Serving Clients in the Second Circuit and the Eastern and Southern Districts of New York
Summer Internship for Law Students
The Federal Defenders of New York are proud to announce our summer 2026 internship program. Each of our Brooklyn and Manhattan offices hires between 8 to 10 law students as interns for a 10-week program. We will consider students who have completed either their first or second year of law school.
Summer interns assist our trial attorneys to defend indigent clients in the Southern and Eastern District of New York. Interns work closely with our team of attorneys, social workers, paralegals, and investigators. They are trusted with substantive assignments to help our clients including researching legal questions, drafting briefs, conducting field investigations & client interviews, and participating in court hearings and trials. FDNY offers law students a unique and up-close opportunity to fight for our clients and learn about the federal criminal process in a friendly and collegial environment. We are invested in the success of our interns and committed to mentoring and supporting them to become the next generation of public defenders.
FDNY is an equal opportunity employer and is committed to ensuring a diverse, inclusive, and supportive office. We recruit interns from a variety of local and national law schools. Past interns have obtained post-graduate clerkships with judges in the Southern and Eastern Districts of New York, the Second Circuit, as well as other courts throughout the country. Many then go on to become public defenders.
Law students interested in a summer position should submit a cover letter (addressed to Karume James, Jeff Dahlberg, and Andrew Dalack), resume, transcript (if available), and writing sample on our application portal. Please combine all of these materials into a single PDF titled as lastname.firstname.FDNYsummer2026.
Applicants will be considered for both our Brooklyn and Manhattan offices.
You will receive a confirmation email once your application is submitted and it will be reviewed promptly. The application period will close on October 31, 2025. Interviews will be conduction in mid-November. Please do not send follow up emails with additional materials unless specifically requested. We will respond only to those applicants selected for an interview.