How to Find a Qualifying Internship

Students must secure a summer internship offer from a public interest employer by the Grant application deadline on April 1st in order to be eligible for the PLSS Grant!

In addition to the Internship Assistance Program, the PLSS Board seeks to facilitate the placement of our members by all means feasible. Collectively, our Board has extensive personal knowledge of, and experience with, the various public interest employers in the Sacramento region. If you have questions regarding a potential placement, please do not hesitate to contact us. Even if our Board members have not interned at the specific firm/agency you are interested in, chances are we can put you in touch with someone who has.  In addition, the following websites and events are ideal forums to secure a public law or policy summer internship:

• Networking Events– PLSS plans to host several networking events with local practitioners and alumni. These events are ideal for students seeking to establish a foot-in-the-door of their desired legal field. Check out our Facebook page to ensure these opportunities don’t pass you by!

• The PLSS Monthly Newsletter– Our organization continually receives notices of job offers, fellowship programs, and internship opportunities which we then advertise to our members via monthly emails. Email us at mcgeorgeplss@gmail.com to join our mailing list.

• The Public Interest Career Fair hosted by PLSS and the McGeorge CDO – The McGeorge Career Development Office will host its annual Public Interest Career Fair on campus on February 20th from 5:00 – 6:30 p.m. in the Student Center The list of employers who will be present at the career fair is still being finalized, so please check your email for the official event invitation  from the CDO.

• The CDO Blog and Simplicity– The CDO has a wealth of information that can be utilized to help students secure a job in public interest law. The CDO Blog is constantly updated with information regarding internships, fellowships and networking events. In addition, the Career Development Office posts hundreds of job opportunities on Simplicity, (the CDO’s equivalent of Monster.com), some of which may qualify as public interest. To visit the Simplicity website, click here. (To log-in: your “Username” is your McGeorge email address, and you should have been assigned or chosen a password as a 1L. If you have any trouble logging-in, contact the CDO at 916-739-7339 or email Molly Stafford at mstafford@pacific.edu) Finally, the CDO also lists several public interest law websites that may be of use to students in securing a summer internship. McGeorge students can find links to these websites here. 

• PSLawNet– PSLawNet is an online resource for students and graduates searching for public service legal careers. The website only posts jobs and internships that are considered “public interest”, including opportunities outside of the Sacramento region and abroad. The site can be overwhelming, but may be ideal for students looking for summer internships in their out-of-state home town. Students are required to create an account to log-in and view job postings, but membership is free if you are a McGeorge student. To visit PSLawNet, click here. 

• The Public Interest/Public Sector Career Day at UC Hastings– For more information about the Career Day, or to apply for interviews, check out our blog post about the event here.

• The Capital Center for Public Law & Policy TWEN site– Professor Brungess regularly posts public interest internships, along with other information about resources available to students, on the Capital Center TWEN site. To join the site and check out job opportunities: log-into your TWEN account, go to “Add Course,” add the “Capital Certificate in Public Law & Policy” page, then click on “Fellowship, Internship & Job Opportunities.” Opportunities are listed in order of most recent to least recent posting.