Law Student Intern

City of San Jose; San Jose (CA); On-site; USD 27,552,000 - 38,573,000; Part time

Job summary

The City Attorney's Office in San José offers law student internships across the Litigation and Transactional Divisions, exposing you to a broad range of municipal legal work.

Interns assist with litigation stages, draft memoranda and pleadings, and support transactional tasks such as drafting ordinances and contracts. Preference for second or third year law students; up to 32 hours per week; Summer Program runs June 7 to August 6, 2027.

Qualifications

• Currently enrolled in an accredited law school.
• Preference for students entering their 2nd or 3rd year of law school.
• Completion of coursework in Evidence, Civil Procedure, and Constitutional Law desirable.

Responsibilities

• Litigation Division: assist attorneys with research, memoranda, pleadings, motions, and discovery; participate in strategy meetings; attend mediations, depositions, arbitrations, and trials; certified students may appear in court under supervision.

Skills

Legal Research

Drafting

Litigation Support

Education

Enrolled in accredited law school

Job description

The City Attorney's Office is committed to providing excellent legal services to its clients and supporting their efforts to better serve the citizens of the City of San José. It has a diverse staff of highly talented professionals with the expertise to provide comprehensive legal services for a wide range of issues facing a dynamic city. The Office strives to efficiently manage resources to meet the daily operational needs of its clients in a cost-effective and timely manner, while building the internal capacity to flexibly respond to the City’s ever changing legal needs.

Interns in the City Attorney’s Office may receive assignments from both the Litigation and Transactional Divisions, providing exposure to a broad range of municipal legal work. This cross-divisional experience allows interns to develop a well-rounded understanding of public agency legal practice.

Assignments will be based on office needs, intern interests, and background. Descriptions can be found in the Division pages of the City Attorney's Office website.

Litigation Division

Interns assist attorneys with various stages of litigation. Typical assignments may include:

• Conducting legal research and drafting memoranda
• Drafting pleadings, motions, and discovery responses
• Participating in litigation strategy meetings
• Attending mediations, depositions, arbitrations, and trials
• Certified law students may also have the opportunity to appear in court or administrative hearings under attorney supervision

Transactional Division

Interns assist attorneys serving as counsel to City departments. Typical assignments may include:

• Researching legal issues and drafting legal memoranda
• Drafting ordinances, resolutions, contracts, and other legal instruments
• Analyzing pending state legislation
• Participating in meetings with City departments and Council agenda review sessions

Applicants must be currently enrolled in an accredited law school to be eligible for the City Attorney’s Law Student Intern Program. Preference will be given to students entering their second or third year of law school. Completion of coursework in Evidence, Civil Procedure, and Constitutional law is desirable.

Interns must be willing to work up to 32 hours per week. Office hours are generally 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., Monday through Friday. Work schedules are flexible based on the intern’s class schedule as well as the operational needs of the office. Once a schedule has been agreed upon, interns are expected to maintain the schedule on a consistent basis.

The Summer Program will run from Monday, June 7, through Friday, August 6, 2027. Requests for schedule exceptions will be considered on a case-by-case basis.

Any hourly pay will be subject to Budget approval prior to the start of the Summer Program.