Background
Legal Aid at Work (“LAAW”) is a nonprofit that specializes in helping low-income workers in California with employment law issues. LAAW’s Workers’ Rights Clinic provides California workers free, confidential legal services and advice concerning their workplace rights and how to move forward with potential claims.
The LAAW Undergraduate Legal Honors Internship (ULHI) is an opportunity for passionate undergraduate students to serve as legal counselors at the Workers’ Rights Clinic. In addition to being a public service opportunity, ULHI is a program developed to educate and mentor students interested in pursuing social justice legal careers. ULHI is also designed to introduce undergraduate students – especially those from underrepresented backgrounds – to the legal community and career opportunities. LAAW highly encourages first generation professionals, underrepresented minorities, and those from low-income communities to pursue law-related careers such that the legal profession may better reflect the diverse population of California.
Duties
Interns will conduct one-on-one interviews with clients and complete research under the supervision of an employment law attorney to provide clients legal advice. Students will encounter and become familiar with a broad range of legal issues, including, among other things, employment discrimination, wage theft, health and safety violations, and family-medical leaves. The syllabus for the internship can be found here.
Time Commitment
The internship will run from June 5, 2025 to July 24, 2025 and be remote only. Interns will be expected to report to the Clinic via Zoom every Thursday evening at 5:30 p.m. during this period. Before every Clinic, interns will train from approximately 5:30 p.m. to 6:15 p.m. on selected employment law topics relevant to Clinic counseling. After training, interns will conduct intakes over the phone with assigned clients. The Clinic generally lasts 3-4 hours.
Eligibility Requirements
- Currently enrolled at a California-based accredited institution
- In your penultimate year of school (for candidates graduating in four years or more) or in your final year of school (for candidates graduating in three years or fewer)
- Planning to attend graduate school in pursuit of a career in social justice lawyering
- Presently in a major likely to lead to a public service career
Desired Skills
No prior experience is necessary, but desirable skills include:
- Excellent verbal communication skills. Language fluency in Spanish and/or Chinese, is especially helpful.
- Proficiency in or ability to learn various digital programs and platforms (e.g., Zoom, Microsoft Office Suite, Salesforce, and Google Suite).
- Strong organizational and administrative skills; proactive and efficient work style.
- Excellent customer service skills.
- High-level professionalism with the ability to manage sensitive, personally identifiable information/materials and maintain confidentiality at all times.
Compensation
Legal Aid at Work makes sure that all undergraduate interns receive a total of at least $1,600 for the 8 weeks of part-time work. Because Legal Aid at Work operates with limited resources, students are required to apply for outside sources of funding, including funding provided by their school, when they are eligible for such funding. Legal Aid at Work will supplement that summer funding if less than $1,600, or will pay the entire stipend of $1,600 if necessary.
How to Apply
Please email a cover letter expressing your interest in the summer internship, along with a recent copy of your resume to: recruiting@legalaidatwork.org with the subject line “UHLI Application”. The deadline for applying is end of day, Monday, March 3rd.