LAW LIBRARY INTERNSHIPS

 

A law library internship can give you the experience you need to obtain a professional position. Internships may be paid or unpaid, depending on the position, and you may be able to earn MLIS credit.

If you are interested in an internship, please visit this page for current postings. Library managers developing internship programs and prospective interns are encouraged to review our Detailed Guide to Law Library Internships (May, 2013) and our Law Library Internship FAQ (May, 2013).

Also we encourage library students to:

  1. Join LLAGNY and then
  2. Join LinkedIn’s LLAGNY group where you can network with law librarians and share your resume.
  3. Contact the Student Relations Committee with any questions.

 

 

Internship Opportunities

As of May 21, 2013

NEW! Collection Project Intern, May-July 31, 2013(unpaid)—Fordham Law School Library

Library Administration and Business Development Research Internship (Summer 2013) (Unpaid, academic credit)—Fitzpatrick Cella Harper & Scinto LLP
Law Library Assistant (unpaid)—New York County Supreme Court Law Library
Nathan R. Sobel Law Library Fellowship (paid stipend)—Kings County Supreme Court
Emerging Tech/Social Media Internship (Unpaid)—New York Law Institute
  Library/Archives Digitization Internship (Academic Credit Only)—Brooklyn Law School Library
   Technical Services Intern (Academic Credit only)—Debevoise & Plimpton LLP

 

Collection Project Intern, May-July 31, 2013 (unpaid)—Fordham Law School Library

 

Internship Description:

The Fordham Law School Library seeks a student currently enrolled in an accredited Library Science program to assist with a large collection management project that requires inventorying and evaluation of a collection of books that encompass a range of variables.   Under the supervision of a librarian, the intern will create a listing of all material in the collection; evaluate it based on knowledge of rare and/or damaged book practice; and make recommendations on how to proceed with the collection.  This project is necessary due to an imminent move of the collection to a new location, and we are looking for someone who would like experience in assessing older materials for retention, collection organization, and project management.

We are looking for someone to work up to 10 hours/week, and due to our move timeline, intern must be available to complete work between  May 15 – July 31, 2013.

Work & Educational Requirements:

Current enrollment in an accredited Library & Information Science Program; must have previous coursework or work experience in book preservation and/or rare book conservatorship

Contact information & Application Instructions:

Please send resume and brief cover letter to Alison Shea, Reference Librarian & Foreign/International Law Specialist (aashea@law.fordham.edu).

[Posted May 21, 2013]

Library Administration and Business Development Research Internship, Summer 2013 (Unpaid, Academic credit)—Fitzpatrick Cella Harper & Scinto LLP

Fitzpatrick Cella is an AMLAW 200 firm concentrating in intellectual property practice.

Internship Description:

The intern will learn and apply the following skills to support our ongoing projects: competitive intelligence research; intranet web redesign; knowledge management of legal workproduct and business analytics; and library administration.   You will work with  these resources: Lexis Atvantage, Thomson Innovation, web provided government information sources, Sharepoint, WestKM, Salesforce.com, and Microsoft Excel.

Work & Educational Requirements:

The internship is non-paid and for school credit only.  The ideal student will be in the final year of study for the Masters of Library/Information Science and have some additional background in law and/or business.  Please make sure your school has a program to provide credit before applying.

In the past, Rutgers, Queens College, LIU, Pratt, and St Johns have awarded credit for interning with our firm.

Contact information & Application Instructions:

You will be under the direction of Jeff Cohan, Director of Libraries and Knowledge Management Services.  Jeff is past president of the Law Library Association of Greater New York (2008-2009).

Jeffrey Cohan
FITZPATRICK, CELLA, HARPER & SCINTO
30 Rockefeller Plaza
New York, New York 10112-3801
tel/ (212) 218-2103
fax/ (212) 218-2200
e-mail/ jcohan@fchs.com
http://www.fitzpatrickcella.com/

[Posted April, 2013]

Law Library Assistant (unpaid)*—New York County Supreme Court Law Library

We are the repository for print and online access for judges, law clerks, court attorneys, interns, and other Court staff supporting judicial research and information dissemination within the Civil Branch, New York State Supreme Court, First Judicial District (Manhattan).

Internship Description: 

The intern will assist the staff librarian in maintaining and enhancing access to a vast collection of print and online legal resources, updating case reporters, statutory services, treatises, analytical materials, and numerous secondary and topical sources and titles in different formats.  Basic cataloguing involves bibliographic data entry of source material into online acquisitions system as updates and new materials are received.  Research support activities include handling questions from judges, Court staff, and various outside sources, as well as processing requests from the Court’s automated information retrieval and dissemination service.

*Includes free Lexis and Westlaw accounts  for personal/educational use.

Work & Educational Requirements: 

Knowledge and understanding of basic library operations.  (We will train you beyond that!)

Contact information & Application Instructions: 

Contact Philip Blue, Senior Law Librarian, at pblue@nycourts.gov or call (646) 386-3672 (desk), or leave message at (646) 386-3865.

[Posted April 10, 2013]

Nathan R. Sobel Law Library Fellowship (paid stipend)—Kings County Supreme Court

The New York State Supreme Court is the trial court of unlimited original jurisdiction, but it generally only hears cases that are outside the jurisdiction of other trial courts of more limited jurisdiction. It exercises civil jurisdiction and jurisdiction over felony charges.

Internship Description:

The Nathan R. Sobel Fellowship Program is designed to encourage the involvement and stimulate the participation of students entering the field of Law Library Science, while increasing the numbers of Law Librarians among people of color. The Kings County Supreme Court Nathan R. Sobel Public Law Library will provide hands-on practical experience while giving the student a chance to gain viable, transferable skills in the legal librarian position. The fellowship is a valuable opportunity for an engaged library school student who is serious about “learning the ropes” for a busy law library, and law library life in general. The library staff has more than 60 years of experience. The program emphasizes the development of professional skills for a court or legal environment and the opportunity to apply legal research course work in a courthouse setting, while becoming familiar with court administration, and participate in ongoing library research programs. Students are encouraged to use creative thought and opportunities are provided for scholarship and civic engagement. Practicum projects include but are not limited to: law library collection development; assisting with preservation projects; improving online services; development of intranet portals for special courts; reference tracking databases and queries; answer ready reference and research questions; work the reference desk during open library hours; maintain FAQ databases; WorldCat Project.

Work & Educational Requirements:

Applicants must be either matriculating in an advanced degree program at a recognized college/university or program offering an accredited MLIS degree and have completed a minimum of 12 course credits or in the final year of an undergraduate study in majors associated with law or research with plans to enter an advanced degree program offering an accredited MLIS degree or the recipient of paralegal certification from a recognized college/university offering an accredited paralegal program with plans to enter an advanced degree program offering an accredited MLIS degree.

Applicants must be able to commit to a full semester with set hours at the Nathan R. Sobel Law Library at the Kings County Supreme Court.

Contact information & Application Instructions :

Applications that meet program eligibility requirements will be forwarded to the selection committee. Final candidates will be contacted and interviewed by the Nathan R. Sobel Selection Committee. Applications are available by emailing ijohnson@courts.state.ny.us

Send your completed application, including all supplementary documents to the selection committee at:

Kings County Supreme Court
Nathan R. Sobel Law Library Fellowship Program
320 Jay Street, Room 13.68
Brooklyn, New York 11201
Attn: Izetta Johnson.

Supplementary Documents: A resume - include contact information for two professional and/or academic references. Writing Samples - as indicated on the Application for Fellowship.

Deadline for Applications: Monday, May 13, 2013 for the Summer semester and Monday, December 9, 2013 for the Spring semester.         

[Posted March 27, 2013]

Emerging Tech/Social Media Internship (Unpaid)—New York Law Institute

 

The New York Law Institute is the oldest circulating law library in New York City.

Internship Description:

The New York Law Institute library seeks an intern to assist the Manager of Information Systems with various technology projects such as: 

    • Creating/managing presence on social media channels, e.g. Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, etc.
    • Creating and editing HTML pages within a Dot Net Nuke website
    • Creating instructional screencasts
    • Managing electronic resources 

Work & Educational Requirements:

Knowledge of social media a MUST!!  Experience with HTML and video editing a plus.  Approximately 10 hour/week commitment.

Contact information & Application Instructions:

Contact Ellyssa Kroski, Manager of Information Systems, email ekroski@nyli.org.

[Posted March 5, 2013]

Library/Archives Digitization Internship (Academic Credit Only)—Brooklyn Law School Library

 Brooklyn Law School‘s mission is to provide its students with the knowledge, skills, and ethical values needed for a career in the law.

Internship Description:

The Brooklyn Law School Library seeks a Library Science/Archives Management graduate student to help digitize records of a former Dean of the Law School.   Under the supervision of a librarian, the intern will develop a digitization plan for the Collection of Dean David Trager’s New York City Charter Revision Commission.  Based on the plan, the intern will digitize the Collection and utilize the ContentDM platform to describe and manage the Collection, including creating metadata for the documents.  The Library’s goal is to make the material readily accessible to students, faculty, alumni and researchers.

Work & Educational Requirements:

Current enrollment in a Library & Information Science Program; Experience with ContentDM a plus.

Contact information & Application Instructions:

Please send resume and cover letter to Kathleen Darvil, Access Services/Reference Librarian, kathleen.darvil@brooklaw.edu.

[Posted December 3, 2012]

Library Internship, Spring 2013 (Unpaid or Credit)—New York County District Attorney's Office

The Office of New York County District Attorney has the responsibility and authority to investigate and prosecute crimes in the borough of Manhattan.

Internship Description:

The law library has a number of projects available for an intern. Possible assignments include: work on WestKM, our knowledge management platform; tracking civil, state, and federal lawsuits of interest to DANY; gathering and organizing material for our Expert Witness Files; working on an E-Book proposal and many more exciting opportunities. 

Work & Educational Requirements:

  • Current enrollment in a Library & Information Science program.
  • Demonstrated ability to handle multi-phase clerical and technical operations
  • Excellent written communication and organizational skills
  • Ability to follow direction and adapt to change
  • Ability to work independently with minimal supervision
  • Willingness to work with potentially dirty/dusty materials

Contact information & Application Instructions: 

Please send a resume and cover letter to Mary E. Matuszak, Director of Library Services, at matuszakm@dany.nyc.gov.

[Posted December 3, 2012]

Technical Services Intern (Academic Credit only)—Debevoise & Plimpton LLP

An AmLaw 50 international law firm with 650 attorneys, Debevoise is one of the leading law firms in the country. Debevoise is committed to hiring dedicated and talented individuals as members of our administrative community.

Internship Description:

Intern will receive mentoring and training with regard to library specific functions, including technical services work and an overview of the operations of a private law library.

The position is for an unpaid, for-credit, intern for the fall term. Intern will work up to 35 hours per week through the semester.

At the end of the program, intern should provide the Manager of Technical Services with a summary of the project and written guidelines for preservation and conservation standards.

Work & Educational Requirements:

Internship Requirements:

  • Candidate must be enrolled in an ALA accredited graduate program in library science;
  • They must receive academic credit and provide a letter from their university saying how much credit they will receive;
  • School’s internship program must abide by federal labor standards;
  • The candidate must submit a resume, letter of interest and letter of recommendation from their university

Job Requirements:

  • Candidate must be self motivated and work well in a team environment
  • Strong computer skills, including extensive experience with MS Word, Excel, and other office applications required
  • Position requires vision, hearing and speech capabilities such that computers, keyboards and telephones may be easily utilized
  • Must be able to lift and carry boxes of up to 40 lbs.

Preference will be given to candidates with the following qualifications:

  • Familiarity with principals of cataloging and/or archival description.
  • Experience with an integrated library system
  • Knowledge of database structure and standards
  • Knowledge of image file formats and data manipulation
  • Knowledge of metadata standards a plus
  • Experience with Corel Paint Shop Pro, Adobe Photoshop Elements or other digital editing software
  • Experience using a scanner

Contact information & Application Instructions:

Bess Reynolds
Technical Services Manager
Debevoise & Plimpton LLP
breynolds@debevoise.com

No telephone calls

[Re-Posted January 3, 2013]

Advertise your internship here!

There is no charge for Internship position listings. Use this FORM to create your internship posting as a WORD .doc file or save in .rtf (rich text format). Email your completed file to the Student Relations Committee at: llagnyinternships@gmail.com.

PDFs cannot be accepted. No graphics will be included.

Listings will be automatically deleted after 6 weeks, unless a request is received at the email address above to continue it for another posting period.

Generally this page will be updated on a weekly basis if new postings are received. Postings received by 4 p.m. on Thursday should be on the website by the following Monday.