu.edu with the subject line “Abby Lyn Gillette Fellowship”: 1) resume, 2) unofficial transcript, and 3) short personal statement (of no more than 500 words). The personal statement should describe your interest in and contributions toward women’s rights, broadly defined, in and outside of law school thus far; identify the firm or organization where you will be working over; and describe how your work will advance women’s rights.

Guarini Center Internships in Public Interest Environmental and Land Use Law

NOTE: This funding is not being offered for summer 2024

The Guarini Center on Environmental, Energy & Land Use Law offers a summer internship program to select students pursuing summer internships in environmental, energy or land use law. This program offers $500 to eligible students, which is offered in addition to the PILC summer funding. Students pursuing internships in government, nonprofit organizations, and academia are all eligible to apply.

To apply, please send a (1) short cover letter describing your interest in environmental/energy/land use law and intended plans for the summer, (2) unofficial transcript, (3) resume to David Peer at peerd@mercury.law.nyu.edu

The deadline for applications is generally late February. 

The Hague Conference on Private International Law Fellowship

The Hague Conference on Private International Law (located in The Hague, the Netherlands)  offers a summer internship to one or two NYU Law students. The Hague Conference is an inter-governmental organization established by treaty “to work for the progressive unification of the rules of private international law.” Much of the work of the Hague Conference involves the preparation of international treaties covering a range of subjects, such as service of process, the taking of evidence, choice of law, international adoption, international child abduction, and enforcement and recognition of judgments. Fellows are selected by Professor Linda Silberman.

The deadline for applications is generally late January.

International Law and Human Rights Fellowship Program

The Center for Human Rights and Global Justice, in cooperation with the Institute for International Law and Justice, selects a group of NYU Law students interested in gaining academic and practical experience in international law and human rights to serve as International Law and Human Rights Fellows. Fellows complete a specialized training program in international law, undertake a summer internship, and complete a research paper that grows out of the field placement. Field placements include the International Law Commission in Geneva, the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees in Geneva and other locations, the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia in The Hague, the Legal Resources Center in Johannesburg, and many others.

Sudler Family Fellowship in Prosecution

The Sudler Family Fellowship supports approximately eight NYU Law 1Ls and 2Ls spending their summers at federal and local prosecutors anywhere in the United States. This fellowship is available only to those students who have already secured summer internships at federal (criminal division in a USAO) or local prosecutor offices (DA offices). Sudler Family Fellows will receive $8,000 instead of a regular PILC grant and will participate in a special training program in early April, which will include meeting the donor.

To apply, please send a résumé and personal statement (1-2 pages double-spaced) on why you want to be a prosecutor (including identifying the office at which you will be spending your summer) to gail.zweig@nyu.edu with the subject line “Sudler Family Fellowship." An optional one-paragraph statement on how you will enhance the diversity of the profession may be included with your application. Students who are selected as Fellows must submit an internship report through the summer funding system at the completion of their internship.

Applications are generally due in early March.