Legal Intern - Community Legal Services

Travis County • Austin, TX

1d • Onsite

About The Position

Help Travis County Community Legal Services advocate for and implement best practices for providing legal services to those in Travis County who cannot afford them. Conduct legal research regarding criminal and civil representation issues and draft legal memoranda on those findings. This internship is funded by Travis County at a rate of $26/hour for 40 hours/week for up to 10 weeks, or a total of $10,400 maximum. This is a legal intern position that will run through the Summer of 2027 (approximately ten weeks to be scheduled between May - August 2027). Exact dates are flexible but applicants should be interested in serving with the office for the entire Summer.

Requirements

• Currently attending an Accredited Law School with completion of at least 2 semesters of study.
• Knowledge of Legal research, including Lexis or Westlaw.
• Knowledge of Oral advocacy skills.
• Knowledge of Policies, practices, procedures and legal terminology related to criminal and civil court systems
• Knowledge of Technology, including word processing, spreadsheets, and databases.
• Knowledge of Business letter writing, including tone, grammar, and punctuation.
• Knowledge of Confidential handling of certain criminal justice and health information.
• Skill in Problem-solving and decision-making.
• Skill in Analyzing and appraising facts, policies, procedures, and legal precedents.
• Skill in Both verbal and written communication, including presentations.
• Skill in Collaboration in developing team-wide persuasive strategy.
• Ability to Conduct legal research and analysis, both manually and electronically.
• Ability to Present facts, precedents, and arguments verbally and in writing and apply negotiation skills.
• Ability to Communicate effectively, both verbally and in writing.
• Ability to Work independently.
• Ability to Manage time well, perform multiple tasks, and organize diverse activities.
• Ability to Work well under pressure and exercise tact in trying situations.
• Ability to Establish and maintain effective working relationships with representatives of outside agencies, other County employees and officials, and the general public.

Nice To Haves

• Applications with a cover letter detailing interest in the position, including why applicant wants to work for Travis County Community Legal Services
• Demonstrated interest or experience with relevant policy matters and local government.
• Mission-aligned experience (work or lived) advocating on behalf of clients who cannot afford legal services.
• Effective rapport-building and interpersonal techniques.
• Strong research and writing skills.

Responsibilities

• Conducts legal research regarding criminal and civil issues relevant to the legal services provided by Travis County (TC) and Community Legal Services (CLS).
• Conducts policy research regarding national and state standards, as well as best practices regarding the legal services Travis County provides.
• Drafts advisory memos to the CLS County Executive.
• Drafts advisory and persuasive memos to other county departments.
• Attends policy and funding meetings related to the departments represented by Community Legal Services to stay abreast of developing issues.
• Assists in planning the adoption and adaptation of best practices for legal representation in Travis County.
• Performs other job-related duties as assigned.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Intern
• Education Level: Associate degree