Public Interest Law Center

Summer & Term-time Internships

There are a number of NYU-exclusive paid summer and term-time opportunities.  Students interested in the summer fellowships must complete special program applications in addition to completing program requirements for PILC Summer Funding, since payment will be administered through the Summer Funding Program.

Abby Lyn Gillette Fellowship

The Abby Lyn Gillette Fellowship within the Birnbaum Women’s Leadership Network supports one rising 2L or 3L student spending their summer focused on promoting or improving women’s rights. The 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, in honor of her commitment to advancing women’s leadership in the legal profession. The recipient will receive $15,000 in lieu of the regular PILC grant.

Applications for the 2023 Abby Lyn Gillette Fellowship will be accepted until 11:59 p.m. ET on Sunday, April 2; the recipient will be notified in early 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 summer 2023; and describe how your work will improve or promote women’s rights.

Learn more about previous recipients of the Abby Lyn Gillette Fellowship.

Alan Klinger Civil Rights Paid Term-Time Fellowship at ADL

The Alan Klinger Civil Rights Fellowship is a paid term-time internship that will allow the fellow to work with ADL’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 currently accepting applications for the Fall 2022 and Spring 2023 terms. To apply, please submit a cover letter and resume, via email to Steven M. Freeman, SFreeman@adl.org, with “Application for Alan Klinger Fellowship” in the subject line.

Elizabeth Frankel Immigrant Rights Fellowships

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. The Frankel Fellowship will support two NYU Law students (one rising 2L and one rising 3L) spending their summers engaged in immigrant rights work anywhere in the United States. NYU Law 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 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 and short 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 are due by Monday, March 20, 2023, and should be sent to pilc.info@nyu.edu with the subject line “Elizabeth Frankel Fellowship.” Selected Fellows will be notified in early May.

Guarini Center Summer Internships in Public Interest Environmental and Land Use Law

The Guarini Center on Environmental, Energy & Land Use Law is pleased to offer 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 (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, and will be updated when announced. More information about the fellowships is available at http://guarinicenter.org/about/fellowships-and-internships/.

The Hague Conference on Private International Law Summer Fellowship

The Hague Conference on Private International Law (in The Hague, the Netherlands) has for the past several years offered a summer internship to one or two students from NYU Law. 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. Students are selected by Professor Linda Silberman. Applications should be submitted by January 31, 2021. Read more about The Hague Conference

International Law and Human Rights Summer 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 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. Visit the CHRGJ site for more information.

Liberty Aldrich Fellowship at LIFT- Legal Information for Families Today

The Liberty Aldrich Fellowship at LIFT provides additional summer funding for a first- or second-year NYU law student to work at LIFT—Legal Information for Families Today, which serves pro se litigants in family court. Applications are due by January 24, 2022. Applicants should submit a cover letter, résumé, and a list of three references to kathryn.neilson@nyu.edu. Learn more about the Liberty Aldrich Fellowship at LIFT.

New York Women’s Bar Association Fellowship at Her Justice

The New York Women’s Bar Association (NYWBA) will fund one fellow each fall and spring semester to complete an internship at Her Justice, which serves women living in poverty in New York City, many of whom are victims of gender-based violence. The position requires 10-20 hours per week and pays $2000 per semester. Email your application, which should include a cover letter with two references, resume and writing sample, to: legal-internship@herjustice.org. Applications for the fall term are due by March 30th, and for the spring term by October 30th. Learn more about the fellowship here.

Sudler Family Fellowship

The Sudler Family Fellowship will support 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” by Friday, March 3, 2023. It is optional to append an additional one-paragraph statement on how you will enhance the diversity of the profession. Students who are selected as Fellows must still complete all summer funding forms and must submit an internship report through the summer funding system at the completion of their internship.