The Justice Thurgood Marshall Externship Program provides law students who have an interest and a commitment to civil rights work with a unique and challenging summer experience at one of three premier civil rights law firms.
Students earn up to 7 credits of pass-fail clinical credit in the ten-week summer program, which usually starts the first week of June. Students register for summer school and pay tuition. Both first and second year students are eligible. The law firms select their summer externs from a nationwide pool of highly qualified students. The firms decide whether to offer the externship and may conduct telephone interviews with candidates or request additional information. The firms involved are:
- The NAACP Legal Defense Fund Inc. (LDF), with placements in New
York City and Washington, D.C.;
- The Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, Inc. in
Washington D.C.;and
- The Chicago Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law in Chicago.
About the Firms
The NAACP Legal Defense and Education Fund Inc. (LDF)
(New York, Washington, D.C.)
LDF is the premier public interest law firm in the United States specializing in civil rights litigation and the law firm of Thurgood Marshall. Its docket is divided into several subject matter categories: voting rights, employment discrimination (state, federal and private), school desegregation and related issues of discrimination (e.g. tracking of minority students into special education classes, disparate treatment in disciplinary matters), housing discrimination and capital punishment. Most cases are in federal court with cases pending at all levels of the judiciary, from the federal district court to the Supreme Court of the United States.
Contact information:
LDF New York:
Monica Garcia
Director of Human Resources
NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, Inc.
99 Hudson St., 16 th Floor
New York, NY 10013
(212) 219-1900
LDF Washington D.C.:
Summer Internship Coordinator
1444 I Street, NW, 10 th Floor
Washington, D.C. 2005
(202) 682-1300
Application materials: both offices of the NAACP-LDF require a
cover letter, resume, brief writing sample (5-10 pages; for 1Ls,
something from Legal Research & Writing), and a list of
references
Chicago Lawyers' Committee For Civil Rights Under Law
The Chicago Lawyers' Committee concentrates on employment discrimination, fair and affordable housing, equal access rights, hate crimes opposition, education, administration of justice, voting rights, and the health and welfare rights of children. The Committee's litigation docket focuses on class action or impact litigation on the cutting edge of civil rights law. The non-litigation work includes helping community based groups incorporate, generate by-laws, and secure tax-exempt status; counsel to economic development organizations in the purchase of property, and with zoning changes and tax problems; and counsel to local school councils and school reform groups. It focuses on cases and projects that impact communities, not just individual clients.
Contact Information:
Clyde Murphy
Executive Director
Chicago Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law
100 North LaSalle St., Suite 600
Chicago, Illinois 60602-2403
(312) 630-9744
Application materials: resume, cover letter, and writing sample
(5-10 pages)
The Lawyers' Committee For Civil Rights Under Law -- Washington D.C.
Each year, The Lawyers' Committee participates in dozens of discrimination cases in the areas of education, voting, housing, employment and environmental law. Though the Lawyer's Committee litigates throughout the country most of its cases are in the South. For example, the Committee currently is engaged in ongoing litigation in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, and Texas, as well as, in Arizona, New Jersey, New York, and Pennsylvania. In addition to direct representation of clients in ongoing litigation, the Committee frequently files amicus curiae briefs with the Supreme Court and federal appellate courts in order to participate in the evolving interpretation of civil rights laws. Each summer the Lawyers' Committee chooses approximately ten law students to work as interns in their office. Each intern is assigned to work in a specific project area.
Although the assignments for each intern vary, most students are asked to draft legal documents, write research memoranda, and conduct factual investigation in ongoing litigation. The professional staffs are small and the workload is large. Student interns receive assignments that give them both research opportunities and very direct experience in the practice of law. The Committee also testifies before Congress on important issues affecting civil rights and equal access to justice, and engages in public policy advocacy within the federal administration.
Contact Information:
Kathy Coates
Administrative Resource Specialist
Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law
1401 New York Ave., N.W., Suite 400
Washington D.C. 20005
(202) 662-8600
Application materials: resume, cover letter, and writing sample
(5-10 pages)
How to Apply
An informational meeting is generally held in October, and applications are due in early November. Students submit a separate cover letter and supporting materials for each firm (and each location) in which they have an interest. The letter should describe and document the student's interest in civil rights work, as well as any prior experience or course selection relevant to civil rights work.
Applications for the 2010 Thurgood Marshall Externship
Program are available in the Career Services Office, and
are due on October 29, 2009.
For more information about the program, contact Professor Linda
Greene at lsgreene@wisc.edu.
For more information about the application process, contact Kristin Davis in Career Services at kristindavis@wisc.edu.