CAB Undergraduate Appellate Intern - New York, NY

The Legal Aid Society's Criminal Defense Criminal Appeals Bureau (CAB) has unpaid undergraduate internship opportunities for the Summer 2025 term. The Legal Aid Society's Criminal Practice is the largest public defender program in the country and serves as the primary provider of indigent defense services in New York City. The Criminal Appeals Bureau (CAB) of The Legal Aid Society is the largest post-conviction public defender in New York City, annually providing holistic, client-centered representation to over 1,000 people with misdemeanor, felony, and homicide convictions.

Undergraduate interns will primarily assist attorney staff with closing/organizing cases for archiving. In doing so, interns learn about appellate work and see the breadth of the advocacy CAB undertakes on behalf of clients. Interns will also draft correspondence responding to inquiries from individuals who are not Legal Aid clients but have reached out to us. There may also be opportunities to assist with the office's other practice areas.

This is an in-person position requiring a full-time commitment for a period of at least 10 weeks, starting in June and ending in August. All internships are unpaid.

Application Deadline is February 24th at 3:00 PM EST. Applications are reviewed on a rolling basis, so we encourage you to apply early.

ESSENTIAL DUTIES/RESPONSIBILITIES

• Close cases that have been resolved, including organizing physical files and updating and attaching documents to the case management system
• Assist CAB's transition to a digital environment, including scanning and formatting records
• Obtaining court records
• Other duties as assigned

QUALIFICATIONS

Required qualifications:

• Must be rising juniors, seniors, or 2024 graduates
• Experience assisting in administrative tasks in an office setting, preferably a non-profit
• Ability to commit to the 10-week internship program

KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS, AND ABILITIES

Position Based Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities:

• Proficient in Microsoft Office programs
• Attention to detail and ability to meet deadlines

Organizational Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities:

• Interest in and commitment to social justice issues and criminal defense
• Commitment to Legal Aid Society's mission to secure equal justice before the law for all New Yorkers
• Commitment to Legal Aid Society's mission and values

Physical, environment, travel, and other duties required:

• Mostly sedentary, significant time using a computer and monitor; communicating and meeting using video
• Requires occasional or frequent physical movement to perform essential job functions which may include, bending, reaching, pulling, pushing, standing or walking for long periods of time, accessing small spaces

SALARY AND BENEFITS

The salary range represents a good faith estimate of the range we expect to pay for this role. The actual salary offered may vary depending on many factors, including but not limited to job-related knowledge, skills, and experience, as well as collectively bargained salary steps for unionized roles.

Salary Range: Unpaid

The Legal Aid Society offers a generous benefits package including health insurance, paid vacation, disability, and life insurance, and more. Click here to read more about benefits.

Higher Education and Loan Forgiveness

The Legal Aid Society is a qualified employer for the purposes of the Public Service Loan Forgiveness. This position allows an employee to take advantage of PSLF and other State and Federal loan forgiveness programs. Additionally, employees who are New York residents may be eligible for assistance from New York state to assist with loan repayments, depending on years of practice. To learn more, click the links below.

studentaid.gov

hesc.ny.gov/loan-forgiveness-programs

WORK AUTHORIZATION

All applicants must be legally authorized to work in the United States for any employer without sponsorship for a work visa or permit. We are currently unable to sponsor employment visas or permits. (However, for citizens of Canada and Mexico, LAS will provide a letter documenting employment status that is needed to obtain a TN visa.)

HOW TO APPLY

All applications must be completed online via the career portal. We do not accept emailed applications. Submit the following documents as a combined PDF:

• Cover Letter
• Resume

For technical difficulties or questions regarding this posting, please email jobpostquestions@legal-aid.org.

EQUAL EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY

As an Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) Employer, The Legal Aid Society prohibits discriminatory employment actions against and treatment of its employees and applicants for employment based on actual or perceived race or color, size (including bone structure, body size, height, shape, and weight), religion or creed, alienage or citizenship status, sex (including pregnancy), national origin, age, sexual orientation, gender identity (one's internal deeply-held sense of one's gender which may be the same or different from one's sex assigned at birth); gender expression (the representation of gender as expressed through, for example, one's name, choice of pronouns, clothing, haircut, behavior, voice, or body characteristics; gender expression may not conform to traditional gender-based stereotypes assigned to specific gender identities), disability, marital status, relationship and family structure (including domestic partnerships, polyamorous families and individuals, chosen family, platonic co-parents, and multigenerational families), genetic information or predisposing genetic characteristics, military status, domestic violence victim status, arrest or pre-employment conviction record, credit history, unemployment status, caregiver status, salary history, or any other characteristic protected by law.

OUR COMMITMENT TO DIVERSITY, EQUITY, AND INCLUSION

The Legal Aid Society is committed to a work culture of zealous advocacy, respect, diversity and inclusion, client-oriented defense, access to justice and excellent representation. We are dedicated to building a strong professional relationship with each of our clients (people), to understanding their diverse circumstances, and to meeting their needs. Our ability to achieve these goals depends on the efforts of all of us and our ability to build strong relationships with our colleagues. Every member of our community is expected to continuously learn about the dynamic, evolving, and emerging field of knowledge of identity, bias, and systemic forms of oppression and participate in productive efforts to dismantling bias in all forms.