If you have any questions or would like more information about the postings, contact:
Lillian Evans
Pronouns: she/her
Director of Legal Recruitment
NYC Law Department
100 Church Street
New York, NY 10007
SUMMER HONORS INTERNSHIP PROGRAM
The Law Department selects approximately 50 Summer Honors Program interns from over 2,500 applications submitted each year. The Law Department is perhaps the only public sector/public interest employer in the country to make offers of permanent employment to its second-year summer interns based on their performance during the summer. In the past few years, about half of our entry class attorney positions have been filled with former participants of our Summer Honors Internship Program. The Law Department offers weekly stipends of $750 to our summer interns for our 9-week summer program. The office also offers housing concurrent with our summer program to our out-of-town law school summer interns.
The Law Department’s varied divisions offer summer interns hands-on practical experience. Summer interns regularly draft motion papers and briefs that are filed in court. Interns in our Tort Division take or defend depositions and take part in pre-trial court proceedings. Interns in the Special Federal Litigation Division are assigned to work on a trial with a trial team over the course of the summer. Interns in the Family Court Division regularly interview victims and witnesses and appear in court. Read more about our Program in our Frequently Asked Questions. In addition, you can reach out to Law Department attorneys who have volunteered to be contacted by applicants interested in learning more about our work on our Law Department Ambassadors page. Any other questions can be directed to the Law Department’s Legal Recruitment Office.
The majority of second year summer interns work in one of our litigating divisions. These divisions include, in order of numbers of placements each year, our Tort, Labor and Employment, Special Federal Litigation, Family Court, Administrative Law and Regulatory Litigation, General Litigation, Commercial and Real Estate Litigation, and Workers’ Compensation Divisions. On occasion, we have placed an individual in our Affirmative Litigation, Appeals, Environmental Law, Legal Counsel, and Tax and Bankruptcy Litigation Divisions. Generally, we do not place second year summer interns in our transactional divisions, which include our Economic Development, Contracts and Real Estate, and Municipal Finance Divisions. First year summer interns may be placed in any of the Law Department’s 16 legal divisions. For more details about what interns do, please refer to descriptions of the Law Department’s individual legal divisions.
What We Look For
The Law Department looks for candidates who are committed to public service, pursuing justice and serving the common good. To best serve the City we represent, the Law Department seeks individuals from a variety of backgrounds who can bring different perspectives to contribute to the work of the office. The Law Department also seeks candidates who want to contribute to a work environment that values teamwork, inclusion and respect. Finally, for second year summer intern candidates, as many of our second year interns work in litigating divisions, the Law Department seeks candidates who have experience in moot court, trial advocacy, debate, public speaking, or litigation/mediation clinics or internships.
Application Process
The Law Department participates in the on-campus interviewing process at law schools and job fairs, and we also accept applications through our online application system. Second year students may apply through our online portal after August 1, 2022. First year law students may apply through this same link after December 1, 2022.
Applications can be addressed to Lillian Evans. See details at the top for more information. Any questions about the position may be sent to recruitment@law.nyc.gov.
ENTRY-LEVEL ATTORNEY POSITIONS
The NYC Law Department’s approximately 950 lawyers and 890 support professionals work collaboratively to pursue justice and promote the public good by providing New York City with the highest quality legal representation. The Law Department represents the City, the Mayor, other elected officials, and the City’s many agencies in all affirmative and defensive civil litigation, as well as juvenile delinquency proceedings brought in Family Court. In all our work, the Law Department is guided in our values: Dedication, Diversity, Excellence, Integrity, Justice, Professional Development, Respect, Supportive Work Environment, and Teamwork.
Each year, the NYC Law Department typically hires an entry class of 40-80 recent law school graduates. These new attorneys receive unparalleled, hands-on legal experience in a supportive learning environment. New attorneys attend extensive orientation and training programs. They then take responsibility for their own matters, supervised closely by experienced attorneys.
A majority of new attorneys work in one of our litigating divisions where they engage in the day-to-day work of state and federal court litigation, including drafting motions, conducting depositions, exchanging discovery and appearing in court and at depositions. These divisions generally include, in order of numbers of placements each year, our Tort, Labor and Employment, Special Federal Litigation, Family Court, General Litigation, Commercial and Real Estate Litigation, and Workers’ Compensation Divisions. On occasion, we have placed an entry-level attorney in our Affirmative Litigation, Appeals, Environmental Law, Legal Counsel, and Tax and Bankruptcy Litigation Divisions. Read more about our entry level Assistant Corporation Counsel position and our application process in our Frequently Asked Questions. To learn more about the Law Department’s legal divisions, you can read the descriptions of the divisions. In addition, you can reach out to Law Department attorneys who have volunteered to be contacted by applicants interested in learning more about our work through our Law Department Ambassadors page.
In addition to entry level Assistant Corporation Counsels, who are primarily placed in our litigation divisions, the New York City Law Department also hires one or two Corporation Counsel Honors Fellows each year. During their one-year term, the Honors Fellow works primarily with our Legal Counsel Division on significant legal and policy issues pertaining to municipal governance. They may also request to work on projects in other divisions and on other areas of the law. More information on this program can be found on our Corporation Counsel Honors Fellowship page.
What We Look For
The Law Department looks for candidates who are committed to public service, pursuing justice and serving the common good. To best serve the City we represent, the Law Department seeks individuals from a variety of backgrounds who can bring different perspectives to contribute to the work of the office. The Law Department also seeks candidates who want to contribute to a work environment that values teamwork, inclusion and respect. Finally, as many of our entry-level attorneys work in litigating divisions, the Law Department seeks candidates who have experience in moot court, trial advocacy, debate, public speaking, or litigation/mediation clinics or internships.
How to Apply
The Law Department participates in the on-campus interviewing process at law schools and job fairs, and we also accept applications through our online application system. Recent law graduates who have judicial clerkships may apply for the entry class following the term of their clerkship. The Law Department recruits law graduates nationwide. Our approximately 1,000 attorneys include alumni from more than 80 law schools.
Apply for our 2023 entry-level attorney class through this link.
Applications can be addressed to Lillian Evans. See details at the top for more information. Any questions about the position may be sent to recruitment@law.nyc.gov.
CORPORATION COUNSEL HONORS FELLOWSHIP PROGRAM
The New York City Law Department sponsors an annual Corporation Counsel Honors Fellowship Program for one or two recent graduates a year. The recipients of this paid, highly selective one-year Honors Fellowship enjoy a behind the scenes view into the operations and governance of the City of New York with a focus on the major legal issues facing the City during the course of their fellowship year.
Honors Fellows are welcome to express interest in working closely with specific division(s). Past Honors Fellows have gained significant counseling, legislative, transactional, trial court level litigation, and appellate experience. They may also request to work on projects in specific areas of the law such as employment, land use, tax certiorari, constitutional, administrative, environmental, and commercial law. Learn about the 16 legal divisions at the Law Department.
Applicants for the Corporation Counsel Honors Fellowship Program must have a record of academic excellence and a demonstrable interest in urban affairs and governance. Applicants must be graduating law school or be no more than three years out of law school. Applicants must also be either admitted to the New York State bar, in the process of becoming admitted, or currently in law school. Successful candidates will be chosen by a committee of senior leadership at the Law Department. The fellowship term will be from fall 2023 to fall 2024. The fellowship stipend will be equal to the salary of a new attorney at the NYC Law Department plus City employee benefits.
Applications should include a cover letter discussing what legal issues and experiences they would be most interested in exploring through the Honors Fellowship, a resume, writing sample, law school transcript, and a list of three references.
Applicants may apply for the 2022-2023 Corporation Counsel Honors Fellowship position through our online application portal. The deadline to apply is September 30, 2022.
Questions regarding the Honors Fellowship may be sent to the Legal Recruitment Office.
Current law students seeking post graduation employment may also apply for our Entry-Level Attorney Positions.
