Intern, Intake Unit (Summer 2027)

Legal Aid DC; Washington (District of Columbia); Hybrid; USD 21,000 - 28,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Scholarship funding up to $6,440

Job summary

Legal Aid DC is seeking a Summer Intern to join the Intake Unit for Summer 2027, a 10-week full-time internship primarily based in the NW DC office with some remote work possible.

The Intake Intern will assist in processing intakes, drafting letters, reviewing court dockets, filing documents, coordinating interpreters and translations, and supporting outreach events. The internship offers a scholarship funding up to $6,440 and a path to public service.

Qualifications

• Current undergrad or graduate student interested in public interest.
• Summer interns work full-time (40 hours/week).
• Preference for interest in civil legal aid or public service.

Responsibilities

• Provide client intake support by receiving and processing inquiries and requests for assistance across all of Legal Aid’s practice areas.
• Provide administrative and operational support across all of Legal Aid’s practice areas.
• Assist in developing Intake material for internal use.
• Interact with clients, witnesses, and experts to gather information and provide support as needed.
• Collaborate with staff from across all Legal Aid’s practice areas.

Education

Undergraduate or graduate student

Job description

Description

Legal Aid DC, a nonprofit organization with an approximately $18 million annual budget and a staff of approximately 125 employees, is seeking a Summer Intern to join our Intake Unit.

Since 1932, Legal Aid has provided civil legal assistance to clients in individual cases and engaged in systemic reform. Currently, we provide individual representation in consumer law, domestic violence/family law, housing, public benefits, and immigration matters. We also help people with the collateral consequences of their involvement with the criminal justice system. From the experiences of our clients, we identify opportunities for law reform, public policy advocacy, and systemic impact and appellate litigation. Legal Aid also administers the DC Resource Bridge, a single access point for legal services in the District.

Legal Aid believes that meaningful pursuit of our anti-poverty mission requires an unwavering commitment to racial justice and equity. We aspire both to reflect the rich racial diversity of the communities we serve and to value, respect, and empower our staff and clients to be effective agents of change. For more information about Legal Aid please visit our website, www.LegalAidDC.org.

Our work is supported through public and private grants and private fundraising from individuals, law firms, and other contributors.

Interns at Legal Aid DC have the unique opportunity to receive substantive assignments that will have an immediate impact on our clients.This internship is forSummer 2027and will be 10 weeks in duration. Summer interns should expect to work full-time (40 hours per week). Interns mainly work out of Legal Aid’s NW DC office, with the option to perform some work remotely if approved by their supervisor. Summer interns may be required to perform duties off site, and will be required to travel locally for summer programming events.

The summerterm is from May 27th through August 6th.

The Intake Intern will be part of the Intake Unit and assist in conducting and processing intakes received from Applicants. The Intake Intern will also assist with other tasks assigned by various staff across all of Legal Aid’s practice areas, including, but not limited to composing letters, review assigned court dockets for follow up action; file court documents electronically or in person, assist with document gathering and organization, request interpreters for scheduled meetings, and request document translations through third party provider and provide support to various outreach partnership events. The Intake Intern will be expected to be able to work independently; however, support and supervision will be provided by the Intake Program Director and a member of the Intake Unit.

Responsibilities

• Provide client intake support by receiving and processing inquiries and requests for assistance across all of Legal Aid’s practice areas.
• Provide administrative and operational support across all of Legal Aid’s practice areas.
• Assist in developing Intake material for internal use.
• Interact with clients, witnesses, and experts to gather information and provide support as needed.
• Collaborate with staff from across all Legal Aid’s practice areas.

Scholarship Funding

Legal Aid DC can provide scholarship funding to ensure that summer law students receive no less than $6,440 per summer, including scholarships from the Lee Horton Memorial Scholarship for Aspiring Public Interest Lawyers.

Summer law students are required to apply for outside funding to fund their internships in order to receive supplemental scholarship funding. We will provide a scholarship of up to $6,440 to summer law school interns when:

• They attend a school that does not provide funding OR they are not approved for at least $6,440 of funding from their schools

• They do not get funding from any other outside sources that gets them to total funding of $6,440 for the summer

Example: if a student receives $5,000 of outside funding, Legal Aid will pay them $1,440 in scholarship funding.

Students may waive funding if they are prohibited from receiving renumeration by their law school.

Legal Aid values an inclusive, diverse workplace and encourages applications from interested persons from diverse backgrounds of any race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, physical or mental disability, veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, marital status, personal appearance, family responsibilities, matriculation, political affiliation, genetic information, or any other legally protected status.

We strongly encourage applications from people with personal experience with the criminal justice system and/or with lived experiences in the communities we serve.

Applications will be accepted until 5:00 pm EST October 23, 2026.

Requirements

Current undergrad or graduate student interested in public interest.