Children’s Legal Intern

TITLE: Children’s Legal Internship
LOCATION: New York, NY
START
DATE: SPRING 2025
DURATION:
January 2025 – April 2025 – Hybrid
Schedule
POSITION
REPORTS TO: Mary Wilcox and Jessica Lazo

SCOPE OF WORK (Children’s Legal Intern): The Children’s Legal Services (CLS) program in New
York provides legal representation to unaccompanied children. To be eligible
for services, unaccompanied children must be under the age of 18 at the time
they enter the CLS program, have no immigration status, and, at same time, have
been officially designated as an unaccompanied child by the Office of Refugee
Resettlement (ORR). We help them understand the immigration systems, prepare
them for hearings, evaluate and advise them on the types of immigration
applications they can file, and assist them with preparing their filings. Many
cases will also involve hearings in NY state court, and we provide preparation
and representation for those hearings as well.

RESPONSIBILITIES:
Support in building and fostering
relationships with our young clients by participating in client meetings.
Provide
administrative support to the Children’s Legal Services team, including
checking for upcoming court hearings, communicating regularly with
clients, preparing applications, drafting supporting documents, and
support in filing with appropriate agencies.  
Perform research on
immigration issues, country conditions, etc.
Partake in online
immigration law trainings and webinars.
Assist in tapping into other IRC NY
programs to get additional support for clients when needed, such as
educational resources, etc.

LEARNING
OBJECTIVES:
Intern will gain exposure and understand various immigration processes and reliefs available to unaccompanied children.
Intern will gain an understanding of a trauma-informed, client centered approach and the special considerations when working with children in a legal setting.
Intern will gain exposure to NY family court and procedures.
Intern will learn how to manage client cases within established deadlines.
Intern will develop problem solving skills, client services skills, and intercultural social work skills. 

Minimum Qualifications:• Must be in enrolled in and have completed 1L at an ABA-accredited law school.
• Proficiency in Spanish is strongly preferred.
• Must have a demonstrated passion for working with children and/or low-to-
moderate income immigrant populations (including refugees, asylum seekers,
etc.).
• Must be motivated, flexible, able to manage time effectively, and able to work
independently as well as within a dynamic team.
• Must successfully complete IRC orientation and full background check (Live Scan
& HireRight).