Semester Clerkship (Fall 2026 & Spring 2027)

Institute for Justice•, (Multiple States)

3d•Hybrid

About The Position

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. 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.

Requirements

Resume
Cover letter
Writing sample

Nice To Haves

Students who wish to work in our Virginia, Texas, Florida, or Arizona offices for paid opportunities
Remote students for unpaid clerkships (often work with students to help them receive course credit according to their schools' externship policies)

Responsibilities

Conduct legal research
Help develop litigation strategies for active and potential cases
Help draft discovery requests, motions, and briefs filed in both state and federal court
Research 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
Participate in moots for dispositive-motion hearings in a challenge to protectionist mobile vending regulations
Analyze discovery objections in a civil forfeiture class action lawsuit
Assess how to certify a new class and add new plaintiffs to an existing class action
Develop litigation strategies for potential challenges to licensing requirements in several states across the country
Help prepare motions to exclude expert witness testimony and reports
Draft portions of opposition briefs for motions to dismiss and for summary judgment in both state and federal court