2020 Summer Law Student Internship

The Prison Law Office invites applications from current law students to intern with us during the summer of 2020. We prefer rising third year students, but will consider exceptional rising second year students.

The Prison Law Office is a nonprofit public interest law firm founded in 1976 that provides free legal services to incarcerated adults and children to improve their conditions of confinement in prisons, jails, immigration detention facilities, and juvenile halls. We engage in class action impact litigation primarily in California and Arizona; provide direct legal services to people regarding their incarceration; educate the public about jail and prison conditions; engage in advocacy in the state legislature; and provide technical assistance to advocates throughout the country. Our office is located in Berkeley, California.

We have litigated numerous successful institutional reform cases that, among other things, reduced the overcrowding of California’s prisons, improved health care services in prisons and jails, guaranteed people with physical and developmental disabilities reasonable accommodations and equal access to jail and prison programs, reduced the use of excessive force, limited racial discrimination in prisons, and restricted the use of solitary confinement in adult and juvenile systems.

Under the supervision of attorneys, law students work on both individual and class action cases. Law students engage in legal research and writing tasks; correspond with incarcerated people who contact our office; and accompany attorneys and visit facilities to interview incarcerated people and monitor compliance with class action settlement agreements. We pay law student interns $25 an hour.

We seek students with a commitment to civil rights and criminal justice reform and with excellent analytical, legal research, and writing skills. Bilingual skills in Spanish, American Sign Language, or other languages are preferred, but not required. We encourage people with prior contact or experience with the criminal justice or prison systems to apply.

To apply, email jobs@prisonlaw.com with the subject line “2020 Summer Intern Application” and the following items combined as one PDF: (1) cover letter, (2) resume, (3) list of references, and (4) legal writing sample.

The Prison Law Office is an equal employment opportunity employer and does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, gender, national origin, ancestry, citizenship, age, disability, veteran status, marital status, sexual orientation, gender identity (including transgender status), or any other basis prohibited by law. The Prison Law Office does not bar applicants based upon arrest or criminal convictions.