Legal Internship

Research Foundation of The City University of New York•New York, NY

11d•$25•Hybrid

About The Position

Thank you for considering a career with the Research Foundation of The City University of New York (RFCUNY). The team at RFCUNY is made up of dedicated, talented professionals committed to providing the services that allow CUNY researchers, faculty, and staff to focus on their intellectual curiosity and scientific discoveries. We are pleased that you are interested in exploring opportunities to join RFCUNY. Primary Location: CUNY INSTITUTE FOR STATE & LOCAL GOVERNANCE Bargaining Unit: No CUNY Institute for State and Local Governance (ISLG): About Us The CUNY Institute for State and Local Governance has a mission to improve the, delivery, measurement and financing of critical public services through research, technical assistance, and education. We lead projects aimed at reforming the criminal justice system, measuring urban inequality, expanding the reach of social service providers, and more. Each project has a dedicated team of research and policy experts who collaborate closely with internal and external organizations. For more information about ISLG, please visit www.islg.cuny.edu. Our Goals for Diversity and Inclusion We strive to foster an office environment and an approach to work that welcomes and respects different perspectives, backgrounds, and life experiences. We are working towards our goal of recruiting and retaining staff, interns and advisory group members who are diverse in terms of race, national origin, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, age, religion, veteran status, socioeconomic status, disability, and justice system involvement. Who we are looking for ISLG is recruiting up to 1 CUNY Law Student to work on a variety of projects, including projects focused on Partnering with city agencies to implement a variety of policy initiatives and programming; Providing funding and training and support to organizations that incorporate community-based restorative justice practices; Developing fellowship programs; and Collecting and analyzing data from various sources (jails, community partners, health and mental health service providers, municipalities, etc.) in connection with research and evaluation projects. Specifically, we are seeking an intern to support the Legal Department on a range of legal and policy matters, including: Assisting with drafting legal documents such as grantee contracts, data use agreements, amendments, and memoranda; Reviewing project-specific materials, including scopes of work, requests for work proposals and submissions, and other program materials; Participating in meetings and calls with internal teams and external partners about legal and policy matters; Supporting the Legal Department in reviewing and drafting policies and procedures, including data security policies; and Assisting the Legal Department with administrative support, including developing and updating legal templates, organizing project files, and other matters as needed. The core of this internship is creating community and peer-to-peer learning among ISLG interns; to foster community we will have bi-weekly in-person convening that will cover a range of topics such as relationship building, project management, participatory policy making, etc. We are hiring interns to work at ISLG from May 26 to July 30, 2026. Interns will have a hybrid work schedule and report to a designated ISLG staff member. Interns will work on a range of tasks to support the projects listed above as well as others not listed here.

Requirements

Currently enrolled in CUNY’s Juris Doctor (JD) program with strong academic standing
Ability to commit to a consistent schedule of approximately 35 hours per week for the internship period
Ability to attend peer-to-peer credentialed in-person weekly sessions, currently anticipated to be scheduled on Wednesday’s from 9:00am-11:00am
Ability to work from the CUNY ISLG office in Manhattan on certain days, in coordination with the Legal team
Excellent research and writing skills with attention to detail
Ability to work independently and as part of a team
Strong analytical and problem-solving skills
Excellent time management skills and experience working in deadline-driven environments
Ability to prioritize and work on a number of tasks simultaneously
Flexibility about projects and workflow
Passion about equitable state and local policy solutions to pressing social issues

Nice To Haves

Personal, professional, or academic knowledge of any of the following fields/areas: public interest law, contract law, criminal legal reform, police reform, data-driven research and evaluation, peer leadership development, restorative justice, gender-based violence, community engagement, youth development, and violence intervention

Responsibilities

Assisting with drafting legal documents such as grantee contracts, data use agreements, amendments, and memoranda
Reviewing project-specific materials, including scopes of work, requests for work proposals and submissions, and other program materials
Participating in meetings and calls with internal teams and external partners about legal and policy matters
Supporting the Legal Department in reviewing and drafting policies and procedures, including data security policies
Assisting the Legal Department with administrative support, including developing and updating legal templates, organizing project files, and other matters as needed