Legal Internship Opportunities

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Legal Internship Opportunities

Applications are now open for the Summer 2026 Intern Class, with a deadline of February 15. See below for instructions and a link to the application. You are encouraged to apply early, as we will be hiring on a rolling basis. EFF’s legal internships provide law students with a unique opportunity to develop valuable skills and real-world experience while working with a nationally recognized public interest law firm. Legal interns learn from and assist EFF’s staff attorneys in all aspects of litigation—including legal research, factual investigation, and drafting of memoranda and briefs—and may also help with policy research, client counseling, and the development of public education materials. Interns attend internal legal team and working group meetings, participate in legal trainings, and may have the opportunity to attend client meetings and court hearings. EFF’s docket ranges across the technological and legal landscape, from online fair use of copyrighted materials to illegal government spying; take a look at http://www.eff.org/cases/ and https://www.eff.org/work for details about our work preserving constitutional values in the digital world.

Logistics

Summer legal internships are full-time (40 hours per week) and last 10–14 weeks (typically May–August). Interns will be required to work from EFF’s San Francisco office at least two days per week. Reasonable accommodations will be considered for anyone with a disability that makes in-person work a hardship. Academic-year internships last one semester. Interns must work at least 20 hours per week for a minimum of 10 weeks. Interns will be required to work from EFF’s San Francisco office at least one day per week. Applicants are advised that EFF attorneys primarily work in-office on Tuesdays and Thursdays. For scheduling purposes, EFF encourages all interns to work in-office on Thursdays if possible. Reasonable accommodations will be considered for anyone with a disability that makes in-person work a hardship. All internships are unpaid; arrangements should be made with the student’s law school for work-study stipends or course credit. In recent years, EFF has been able to offer some limited stipends to interns who exhaust other sources of funding and will not receive course credit. Students who receive outside funding may be eligible for a partial stipend to bring their total funding up to the level of EFF’s stipend amount for that term, if applicable.

Qualifications

●Enrollment at, or recent graduation from, a U.S. law school - law students of all levels, including LLM students, are encouraged to apply ●Demonstrated interest in and enthusiasm for civil liberties or technology-related legal issues ●Excellent research and writing skills ●The initiative and energy to see projects to completion in a fast-moving environment

Application Requirements & Instructions

Your application must include the following components: ●Aresume in PDF format ●A single PDF that includes a cover letter, contact information for two references, and a writing sample ●Your cover letter should explain why you want to work with EFF and why we should want to work with you. Your cover letter should also identify an issue EFF has worked on in the past 5 years that you would be especially interested in working on, and tell us why. ●Your writing sample should be 10 pages or fewer. Litigation-oriented writing samples such as briefs or research memos are strong preferred. Please do not submit materials written using AI tools or with substantial edits from others. If you have questions about the program or application process, you can email legalintern@eff.org. Click Here to Apply!

Application Opening Dates & Deadlines

Summer (typically for an internship May–August): November 21–February 15 Fall Semester (typically for an internship August–December): May 15–June 30 Spring Semester (typically for an internship from January–May): September 1–November 1

Frequently Asked Questions

●Do you offer remote internships? ●For school-year internships, interns will be required to work from EFF’s San Francisco office at least one day per week. Reasonable accommodations will be considered for anyone with a disability that makes in-person work a hardship. ●For summer internships, interns will be required to work from EFF’s San Francisco office at least two days per week. Reasonable accommodations will be considered for anyone with a disability that makes in-person work a hardship. ●Are law students at schools on non-semester schedules eligible for internships? ●Yes, we are flexible on the exact timing of the internship, so long as you’re with us for at least 10 weeks. ●Do you offer full-time academic-year internships? ●We are sometimes able to accommodate full-time academic-year interns, depending on various factors. If you are applying for a fall or spring internship and are interested in working more than 20 hours per week, please mention that in your cover letter. ●I’ve already submitted my application—can I still update my cover letter/references/writing sample/resume? ●Yes, you may update any portion of your application by emailing legalintern@eff.org with the subject line “Update to application.” ●Are internships paid? ●No. Arrangements should be made with the student’s law school for work-study stipends or course credit. In recent years, EFF has been able to offer some limited stipends to interns who exhaust other sources of funding and will not receive course credit. Students who receive outside funding may be eligible for a partial stipend to bring their total funding up to the level of EFF’s stipend amount for that term, if applicable. ●Can you sponsor J visas? ●No, EFF is not accredited to sponsor J visas. ●Can students attending a U.S.-based law school on an F-1 student visa intern for EFF? ●Yes. EFF accepts intern applications from F-1 student visa holders if they are currently enrolled in a U.S.-based, accredited law school and comply with the F-1 Curricular Practical Training (CPT) requirements. ●Do you have legal internships for law students outside the U.S.? / Do you have volunteer opportunities for international lawyers? ●We do not have legal internships available for law students outside the U.S. or volunteer opportunities for international lawyers at this time. Please watch this site or EFFector mailings for internship posting. ●Do you have administrative or practicing attorney legal internship positions? ●No. To qualify as a legal intern, you must be in law school or have just graduated with a U.S. law degree. ●Who should I contact with questions? ●Please direct any internship inquiries to legalintern@eff.org. Back to top

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