Job Description

Job Description

Job Description

The Roderick and Solange MacArthur Justice Center (MJC) is looking for students who have a commitment to transformational justice. MJC is accepting applications from current 1L and 2L law students for summer internships in Chicago, Illinois, St. Louis, Missouri and New Orleans Louisiana, and from current 2L law students in Washington, D.C.

These are hybrid internships and students must spend 2-3 days per week in the office. The program requires a minimum commitment of 8 weeks.

Who We Are:

MJC is a national nonprofit civil rights law firm. We represent people who have been harmed by America’s criminal legal system, seeking to vindicate their rights, elevate their story, and hold people with power accountable. We do this primarily through cutting-edge litigation and advocacy across the country, on end-to-end issues in the criminal legal system, from policing, to prosecutorial discretion, to rights of indigent defendants, to mass incarceration, to prison conditions, to wrongful convictions and the death penalty. For more information on our work, visit

Who You Are:

You are a champion for human rights and are passionate about achieving justice for people who have been harmed by the criminal legal system.

What You’ll Learn and Do :

Illinois Office Litigation Program, Chicago, IL

Students will immerse themselves in a fast-paced civil rights litigation practice, focusing on issues of police misconduct, mass imprisonment, racial injustice, and the criminalization of poverty. Students will draft legal briefs, work with clients and organizations, conduct community outreach, research case law, draft discovery, participate in expert discovery, prepare for depositions, and attend court hearings.

Louisiana Office, New Orleans, LA

Each law clerk intern will be supervised directly by the office’s attorneys and will have the opportunity to assist with cases those attorneys are working on. Specific tasks that summer law clerks may be responsible for include but are not limited to (a) legal research and writing, (b) drafting discovery and preparing for depositions, (c) developing statistical data, and (d) preparing for and attending court proceedings.

Missouri Office, St. Louis Missouri

Students will immerse themselves in a fast-paced civil rights trial and post-conviction practice, focusing on issues of mass imprisonment, prisoners’ rights, parole due process, racial injustice, police misconduct, wrongful conviction and sentencing, and environmental justice for incarcerated people. Students will perform a range of duties to support the office’s trial work, advocacy, and outreach. Such tasks may include assisting with client intake in jails, prisons, and the community, field investigations, legal research, fact research, discovery support, and evidence preparation.

Supreme Court and Appellate Program, D.C. Office, Washington, D.C.

Under the guidance and supervision of attorneys, summer law clerk interns will work principally on appeals before the U.S. Supreme Court, federal circuit courts, state supreme courts, or state courts of appeal, which raise important issues related to civil rights and the criminal legal system. Law clerk interns will have the opportunity to contribute to ongoing appellate cases, including participating in strategy discussions, performing legal research, and drafting sections of briefs and other filings. Law clerks will also gain exposure to the broader appellate process, which may include participation in client meetings and strategic decision-making, case evaluation and analysis of factual records, and participation in moot oral arguments.

Qualifications

Education: JD students in good standing.

TO APPLY:

Applicants should submit all of the following:

• Cover letter,
• resume,
• a list of three references, and
• a writing sample (preferably a legal analytical writing sample, such as a brief or memo).

All materials should be submitted via MJC’s application portal.

2L applications are due November 7, 2024.

1L applications are due December 6, 2024

Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis.

Summer interns are expected to apply for any funding available from their law schools. If a summer intern is either ineligible for or does not receive funding from their school, MJC may provide a stipend for each full week of participation up to $800 per week, offset by any external funding. MJC stipends are payable in 2 installments during the summer.

The criminal legal system disproportionately harms people of color, people from low-income communities, people who were formerly incarcerated, people with disabilities, and LGBTQ+ individuals. We strongly encourage people who identify within these and other communities underrepresented in the legal profession to apply. All applicants must have and be committed to the cultural competence required to work with clients, co-workers, and community partners who come from different backgrounds and experiences.

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