Information for Students

Chicago-Kent offers three avenues for students to pursue externship opportunities in the areas of government, public interest, private, and for-profit firms and corporations. Examples of externships include working for the Office of the Illinois Attorney General and the U.S. Attorney’s Office; public defender offices; the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission; and numerous major law firms and nonprofits. All externships must be approved. The three types of externships include:

Judicial Externships acquaint you with the day-to-day operation of the courts as you work with trial and appellate court judges and their law clerks to research and write legal memoranda and draft opinions.

Legal Externships allow you to work in civil or criminal practice in a specialized area of your choice with supervising attorneys in federal, state, and local government agencies; private law firms of all sizes; corporate legal departments; or public interest organizations." 

Judicial Externship Program

Judicial Externship Program (JEP) is a four credit hour, pass/low pass/fail program open to students who have completed at least their first full year of law school and want to do legal research and writing for a federal appellate, district or magistrate judge, or designated Illinois appellate or circuit court judges.

JEP enables a student to become involved in particular legal problems through research and writing, and to contribute to the resolution of those problems by participating in drafting memoranda and opinions. 

Depending upon the judge, an extern may also have the opportunity to observe the judge’s day-to-day routine and discuss with him/her the issues and problems that judges confront. Take advantage of this prestigious learning opportunity while enhancing your marketability in the legal world.

Application Process:  We will post opportunities below or you can find one on your own through 12Twenty (see below).   If you do obtain an externship through an outside source, please email Professor Decatorsmith as well as fill out the form the proper semester:   

Fall Semester

Note:  Before you apply, be certain you are able to commit 16 hours/week during the fall and spring semesters, or 30 hours/week in the summer, as well as attend the in person weekly classroom component and other requirements of the course during the semester.  If you have any questions about the program, please contact Professor Jon Decatorsmith (jdecator@illinoistech.edu).

Find your own judicial externship:  Students can find their own externship through posts made by individual chambers on the Career Services Management System 12twenty* or get placed with judges in various divisions via the Cook County application. In the Summer, students can also apply to judges via the Just the Beginning - A Pipeline Organization, and applications typically close by the end of January each year.   We will also post any opportunities for externships below.  

Cover Letter and Resume Guidance  

Below are short guides on to help you prepare your cover letter and resume:

Cover Letter Guide

Writing Sample Guide

Judicial Externship Opportunities

Judge Alison Conlon, Circuit Court of Cook County, Chancery Division

Judge Alison Conlon is seeking to hire Judicial Externs for the Fall of 2026. To ensure that the administration of justice can continue during this time, Judge Conlon is conducting court both in-person and via Zoom.

About Judge Conlon and her Court:

Judge Conlon sits in the Chancery Division of the Circuit Court of Cook County. The Chancery Division handles civil cases involving equitable remedies. Judge Conlon’s court call sees a variety of complex cases, often including TROs, FOIA issues, administrative reviews, and class actions. In addition, Judge Conlon often hears compelling “business divorces,” such as LLC break ups, and other elaborate business disputes, making the position a particularly good fit for those interested in business cases. There are also many emergency motions filed in front of Judge Conlon, such as TROs, which are exciting and provide extra opportunity for externs to observe.

Students with a passion for public interest or private practice are encouraged to apply, as the Court sees attorneys from a range of public interest organizations and law firms. Judge Conlon is also very active in the pro bono community in Chicago (for example, she sits on the boards of the Public Interest Law Initiative and the Chicago Bar Foundation and is co-chair of the Pro Se Advisory Committee) and she is happy to be a connector between students and organizations.

About the Position:

Judicial Externs are required to observe Court at least two mornings (status call from 9:30 am to 10am and motion call from 10:00am to 10:30am). They will be tasked with a variety of substantive assignments relating to the over 300 complex cases on Judge Conlon’s docket. 

For more information about this opportunity and how to apply, please download this document.  

The deadline for applications is August 13, 2026.

Judge Michael B. Slade - Fall 2026

Judge Slade is seeking a judicial extern in the Fall 2026 semester.  Judge Slade is with the Northern District of Illinois, U.S. Bankruptcy Court at 219 W. Dearborn, Chambers 638.  

Please email your resume and a statement of interest to ilnbml_sladestaff@ilnb.uscourts.gov. Please be specific in the subject line:  Application for Judicial Externship, Fall 2026.  

The deadline for applications is August 1, 2026.

Judge Slade Site

Legal Externship Programs

Access2Practice (A2P) Legal Externship is a 4-credit-hour Pass/Fail class which enables Kent 2Ls and 3Ls to gain supervision and mentoring in a wide variety of legal areas – both civil and criminal.  Externs must work a minimum of 16 hours per week during the Fall/Spring semesters and 30 hours per week in the Summer semester, as well as attend the in person weekly classroom component, among other academic requirements associated with the course. 

The program does not assign students to particular practice placements. Instead, a student must first directly obtain an externship placement before applying to participate in and register for an Access2Practice Legal Externship. Each placement is separate and external to the law school and will have its own independent selection and screening process.

Application Process:  Externships can be found via Chicago-Kent’s extensive legal network.  For information on how to do this, follow our document on How to Apply for a Legal Externship Placement. Students can find their own externships through 12twenty*, the Career Services Management System. Newly posted externships will also be featured below and in The Record.  

Once a student has secured an externship, he or she must apply to the externship program by (1) informing Professor Decatorsmith via email (jdecator@illinoistech.edu) and (2) filling out this Form.  

If you do obtain an externship through an outside source, please email Professor Decatorsmith as well as fill out the form the for the fall semester:   Fall Semester

This information allows us to keep track of student placements as well as give us the information needed to reach out to firms and confirm student placement, as well as discuss our expectations with regard to the student's supervision.  

Permission to enroll in Legal Externship classes is solely within the discretion of the Clinical Education Department, and is subject to pre-review and approval by the Department to ensure the pedagogical objectives of the course are satisfied.  Externships are designed and allocated primarily for new placement opportunities and, accordingly, permission is not generally granted to students for continuing their employment at private law firms or in-house counsel jobs, nor is a second externship (Legal Externship 2) generally allowed for a student continuing their same Legal Externship 1 placement.  Registration in specialized externships (Criminal Litigation Externship, Intellectual Property Externship, Environmental Law Externship), is limited to students enrolled in the associated certificate programs. 

Note:  Before you apply, be certain you are able to commit 16 hours/week during the fall and spring semesters, or 30 hours/week in the summer, as well as attend the in person weekly classroom component and other requirements of the course during the semester.  If you have any questions about the program, please contact Professor Jon Decatorsmith (jdecator@illinoistech.edu). 

LEGAL EXTERNSHIP OPPORTUNITIES

Please see below and continue to check back for new opportunities.  

If you receive a Legal Externship, please register your opportunity here so you receive law school credit.  

Fall Opportunities (one Spring included with the fall list)

Fall 2026 Opportunities

Life Span, Fall 2026

Life Span (https://life-span.org) is seeking enthusiastic law students interns to assist our team of attorneys to provide legal services to survivors of domestic violence and sexual assault – including Orders of Protection, Civil No Contact Orders, Divorce/Dissolution of Marriage, Parentage & Allocation of Parental Responsibilities and more!

Clerks and/or externs can be based out of either our Chicago or Des Plaines offices – 1L, 2L & 3L law students all eligible to apply. Part time accepted and encouraged!

While these are unpaid positions, Life Span accepts applications from law students:

• who have funding;
• who are seeking academic credit or participating in an externship through their law school; and
• who do not have funding.

Extern/Clerk Duties

Clerks will gain invaluable hands-on legal experience by working on complex and diverse cases and projects with our Family Law attorneys. Clerks will participate in client intake, negotiations and client advising meetings, draft pleadings, and appear in Court with their 711 law student license. Clerks will also have the opportunity to conduct legal research and analysis on changes in the law and novel legal questions related to client representation.

About Life Span

Life Span empowers survivors of domestic and sexual violence to demand safety as a human right through client-centered services and leads social change through accountability, community engagement and systemic advocacy. Life Span values diversity-in strengths, backgrounds and lived experiences. It is essential that our staff and leadership reflect the communities that we serve. We are committed to creating an anti-oppression framework and seek candidates who share this commitment.

Our agency has two sites, and services are available in multiple languages including English, Spanish, Polish and Arabic.  All services are free of charge.

To Apply

Please submit a resume and cover letter, including the weekly number of hours you are seeking, via email attention: Victoria Bell, Senior Staff Attorney, to hiring@life-span.org. Applications will be accepted on a rolling basis until all clerk positions are filled, through Monday, August 3, 2026, at 5:00p.m.

Please, no phone calls!

Ascend Justice, Fall 2026

At Ascend Justice, interns will provide direct legal services to survivors of gender-based violence and/or individuals and families impacted by the child welfare system. Interns should:

• Have strong self-motivation and ability to manage multiple tasks and deadlines
• Demonstrate ability to work with diverse populations
• Spanish proficiency helpful, but not required (Highly preferred for immigration program
• Ability to work in fast-paced legal environment
• Ability to communicate effectively with people in crisis
• Strong written and oral communication skills
• Flexible, self-motivated
• Strong attention to detail
• Excellent communication and time management skills
• Sense of humor

For more information about this opportunity and how to apply, please download this document. 

Coordinated Advice and Referral Program for Legal Service (CARPLS), Fall 2026

CARPLS trains interns in three core substantive legal areas (consumer, landlord/tenant and family law), after which interns work side by side with our legal staff, interviewing, counseling and advising clients over the hotline, under the supervision of an attorney. Interns are also assigned to assist with research and drafting of how-to guides for attorneys and general information packets for the public. Depending on the applicant's level of interest, opportunities for community engagement may be available.

Hybrid in office. Please apply before August 14 via email to Karla Chrobak, kchrobak@carpls.org.  Include your resume and cover letter. 

Lake County State's Attorney's Office

Under supervision of a licensed attorney, 711 interns will assist in our traffic/misdemeanor or domestic violence divisions by handling regular court calls, motions, hearings, and trials.  Gain valuable insights into the workings of a prosecutor's office.   

Please apply via email before August 20 to Nicole Farrow, nfarrow@lakecountyil.gov.  Include your resume and a cover letter. 

Saper Law Offices (Chicago, Illinois)

Saper Law is an intellectual property, social media, entertainment, and business law firm with headline grabbing clients and cases. Saper is best known for our expertise in handling contract negotiations, drafting complex software, domain name, trademark, and copyright licensing agreements, drafting sweepstakes and contest rules, organizing new LLCs or Corporations, and generally serving as outside “inside” counsel to many creative individuals and innovative business organizations.

Our litigation practice is equally famous for tackling novel internet, social media, and cyberlaw cases as well as traditional cases involving breach of contract, trade secret misappropriation, defamation, trademarks, copyrights, right of publicity, and privacy.

The majority of our cases are related to trademark infringement, copyright infringement, defamation, breach of contract, right of publicity, and trade secret misappropriation.

Our office has 3 attorneys. Each semester, 3 to 6 law students and undergraduates serve as law clerks or interns.

The clerk responsibilities and activities include:

• Assisting the firm's attorneys with researching case law, drafting pleadings, reviewing discovery, preparing for depositions, and otherwise helping out with ongoing cases,
• Going to court and sitting in on depositions and settlement discussions if appropriate,
• Helping maintain our trademark and copyright docket,
• Drafting and reviewing contracts,
• Creating educational content for various presentations and for www.saperlaw.com
• Preparing talking points for Daliah when she is solicited for commentary by news outlets related to tech, social media, and entertainment law issues

Please apply before July 31 via email to Daliah Saper, ds@saperlaw.com.  Include your resume, writing sample and transcript. 

Cook County States Attorney's Office

The CCSAO Volunteer Internship Program is highly competitive due to the hands-on, challenging, and relevant work experience participants will garner. Interns will be paired with an Assistant State’s Attorney within one of the several divisions of the Cook County Court System, who will guide and mentor the participant during their time with the office.

The volunteer will be responsible for contributing and assisting with legal research, preparing memos, partnering with counsel regarding case management and procedural requirements. This internship is unpaid and does not include benefits.

The fall externship session runs from September 8 - December 12; start and end dates are flexible between these dates to coincide with the semester..

While this role is open to all active students, preference is given to students actively perusing a Juris Doctor.

Duties and Responsibilities:

• Contribute with legal research and prepare memos on pending legal issues
• Draft motions, answers, and other required legal filings
• Aid in the preparation of discovery
• Other duties as assigned by supervising attorney

Minimum Qualifications:

• Must be an active student.
• Must be in good standing with your school, and not be on any type of academic probation or the like

Physical Requirements:

(a) Sedentary work. Sedentary work involves lifting no more than 10 pounds at a time and occasionally lifting or carrying articles like docket files, ledgers, and small tools. Although a sedentary job is defined as one which involves sitting, a certain amount of walking and standing is often necessary in carrying out job duties. Jobs are sedentary if walking and standing are required occasionally, and other sedentary criteria are met.

Equal Employment Opportunity:

EEO Message: The Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office (CCSAO) is an equal opportunity employer, which seeks to recruit, develop, and retain the most talented people from a diverse candidate pool. The CCSAO does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, pregnancy, national origin, age, physical and mental disability, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, and any other characteristic protected by federal, state, or local law. Upon request, the CCSAO will provide reasonable accommodation for qualified individuals due to a disability or pregnancy. The EEOP report can be found on our website at www.cookcountystatesattorney.org.

Reasonable Accommodation

Applicants that are a qualified individual with a disability or a disabled veteran may contact the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office Team via email at Hr.Sao@cookcountysao.org and arrange for an accommodation if you are unable or limited in your ability to access job openings or apply for a job on this site as a result of your disability."

Please apply via email before August 16, 2026 to Matthew Sergot, sao.interns@cookcountysao.org. Include your resume and cover letter. 

Seyfarth Shaw, LLP

Externs act as a "member" of the IP Group for the semester. Assignments will likely involve research and writing in litigation and transactional matters related to Intellectual Property. The type of work varies by semester.

Please apply via email by August 14 to Bart Lazar, blazar@seyfarth.com.  Please include your resume and transcript. 

Animal Legal Defense Fund - Fall 2026 and Spring 2027

The Animal Legal Defense Fund’s mission is to protect the lives and advance the interests of animals through the legal system. The Animal Legal Defense Fund accomplishes this mission by filing high-impact lawsuits to protect animals from harm, providing free legal assistance and training to prosecutors to assure that animal abusers are held accountable for their crimes, supporting tough animal protection legislation and fighting legislation harmful to animals, gathering data about and advocating for effective regulation of animal exploitative industries and providing resources and opportunities to law students and professionals to advance the emerging field of animal law.

The Animal Legal Defense Fund offers externships and student volunteer positions for fall semester 2026 and spring semester 2027. Externships are experiential learning opportunities for which students receive academic credit from their law schools.

Below are links with more information and how to apply for these four different opportunities.  Note that while they have specific dates in these postings, they are flexible in that the dates can correspond with the semester.  The due date for both fall and spring semesters is June 15, 2026.  

Transparency & Regulatory Affairs Program Externships & Student Volunteer Positions

Criminal Justice Program Externships and Student Volunteer Positions

Legislative Affairs Program Externships and Student Volunteer Positions

Pro Bono Program Externships and Student Volunteer Positions

Enova Legal Externship - Fall 2026

Enova is a technology- and analytics-driven, web-based lending company. Our products are offered in the US and Brazil. The Legal Department is responsible for all domestic and international legal matters, including corporate transactions, corporate governance, intellectual property, regulatory, employment and litigation matters. The Legal Department is composed of ten attorneys, four paralegals and one legal operations member, mostly located in the Chicago office.

The Legal Department is seeking a law student extern with an interest for in-house practice for its Chicago office. The Enova Legal Externship Program is modeled after law firm summer associate programs but is designed to fit the unique rigors of an in-house legal department. The program is highly collaborative, and externs can expect to work directly with all members of the Legal Department.

Depending on the hours and schedule, the opportunity would be hybrid at the downtown Chicago office, as we are hybrid and working in-office on Tues., Wed. & Thurs. Our legal team consists of a mix of regulatory, transactional/corporate, finance, employment, marketing and litigation attorneys, and we would be able to provide opportunities for development in each of these areas.

For more information about this opportunity and how to apply, please download this document.

Illinois Office of the State Appellate Defender (OSAD) - Fall 2026

The Office of the State Appellate Defender offers internships in the following district offices: Chicago.

District Office Internships:  The Chicago Office offers part-time 12-week spring and fall internships. Interns in these positions will work on criminal appeals with experienced attorneys writing opening briefs, reply briefs and petitions for rehearing that will be filed in the Illinois Appellate Court, and petitions for leave to appeal that will be filed in the Illinois Supreme Court. Interns will also likely assist attorneys in preparing for oral arguments and may occasionally be asked to complete legal research assignments. Interns may work in-person, remotely, or on a hybrid schedule based on the district's needs and intern availability. Springfield accepts in-person/hybrid applicants.

Qualifications for All Internships:  

Applicants must be current law students and possess excellent legal research, writing, editing, and oral communication skills, as well as the ability to understand factual and legal issues and present them clearly and concisely. Preference is given to applicants with a demonstrated interest in public service and coursework in legal writing, criminal law, evidence, and appellate advocacy. The internships are unpaid; we can provide school credit if the university permits.

How to Apply:

Applications for internship programs described above will be accepted until the following dates or until all positions are filled:

Part-Time School-Year Internships (Chicago office only):

         Fall 2026: July 31, 2026

To apply, submit a cover letter, resume, and a writing sample in PDF format (preferably as one file, with the file name beginning with your name, e.g., “Jane Doe Application” or “Jane Doe Resume,” “Jane Doe Writing Sample”, etc.”) to:

Chicago: 1stdistrict.internprogram@osad.state.il

The Office of the State Appellate Defender is an Equal Opportunity Employer committed to a culture of diversity and inclusion.

City of Chicago

The City of Chicago is now accepting applications for legal externship opportunities.  Participants gain invaluable hands-on legal experience by working on complex and diverse projects with Law Department attorneys.  They participate in negotiations and Client advising meetings, conduct research and analysis to draft dispositive motions on constitutional or procedural issues of law, and - utilizing an Illinois Supreme Court Rule 711 license - appear on behalf of the City in Court or before Administrative Tribunals.

To get more information about the opportunity and how to apply, please visit their website. If you do get an externship offer, please be sure to fill out the application as explained above. 

Semester Law Firm Associate Program (SLFAP)

SLFAP endeavors to bridge the gap between the academic study of law and its practice. SFLAP is different from other traditional law school classes because it pushes your legal education into the experiential frontier. Experiential learning is learning by doing, learning from experience. As an extern, you will work for lawyer supervisors whose primary loyalties lie with their clients and their firms, but who also have a desire to mentor law students by providing them with interesting work and useful guidance. Through your fieldwork you will learn not only about certain areas of substantive law, but about the practice of law itself.

SFLAP is different than the Legal Externships Access to Practice program because of its more intensive nature and larger time commitment.  Students enrolled in the SLFAP program will spend a minimum of 24 hours per week working in their externship role with an off-site firm or organization. The student receives 6 credits for the work (as compared with 4 for a non-SLFAP externship).  Note that there is an in-person classroom component to this course, over and above the 24 hours you will put in at the firm/organization.

As with the Legal Externship programs, interested students must not only receive an offer from the participating firm, but also receive Department permission to register, all of which must be completed prior to the start of classes for the subject semester (i.e., the normal add period does not apply).  See the above Legal Externship Application process for those instructions.  

SLFAP Opportunities

Check back for future opportunities