Applications are considered on a rolling basis.
The Institute for Justice’s Semester Clerkship programs provide an unparalleled opportunity for select law students to substantively contribute to IJ’s cutting-edge civil-rights litigation. Clerks conduct legal research; help develop litigation strategies for active and potential cases; and help draft discovery requests, motions, and briefs filed in both state and federal court. Clerks have been involved in projects as diverse as:
- Researching appellate court treatment of FTCA actions to support United States Supreme Court merits briefing on application of the FTCA’s judgment bar in a police brutality case.
- Participating in moots for dispositive-motion hearings in a challenge to protectionist mobile vending regulations.
- Analyzing discovery objections in a civil forfeiture class action lawsuit.
- Assessing how to certify a new class and add new plaintiffs to an existing class action.
- Developing litigation strategies for potential challenges to licensing requirements in several states across the country.
- Helping prepare motions to exclude expert witness testimony and reports.
- Drafting portions of opposition briefs for motions to dismiss and for summary judgment in both state and federal court.
IJ’s Semester Clerkship program is highly competitive. Paid opportunities are available to students who wish to work in our Virginia, Texas, Florida, or Arizona offices. Although we're not able to offer paid opportunities to students who live and work in other states, we will happily host remote students for unpaid clerkships, and we often work with those students to help them receive course credit according to their schools' externship policies. The program typically runs for 12 weeks, with two cohorts offered each year in the fall and spring. It is designed as a part-time commitment to accommodate students' class schedules.
To be considered, please complete the application and submit a resume, cover letter, and writing sample.
Skills Required
- Current law student
- Strong legal research and writing skills, including drafting motions, briefs, and discovery requests
- Ability to assist developing litigation strategies and analyze complex procedural issues
- Submit application with resume, cover letter, and writing sample
- Availability to commit part-time for approximately a 12-week semester (fall or spring)
- Willingness to work unpaid if remote; paid placements available only in Virginia, Texas, Florida, or Arizona
What We Do
The Institute for Justice is a nonprofit, public interest law firm dedicated to ending government abuses of power and securing constitutional rights for all Americans.
