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Voluntary Internships For Law Students

First-year (second semester), second- and third-year law students are invited to apply to the United States Attorney’s summer internship program. Our ten-week program offers unpaid internships in both the Criminal and Civil Divisions.

Program Overview

Student interns are afforded the opportunity to participate in the wide range of work performed by our Assistant United States Attorneys. Intern assignments can include assisting in trial preparation, participating in witness interviews or civil depositions, and legal research and writing. Summer interns are also strongly encouraged to observe hearings and trials in the District Court, and even to participate.

Our summer intern program also features a number of exciting intern events. Traditionally, these include guided tours of the NYPD Ballistics Laboratory and the Metropolitan Detention Center (the local federal jail). Additionally, each week, we host an intern “brown bag luncheon” with speakers on a variety of topics of interest. Over past summers the speakers have included the United States Attorney, federal judges, the former Acting Solicitor General of the United States, an officer of the Central Intelligence Agency, notable criminal defense attorneys, an expert in polygraph examinations, a special agent from the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and Assistant U.S. Attorneys from the Office’s various practice areas.

In addition, summer interns are eligible to apply for a limited number of summer stipends awarded by the Federal Bar Council and the Eastern District Association (an alumni organization of former Assistant U.S. Attorneys from the Eastern District of New York).

Application Process

Application Materials: Cover letter specifying if you are applying to the Civil Division (Brooklyn), Criminal Division (Brooklyn), Civil Division (Central Islip), Criminal Division (Central Islip), or multiple divisions; updated resume with current/valid address and email, law school transcript if available (could be unofficial for application purposes); legal writing sample; and list of three (3) references with telephone numbers.
Qualifications:

Must be a U.S. citizen and have lived in the United States for a total of 3 years out of the last 5 years. Students will be subject to a background investigation.

Application Deadline: October 15th For Spring Program (January – May)
February 1st For Summer Program (June – August) (Note: Applications accepted for Summer Program after December 1st only)
June 15th For Fall Program (September – December)
Minimum Weeks Required: Spring: 14 – 16 weeks (12-20 hours per week)
Summer: 10 weeks (full time only)
Fall: 14 – 16 weeks (12-20 hours per week)
Salary: Volunteer (without compensation) or work-study credit
Assignments: Typical assignments will include assisting with all facets of case preparation including: researching and writing memoranda on legal issues, drafting/writing motions and responses and various pleadings, providing trial support to Assistant United States Attorneys, interviewing witnesses and possible courtroom experience.

Approximately 90 interns are hired each summer for the Criminal and Civil Divisions in the Brooklyn or Central Islip offices. Interns are typically paired with one or two Assistant U.S. Attorneys and are required to work full-time for 10 weeks, beginning in late May or early June.

To apply, please submit all required documents to address below. Specify in your cover letter whether you are interested in our Criminal or Civil Division and whether you are interested in working in Brooklyn or Central Islip. Consult your career services office about on-campus interviews with a recruiter from our Office and about ways that may be available to subsidize your internship. If you are a 1st Year (second semester) law student, please note in your cover letter that your transcripts are forthcoming, if you cannot furnish these documents at the time that you send your application materials.

Please note that you must be a United States citizen and all offers to participate in the program are contingent upon the completion of a security clearance.

For additional information about volunteer internship programs please contact Julia Santos by phone at (718 254-7998) or by email at Julia.Santos@usdoj.gov.

Mail application materials (in its entirety) to address below. Please note that the Criminal Division – Brooklyn will only accept applications electronically via the e-mail addresses listed below. If applying to multiple divisions Civil Division-Brooklyn, Criminal Division-Brooklyn, Civil Division-Central Islip, or Criminal Division-Central Islip, make copies of all application materials for each division you are interested. We will not make copies for you! ***

Civil Division-Brooklyn - will accept applications by email to USANYE.Civil-Internship@usdoj.gov (Summer) or Rachel.Balaban@usdoj.gov (Fall/Spring)
Criminal Division-Brooklyn - only electronic applications by email to USANYE-Internship@usdoj.gov
Civil Division-Central Islip - will accept applications by mail or email to USANYE-InternshipCI@usdoj.gov 
Criminal Division-Central Islip - will accept applications by mail or email to USANYE-InternshipCI@usdoj.gov

Send application materials to:

Brooklyn, New York Office

Criminal Division

Spring, Summer, Fall

Tara McGrath, AUSA
Dana Rehnquist, AUSA or
Andrew Wang, AUSA
Criminal Division
U.S. Attorney’s Office
271 Cadman Plaza E.
Brooklyn, New York 11201

Civil Division

Summer Only

Dara Olds, AUSA
Civil Division
U.S. Attorney’s Office
271 Cadman Plaza E.
Brooklyn, New York 11201

 

Civil Division

Spring, Fall Only

Rachel Balaban, AUSA
Civil Division
U.S. Attorney’s Office
271 Cadman Plaza E.
Brooklyn, New York 11201

 

Central Islip, New York Office

Criminal Division

Spring, Summer, Fall

Samantha Alessi, AUSA
Paul Scotti, AUSA
Criminal Division
U.S. Attorney’s Office
610 Federal Plaza
Central Islip, New York 11722-4454

 

Civil Division

Spring, Summer, Fall

Diane Beckmann, AUSA
Civil Division
U.S. Attorney’s Office
610 Federal Plaza
Central Islip, New York 11722-4454

Updated January 8, 2024