Unpaid Summer Legal Intern

About Us:

For more than 50 years, Legal Services of the Hudson Valley (LSHV) has been providing free, high-quality legal counsel in civil matters when basic human needs are at stake including: eviction and foreclosure prevention, domestic violence, disability, elder law, healthcare, consumer fraud and more. Our services support almost 600,000 poor and low-income families and individuals who cannot afford an attorney in our seven-county service area. With the gap separating those who can and cannot afford legal representation widening each day, we work to ensure that everyone has equal access to justice, regardless of their ability to pay. As the only provider of comprehensive civil legal services in the lower and mid-Hudson Valley (Westchester, Putnam, Dutchess, Rockland, Orange, Ulster and Sullivan), LSHV is proud to have handled over 12,000 cases impacting nearly 30,000 household members including 10,000 children last year. LSHV is made up of ten offices, and a dedicated and highly skilled staff of attorneys, paralegals and administrative professionals.

Legal Services of the Hudson Valley is dedicated to building a highly skilled workforce that reflects the communities we serve and where everyone feels supported to bring their authentic selves to work. We are committed to promoting equity for all, and we continuously review and strengthen our processes and practices to support our staff, clients and the communities we serve. Respect is a cornerstone of relationships among our staff.

Internship Description:

LSHV will host unpaid interns in our Goshen, Monticello, Kingston, and Peekskill offices this summer. Interns will assist our staff attorneys in a variety of practice areas including housing, family law and domestic violence, veterans' benefits, public benefits, and/or immigration law. Through these internships, LSHV will train the next generation of social justice lawyers, giving them both practical litigation experience and an understanding of the factors that create disadvantages for low-income individuals and families. While helping LSHV attorneys and staff serve clients, interns will receive training, support, and advocacy skill development. Work may include client interviewing, issue spotting, legal research and writing, preparing court documents, accompanying attorneys and clients to court, and appearing in court under a student practice order.

Details:

10-week unpaid internship; 35 hours per work week (5-day week, Mon - Fri, hybrid)

Interns will be placed in LSHV offices located in Goshen, Monticello, Kingston, or Peekskill.

Interns will be loaned laptops during the summer for conducting LSHV business.

Housing, transportation, work-related, and other internship expenses will be the law student's responsibility. LSHV will provide office parking where applicable.

LSHV encourages unpaid interns to seek public interest funding from their law school or other sources.

At the conclusion of the summer, interns may be required to provide feedback concerning their experience, the substance of which may be reproduced in full or in part in LSHV materials.

Eligibility:

Open to law students enrolled in a U.S. law school who will have completed two semesters by May 2025.

Must be able to work several days per week in person in the office where placed (our offices are hybrid), subject to disability-related reasonable accommodations.

Ability to travel to the office where placed and other locations, such as courts, as needed.

Deadline:

Must apply by March 31, 2025 to be considered.