Full-time or part-time
In recent years many Georgia Law students have become CASAs in Clarke County. A Court Appointed Special Advocate (CASA) is a trained community volunteer who is appointed by a judge to advocate for the best interests of an abused or neglected child who is in foster care. The CASA volunteer gathers information about the child's situation, attends court proceedings and makes a written recommendation to the judge so that the judge has the information to make a decision about the child's future.
Law students who have completed CASA training and have been assigned a case through the CASA program can receive credit for CASA work through the Civil Externship program. Students will be supervised by Wilbanks CEASE Clinic Director Emma Hetherington, who will also serve as their Peer Coordinator through the CASA program.
Students interested in receiving credit for CASA work can find more information at http://www.athensoconeecasa.org/volunteer.html. CASAs are expected to commit to at least one year as volunteers, or until their assigned case is resolved.
Criteria: completion of CASA training.
Part-time only.
The Athens Land Trust (ALT) centers around the idea that land should be valued and utilized to its utmost potential. ALT combines three divergent programs: affordable housing, conservation, and a community garden network. The affordable housing program helps lower?income residents to own homes; the conservation program helps to preserve farmland and other valuable ecosystems in Northeast Georgia; and the community garden network fosters community gardens as a means to provide healthy, nutritious food for low?income families. Students at ALT will work in all three programs by conducting legal research, drafting documents and interacting directly with ALT clients.
Criteria: Site supervisor selects.
Part-time only
The Gwinnett Office of Atlanta Legal Aid offers a focused litigation support and student practice opportunity for students interested in civil poverty law work in close proximity to Athens. This office covers the same range of topics and clients as the general Atlanta Legal Aid offering, with a geographical focus on Gwinnett County. Students engage in litigation support, third year practice and other advocacy on behalf of indigent Georgians with civil legal needs.
Criteria: Site supervisor selects.
Full-time or part-time
Criteria: Site supervisor selects. Preference for students with a demonstrated interest in environmental, land use, coastal, or governmental and municipal law.
Part-time only
The Carter Center is guided by a fundamental commitment to human rights and the alleviation of human suffering. It seeks to prevent and resolve conflicts, enhance freedom and democracy, and improve health. The Center emphasizes action and measurable results. Based on careful research and analysis, it is prepared to take timely action on important and pressing issues. Students can work in programs focused on peace, democracy, conflict resolution, human rights, and a wide range of health initiatives.
Note: Students must fill out the Carter Center's internship application, available online at https://internapply.cartercenter.org/EDPrograms/InternshipDefault.aspx. We will follow up to help to assure that decisions are made in time to participate.
Full-time or part-time
Students work in an agency committed to providing direct legal representation to foreign nationals both at the U.S. Immigration Court and--for those not in removal (i.e., deportation) proceedings--before various governmental agencies, including the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services ("USCIS") and the U.S. Department of State. Work includes direct client contact, legal research / brief writing, and preparation of "country conditions" materials for asylum seekers. Students will have the opportunity to accompany attorneys to hearings at the Immigration Court and to interviews at USCIS.
Criteria: Site supervisor and Clinic Director select. Fluency in Spanish or another language preferred, but not required.
Full-time or part-time
Students work in a juvenile court context, providing representation, counsel and advice for children engaged in juvenile court process, primarily in abuse and neglect cases. Workload includes investigation, case assessment, preparation of plans and oral presentation of plans in court. Opportunity for practice under the student practice rules.
Students selected to interview should also apply at:
https://www.dekalbcountyga.gov/child-advocate/internship-downloads
Full-time or part-time
Students work with a non-profit funded to work for senior citizens on their general civil legal needs. Students engage in client interviewing, case development, factual investigation, legal research, drafting and litigation support.
Criteria: Site supervisor interviews and selects.
Part-time only
Students work for the Protection and Advocacy agency of the state of Georgia, providing direct service for people with mental and physical disabilities, and engaging in community education and policy advocacy on related issues. Work includes direct contact with clients, participation in hearings, and public policy analysis (including legislative work) on behalf of the disabled population.
Criteria: Interest in working with clients with disabilities.
Full-time or part-time
The Georgia Innocence Project is a nonprofit organization dedicated to helping individuals who have been convicted of crimes they did not commit. The Project works to secure post-conviction DNA testing for Georgia and Alabama inmates where DNA analysis could prove guilt or innocence and adequate DNA testing was not available at trial. Students will work on all phases of obtaining post-conviction relief. No opportunity for student practice.
Full-time or Part-time
For over 30 years, GJP has provided vigorous legal representation combined with holistic social service support to clients who are indigent and facing criminal charges in Fulton and DeKalb Counties. For the last 10 years, GJP has also assisted clients around the state with expunging and correcting their criminal history and dealing with the collateral consequences of a record. GJP also actively engages in statewide policy and legislative advocacy in an effort to lower barriers for people with criminal records on a systemic level.
Full-time or part-time
Georgia Lawyers for the Arts (GLA) is a nonprofit organization that provides legal assistance and education to artists and arts organizations of Georgia, including musicians, songwriters, photographers, film makers, painters, graphic designers, actors and artists from many other disciplines. Through the Georgia PATENTS program, GLA also provides assistance on patents and intellectual property to solo inventors, non-profits and small businesses. See http://glarts.org/patents//
GLA provides direct pro bono representation, referrals to experienced attorneys, seminars and workshops on legal concerns, walk-in clinics and low-cost mediation. GLA also maintains an extensive library of legal resources and relevant forms.
Externs work out of the Atlanta office, staffing phones and conducting both intake and in-depth interviews with clients, Externs assist clients with the resource library, can plan and attend seminars, and perform legal research in areas of the law that concern artists and arts organizations. Demonstrated interest/experience in entertainment law, copyright and intellectual property preferred.
Criteria: Site supervisor selects; students should preference arts or patents division in their application.
Full-time or part-time
Georgia Legal Services offers a general poverty law practice throughout the northeast of Georgia. Located in Gainesville, Georgia, Legal Services represents low-income and underserved people legal assistance for housing, domestic relations, public benefits and consumer law problems. Students will gain experience in a range of different areas, from investigation, research and drafting to preparation for both administrative and trial litigation.
Criteria: Site supervisor selects; Interest in public interest practice and willingness to drive; Students should preference Athens or Gainesville office in their application; Spanish-speakers desirable; Opportunities to work under the student practice act.
Part-time only
Students work for a non-profit resource center for Georgia municipalities. Members of the center include all Georgia cities and towns. The Association provides advice, education, litigation support, legislative lobbying and appellate support on a wide ranges of municipal law issues. Students will work on both litigation and transactional projects and will have a chance to observe first-hand the politics and practice of municipal law.
Criteria: Interest in local government law, particularly interest in working as a municipal or city lawyer; Courses in State and Local Government or Legislation preferred. Full-time preferred.
Full-time or Part-time
GreenLaw provide free legal and technical assistance to environmental organizations and community groups throughout Georgia, in an effort to prevent air and water pollution that endangers human health and degrades Georgia's natural resources. Students provide research and litigation support to GreenLaw attorneys, including investigation of environmental complaints, preparation of pleadings and attendance at meetings, negotiations and trials. Preference for applicants with a demonstrated commitment to public interest work.
Criteria: Site supervisor selects.
Full-time or part-time
Innovation Gateway reviews and helps to license and market the intellectual property generated by researchers at the University of Georgia. Students at this placement will engage in reviewing the technical aspects of various research products, and assessing the intellectual property dimensions that arise for those products, including patent and licensing issues.
Criteria: Site supervisor interviews and selects.
Part-time only
Project South is devoted to movement-building in the South. Interns will work under the supervision of the Legal & Advocacy Director. Summer interns will draft legal memoranda, open records requests, Freedom of Information Act requests, demand letters, fact sheets, and human rights reports; help with devising and carrying out Know Your Rights presentations (targeting communities of color, Muslims, and immigrants); and visit imprisoned individuals in Georgia immigration detention centers and prisons to help document the conditions.
Criteria: Site supervisor interviews and selects.
Full-time or part-time
The Center focuses on two primary areas of the law: prison reform litigation and death penalty defense. It takes individual death penalty cases through the process of trial and appeal, and pursues legal remedies to improve the conditions of prisons across the country. Students will engage in investigation, often in the field, and in research and preparation of litigation documents and briefs.
Criteria: Site supervisor selects; writing sample and references.
Full-time or part-time
SELC is widely recognized as the Southeast's foremost environmental organization and regional leader. SELC works on a full range of environmental issues to protect the South's natural resources and the health and well-being of its people. Although its regional focus is the Southeast, much of its work is national in scope and impact. SELC works in Congress and state legislatures to inform environmental laws; in regulatory agencies to implement environmental laws and policies; and in the courts to enforce the law, stop the worst abuses, and set important precedents. The organization works collaboratively with more than 100 national, state, and local groups to enhance their efficacy and achieve common conservation goals. SELC prides itself on collegiality, teamwork, and mutual respect among its staff and board. SELC is committed to broadening the diversity of its staff to strengthen the organization and effectiveness in responding to the many environmental challenges affecting the South and its people.
Students can expect to do research and writing on issues for litigation or for other environmental advocacy in a substantive area. Depending on the project area, research may include federal and state environmental statutes and regulations, and procedural and evidentiary issues. In addition to doing research, clerks also participate in strategy sessions and other aspects of case or project management. Students may also be involved in meetings on environmental policy with government officials and leaders of other environmental groups.
Criteria: writing sample required; transcript and references will be requested if selected to interview.
Full-Time or Part-Time
The Southern Poverty Law Center is dedicated to fighting hate and bigotry and to seeking justice for the most vulnerable members of our society. Using litigation, education, and other forms of advocacy, the SPLC works toward the day when the ideals of equal justice and equal opportunity will be a reality. Students work both on individual cases and on policy issues relevant to the mission of the SPLC.
Criteria: Site supervisor interviews and selects.
Full-time or Part-time