Student Intern - Employment Opportunities

Graduate Legal Assistants

Each year, typically in March or April, interviews will be conducted for Graduate Legal Assistant (GLA) positions.  Applicants are typically law students in their final year of study, planning to take the State Bar exam in July. Successful applicants will be offered positions commencing approximately 1-2 weeks after the Bar exam.  GLA’s are assigned to work with Keyhea attorneys and will be expected to prepare legal petitions and travel throughout California attending administrative hearings on behalf of the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation. 

GLA’s who pass the Bar exam will then compete with other applicants for entry level staff counsel positions. Although bar passage does not guarantee a staff counsel position for a GLA, many of our prior interns have been offered staff counsel positions as openings become available.

The GLA position affords a law school graduate with the opportunity to determine if they are interested in a career with the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation.  The position also provides the Office of Legal Affairs staff an excellent opportunity to evaluate these candidates for entry-level attorney positions.

Applications for this position should submit a Std. 678 State Application, (available at www.spb.ca.gov) cover letter, and resume, before the end of January to: Hiring Attorney, fax number (916) 327-5306.  E-mails applications can be mailed to olainterns@cdcr.ca.gov.  No phone calls, please. 

Graduate Student Assistants

Graduate Student Assistants are paid interns who receive monetary compensation for the work performed.  These students typically will assist attorneys with legal pleadings and petitions and may attend administrative hearings on behalf of the Department as determined by the supervising attorney.  It is expected that these students will have completed a course in Evidence and will be looking to obtain a long term law clerk position with the Department. 

Applications for this position should submit a Std. 678 State Application along with a cover letter and resume to:  Hiring Attorney, fax number (916) 327-5306.  E-mails applications can be mailed to olainterns@cdcr.ca.gov.  No phone calls, please.

Clinical Interns

Clinical Interns receive law school units for the work performed.  Applicants in this category must coordinate with their law school’s clinical department in order to be accepted into this assignment.  Clinical Interns will work with staff counsel doing legal research and handling assignments encompassing a wide variety of legal issues, including, but not limited to, contracts and contract disputes, environmental issues, personnel issues, civil rights violations, inmate medical issues, public policy, and death row issues.
Applications for this position should submit a resume and cover letter that indicates they are working with their campus clinical program to: Hiring Attorney, fax number (916) 327-5306.  E-mails applications can be mailed to olainterns@cdcr.ca.gov.  No phone calls, please. 

Work-Study Interns

Work-Study Interns must attend law school and be qualified for work-study in order to accept a position in this category.  Work-study interns will work with staff counsel doing legal research and handling assignments encompassing a wide variety of legal issues, including, but not limited to, contracts and contract disputes, environmental issues, personnel issues, civil rights violations, inmate medical issues, public policy, and death row issues. 

Applications for this position should submit a cover letter stating their intention to be a work-study applicant and resume to:  Hiring Attorney, fax number (916) 327-5306. E-mails applications can be mailed to olainterns@cdcr.ca.gov.  No phone calls, please. 

Summer Intern Program

Summer Interns will work with staff counsel encompassing a wide array of correctional law issues.  CDCR’s Office of Legal Affairs is tasked with protecting the department’s interests in contract disputes, intellectual property, environmental issues, whistleblower complaints, management of class action suits and implementation of strategic plans for compliance with court orders, employee discipline issues, labor law, workers’ compensation, EEOC, civil litigation, and much more.

Interns will be tasked with the less complex issues facing CDCR and will be expected to answer legal issues, justifying their answers with legal research.  The wide variety of issues that CDCR faces gives interns a rare opportunity to work in many different areas of the law, which allows for well-rounded experience that will be a positive addition to your resume.

Applications for our summer program should be submitted before the end of April and should include a resume and cover letter that indicates they are applying for the summer program to: Hiring Attorney, fax number (916) 327-5306.  E-mails applications can be mailed to olainterns@cdcr.ca.gov.  No phone calls, please. 

Volunteer Law Students

Volunteer Law Students work alongside staff counsel doing legal research and case analysis.  Subject matter can range from preparing Keyhea legal pleadings to environmental issues to constitutional law issues and more.

Applications for this position should submit a resume and cover letter that indicates their interest in volunteering with the Department to:  Hiring Attorney, fax number (916) 327-5306.  E-mails applications can be mailed to olainterns@cdcr.ca.gov.  No phone calls, please. 

Undergraduate Students

Undergraduate volunteers will work with staff counsel who need help with administrative hearings, including organizing binders, documents, and assisting with pleadings and petitions.  Undergraduate volunteers should be willing to do administrative tasks consistent with working in a large legal office. 

Applications for this position should submit a resume and cover letter that indicates their interest in volunteering with the Department to:  Hiring Attorney, fax number (916) 327-5306.  E-mails applications can be mailed to olainterns@cdcr.ca.gov.  No phone calls, please.