Legislative Drafting Intern - Public Policy

State of Colorado; Denver (CO); On-site; Full time

Job description

Are you interested in an internship where you don't just interpret or apply the law, but actually help make it? Consider interning with the Office of Legislative Legal Services, the nonpartisan in-house counsel for the Colorado General Assembly. We offer an exciting and varied internship experience to motivated law students with an interest in the legislative process and state policy.

About the Office of Legislative Legal Services

The office facilitates and supports the legislative work of the General Assembly and protects the General Assembly's organizational interests without participating in its politics. We draft legislation for all 100 state legislators, and we conduct research for and provide legal advice to the legislators and their staff. We also serve the people of Colorado directly by publishing and annotating the Colorado Revised Statutes, reviewing and commenting on potential new laws proposed by citizens exercising their initiative rights, and providing to the public information related to the work of the General Assembly.

About the Internship Program

The Office of Legislative Legal Services internship program invites you to apply your research, writing, interpersonal, and analytical skills to help address Colorado's most pressing public policy problems. Interns receive extensive mentoring and engage with a range of substantive issues through work with each of the subject matter teams. (Please find each team's subject matter expertise listed here: https://content.leg.colorado.gov/agencies/office-legislative-legal-services/team-subject-matters)

Interns can expect a variety of unique and rewarding experiences including:

• Legislative bill drafting;
• Conducting legal research and reviewing other states' laws;
• Meeting with legislators and lobbyists;
• Staffing legislative committee hearings;
• Attending floor debates; and
• Preparing official annotations to Colorado appellate opinions.

The internship program is a strictly 'for-credit' opportunity, offered during the legislative session (mid-January through early May). Interns are not paid for their experience at the office. The position is part-time, with the actual number of hours to be negotiated between the intern and the mentoring attorney. A minimum commitment of twelve hours per week is required, and three days a week is preferred to ensure a meaningful experience. The internship requires in-person work at the State Capitol complex.

Candidate Qualifications

The Office of Legislative Legal Services seeks a flexible, enthusiastic, and motivated 2L or 3L student who possesses strong writing skills and excellent people skills. Bring your sound professional judgment, your ability to set aside your own biases, and, perhaps most of all, your intellectual curiosity. Having taken a legislative drafting course or a legislative process course is a plus, but not required.

Application Materials

The Office of Legislative Legal Services is an equal opportunity employer and does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, age, disability, genetic information, or any other status protected by law. All qualified applicants are given equal opportunity, and employment decisions are based exclusively on job-related factors.