Columbia Law School's summer program, one of the largest in the nation, is an integral part of preparing to practice public interest law. Social Justice Initiatives oversees the two largest programs: the Guaranteed Summer Funding Program (available to all students) and the Human Rights Internship Program (by application), which give students the opportunity to receive stipends while providing greatly needed assistance to a wide range of organizations and government agencies in the United States and around the world.
Columbia Law School guarantees funding for all 1L and 2L JD students who timely apply and work in eligible public interest summer internships. Stipends will cover a range of placements both domestic and international including NGO's, not-for-profit organizations, criminal prosecution and defense work, and federal, state and local government agencies. The guaranteed funding program is due in part to the Public Interest Law Foundation's ongoing efforts to raise money to provide summer stipends for public interest internships.
SJI at CLS also offers other programs for public interest students looking to develop professionally and network during the summer months.
HOW PUBLIC INTEREST STUDENTS SPENT THEIR SUMMERS
Below is a small sample of how many Columbia Law Students who worked in the public interest internships spent their summers. They interned at a wide variety of domestic and international organizations and government agencies. Here's what they had to say:
Johan Erik Tatoy spent this past summer working in London for the British Irish Rights Watch, a small NGO which dealt primarily with cases still arising out of the Northern Ireland conflict. In addition to that work, the organization also monitored the government to ensure that the human rights violations commited during the Northern Ireland conflict did not continue. He worked on a public inquiry on the death of an Iraqi detainee who was held under British military custody in Iraq. The public inquiry discovered that many of the interrogation practices that were banned by the British government and the European Court of Human Rights as a result of their use in Northern Ireland were still being used in Iraq. Johan's main duties were to read over hearing transcripts to report back to the organization in order to prepare them for their response to the public inquiries report which just came out this September.
Justine Young spent her summer at the National Center for Transgender Equality, a public policy nonprofit in Washington, DC. NCTE educates members of Congress on issues that impact transgender communities and provides a center of expertise on transgender issues. Justine researched and drafted materials for many different administrative agencies dealing with rule changes and statutory implementation.
James Crooks spent his summer in Washington, DC at the Fraud Section of the Justice Department's Criminal Division. Fraud is best known for prosecuting the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA), as well as supporting regional U.S. Attorneys' Offices on prosecutions of various types of fraud. James worked primarily on fraud cases involving bank fraud, telecommunications, and military procurement. His work consisted primarily of (1) legal research of federal criminal law issues, including conspiracy, mail and wire fraud, and criminal procedure; and (2) legal writing, including internal DOJ memoranda, indictments, and sentencing memoranda. He also regularly attended trial that the Section was working on, so he was able to watch the types of prosecutions he was working on unfold in court.
Lily Zaragoza spent her summer in New York City at the New York Immigration Coalition (NYIC), an umbrella policy and advocacy organization with about 200 member organizations, which include community based organizations, academic institutions, labor unions, and legal, social, and economic justice organizations. Lily worked in the NYIC's Education Advocacy Program, where she conducted research for and edited policy reports outlining the existing New York City, New York State and national laws that regulate education for English Language Learners (ELLs)—students whose first language is not English, typically the children of immigrants or immigrants themselves—and actual conditions of enforcement or non-enforcement of those laws on the ground. Lily also met with city council members, NYC Department of Education officials, NYC school principals, Mexican Consulate officials, and immigrant community members from every borough to design and create programs, laws or mechanisms that can better address the NYIC’s concerns or that can better ensure enforcement of existing laws and policies.
Charles Alvarez spent his 1L summer working at Tokyo Public Law Office in their Foreigner's Division. He assisted in the cases of foreign residents in Japan by conducting legal research in family, immigration, and criminal law issues, summarizing foreign case law and statutes into Japanese, providing English-Japanese interpretation during client consultations, and helping clients navigate not only their cases but their applications for legal aid and other benefits such as public assistance and unemployment benefits. During his time in Japan, Charles was able to participate in workshops on immigration law, bar association meetings concerning foreigner rights in Japan, and free legal consultations for victims of the recent tsunami in a disaster affected area. Charles was also introduced to several high-profile public interest cases and sat in on those lawyer meetings as well.
Ramin Montazeri worked with the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR). CAIR is a grassroots civil rights and advocacy organization focusing on the rights of the American Muslim community. He worked on the Constitutional challenge to the Oklahoma legislation seeking to prevent the use of Sharia Law in state courts. As part of a team working on the appellate brief for this legislation he wrote memorandums, and researched legal and policy issues in order to contribute to the preparation of the case.
Gudrun Juffer spent the summer in Brooklyn at the U. S. Attorney’s Office in the Eastern District of New York.She assisted attorneys in the Narcotics Division with legal writing and research covering all aspects of federal criminal investigations and trials.She was able to observe attorneys conduct witness interviews, proffer sessions with cooperating witnesses, hearings, and oral arguments. She also spent time working with federal agents from a number of government agencies including the FBI, DEA, and ICE. All interns in the office are encouraged to learn about other divisions by watching a variety of trials, including terrorism, organized crime, and civil rights. Gudrun was able to spend about a third of her time observing trials and accompanying lawyers to hearings and filings. The internship was a wonderful opportunity to learn more about criminal prosecutions and meet interns from other law schools.
Oscar Daniel Lopez spent the summer working for Community Lawyers Inc., a non-profit organization dedicated to providing low and moderate-income people affordable legal services out of Compton, California. He spent half the summer working with a special education attorney researching and writing legal memoranda as well as drafting Due Process complaints for children with learning disabilities. He spent the other half of his summer working on civil matters such as family law and housing law and had the opportunity to write and submit a brief to the California State Appellate Court. His experience over the summer exposed him to great public interest attorneys and reinvigorated his desire to work in the public interest.
Patrick Fitzgerald spent the summer as a law clerk in the civil division of the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of California, in Sacramento. There, his projects spanned the gamut of the civil litigation process, including drafting motions, assisting with depositions and preparation for hearings, and researching issues relating to evidence, discovery, tax, medical malpractice, and the Freedom of Information Act. Highlights of the summer include detonating explosives with the FBI's bomb squad and hitting a bases-loaded, two-out double for the office softball team.
Faiza Sayed spent her summer in New York at the ACLU's Immigrants' Rights Project, which is "dedicated to expanding and enforcing the civil liberties and civil rights of non-citizens and to combating public and private discrimination against immigrants." As an intern, she worked primarily on issues relating to the use (and abuse) of immigration detainers, which allow state/local prisons to hold immigrants for ICE, mandatory immigrant detention, and state immigration laws (copycat Arizona SB1070 laws). The internship was very legal research and writing intensive and as a result she says her "legal analytical skills have greatly improved." In addition to working on some very important issues, she also had the chance to work with a great group of interns---the camaraderie among the interns made the internship even more rewarding.
Andrew Napier spent his summer interning at the New York Civil Liberties Union (NYCLU), the New York State branch of the American Civil Liberties Union. At the NYCLU, he worked with the Legal Department by writing legal memoranda on issues such as Fourth Amendment violations, ex-offender discrimination, and legal ethics
with regard to treatment of indigent clients. He also was able to interview interested parties concerning their treatment by government officials. He attended meetings and was allowed to help strategize prospective litigation and legal actions. Andrew was also able to meet local community representatives and observe legal advocacy at work. His time with the NYCLU also featured a policy component, allowing him the opportunity to work heavily with the Legislative Department on a policy paper concerning privacy issues.
Giovanni Smedley spent the summer at the New York City Department of Investigation (DOI), a law enforcement agency devoted to combating corruption in New York City. The DOI investigates fraud, corruption, criminal activity, and mismanagement by city agencies, city employees, and anyone who contracts with the city. Giovanni assisted attorneys with legal writing and research tasks covering various aspects of criminal law, including rules of evidence and cutting edge forms of fraud. He also assisted in many of the city's largest corruption investigations, edited closing memos and referral letters, and participated in a mass arrest of 15 subjects.
