Legal

Fall 2022

Position: Legal Intake Intern
Student: Sociology and Humanities Senior

I am a Legal Intake Intern with the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Texas. The ACLU of Texas is the leading civil rights organization in the state of Texas. They work in the courts and legislature to protect civil rights and individual liberties. Their mission is to be the unyielding guardian and promoter of freedom, justice, equality, and dignity for all people, particularly those still fighting to secure the full exercise of their civil rights and liberties in Texas. I found this internship through the ACLU of Texas website, where details about the position are listed. As an intern, I read the intakes that the ACLU of Texas receives from individuals across the state. Intakes include complaints and requests for help from people struggling with civil rights violations, employment issues, immigration issues, and incarceration. These are just a few examples of what people write in about. As an intern, I read these intakes and send responses and resources to those writing in. When I read an intake the ACLU of Texas may be able to help with, I forward it, alongside a short memo about its contents, to attorneys in the legal department. In addition to working on intakes, I also assist the attorneys in the legal department with other projects as they come up. These projects can include various types of data entry and analysis, and usually allow interns to have a direct impact on Texas policies. My favorite part of this internship is that I am the first point of contact between Texans in need and the ACLU of Texas. I speak directly to Texans looking for resources and help. Interns with the ACLU of Texas make tangible differences in people’s lives.

Fall 2017

Position: Legal Intern
Student: English Senior

I completed a legal internship at Anderson Roberts, PLLC in Austin, Texas. It is located on Congress Ave., which is walking distance to the Capitol, so there were many trips taken to the Texas State Law Library to conduct legal research, search for cases, and familiarize myself with legal databases. I plan to attend law school in the next few years, so this internship was perfect for me because I attended client meetings, learned legal skills such as Bluebook citations and Shepardizing (using WestLaw and LexisNexis legal databases for research), drafted legal memoranda, and experienced working in a professional legal environment.

A typical day at the firm required time management skills because the partners gave me tasks (such as legal research, client research/meetings, and going to the library), which might have endured for weeks or could be completed daily. I learned how to budget my time at the office while also using my time outside the office to come into my internship prepared to ask questions pertaining to my various tasks. I took trips to the Law Library, received a library card, and used their computers which gave me access to WestLaw and Lexis, which are the databases that contain cases which have been published, and then sorts them into categories so different sections/statutes of law are grouped accordingly to how they fit into each case/precedent/law. It’s quite overwhelming at first, but, like everything, practice is the only way to gain familiarity with these programs, so it took a few trips to become comfortable with how the databases worked. In addition to the databases, I became more familiar with Bluebook citations, which is the formal legal citations used in all legal memos, case summaries/publications, and legal literature. This is perhaps one of the most valuable skills I could have honed before entering law school, because it gave me knowledge that would complement my legal studies.

While at the office, I also attended client meetings, which were interesting because I had the opportunity to hear actual client cases and experience the conversations between clients and partners. It’s one thing to read about clients or watch shows about law, but it’s a completely difference experience to hear it in person. It also helped me decide which areas of law I’d like to either pursue, or steer clear of. I thoroughly enjoyed my time at Anderson Roberts and have hopes to pursue other legal internships in the future. 

Summer 2016 Site Review

Position: Research Intern
Student: Economics Junior

The internship that I completed this summer was one that is great for someone who is interested in pursuing a career in commercial real estate in Austin. Specifically, this internship is good for someone who is interested in representing companies that are looking for a place to office in Austin. There are many other different aspects of the real estate industry but this is what is focused on at Cushman & Wakefield. The individuals that you get to interact with in the office are fantastic as well. Everyone is very friendly and looks out for each other. This internship is great because no matter how much you already know you will be able to learn a lot because it is self-paced. This internship also allows you a large amount of room to grow as a professional and is a great place to get your start in the commercial real estate industry in Austin. The site where the internship takes place is one that cannot be beaten. The building is in downtown Austin and looks out on Town Lake, right next to the Austin City Hall. There are identical buildings on either side on city hall and there are rotating food trucks that pull up right in front of the building where you can get lunch. Another thing that is great about this internship is that parking is provided in the office building. I think this is great because parking can be difficult downtown and can also be expensive. Another great thing about the site of the internship is how close, relatively, it is to campus. This makes getting to and from work very convenient and there is not a ton of traffic that you have to deal with.

Fall 2019

Position: Worker's Rights and Employment Law Intern
Student: Philosophy and History Senior 

The Equal Justice Center is a non-profit law firm with several offices in Texas. They offer various internships that are ideal for liberal arts students thinking about pursuing a career in law. As a non-profit, the Equal Justice Center prides itself on representing the disenfranchised. Their mission statement explains that they work to empower low-income families, workers, and communities in the workplace, in the justice system, and in our society. This highlights the progressive values carried by the Equal Justice Center and the attorneys who work there. For someone looking to go to law school and practice public interest-law, the Worker’s Rights and Employment Law internship is a perfect fit. This internship gives students the opportunity to see the day to day operations of a non-profit law firm. It also allows students to actively work in social justice; specifically, worker’s rights. As a Worker’s Rights and Employment law intern, you can expect to conduct interviews with workers who come to the Equal Justice Center looking for help. Interns hear the stories that these workers bring, and then relay this information to the attorneys. Every intern is assigned two attorneys, with which interns have weekly meetings to discuss potential cases. Though the intention of this meeting is to review potential cases, this meeting allows time for the interns to talk and get to know the attorneys. For me, getting to know the attorneys I work with has been an incredibly rewarding experience. The attorneys are very friendly people and have given me advice on law school and my goal of working as an attorney in the public interest field. I often ask them questions about their career and their lives as attorneys. On any typical day as an intern, you will call and interview potential clients who have reached out to us, maintain correspondence with clients whose cases your attorneys are taking, and discuss these cases with the attorneys. It is an ideal organization to do an undergraduate internship with.

Position: Worker's Rights and Employment Law Intern
Student: IRG Junior

As a Workers’ Rights and Employment Law Intern, a typical shift starts with checking the voicemail boxes, English and Spanish, for messages from potential clients calling the Equal Justice Center for legal assistance. As we listened to these messages, we typed the information of the caller into an Excel sheet called the Call Roster, where we have all of the potential clients listed that have called in regarding a labor issue. Due to the high number of calls that the EJC receives, we make sure to label when each call came in, in order to call those who called in first to make sure their issue is addressed in time by the attorneys, given that many possible lawsuits or claims have to be filed within a specific timeframe, depending on the law. We also have to make sure that the people who have called in are not already current clients or have already spoken with someone at EJC, so we crosscheck their names on the database, PIKA, where we store all of the records of all of the cases that EJC has represented or just taken the clients’ stories.  We call people back and ask them questions based on a script already laid out for us and we type their answers out to eventually be written into a set of notes to be presented to the attorneys assigned to each intern. Every week, after we have accumulated a number of intake interviews, interns attend a meeting with two attorneys at EJC, and they go through each intake and the attorneys decide whether or not the person has a potential case and whether the EJC can represent them at all. Through these meetings, interns learn a lot about the laws that protect both workers and employees and this is probably the time during my internship where I learned the most about the world of law and government. My attorneys were very easy going, making it easy and comfortable for me to ask them all types of questions when I struggled to understand why we could not represent a particular person. All in all, my experience at the Equal Justice Center was very rewarding to me in terms of knowledge, the new friendships with the other interns and the professional relationships I was able to develop throughout my time there.

Summer 2017

Position: Bilingual Intake and Employee Specialist Intern
Student: Government Junior

I am a 4th year Government major at the University of Texas. I am graduating in the Spring of 2018 but before I graduated I wanted to gain experience in a government office, non-profit organization, or going advocacy work. This summer, I interned at the Equal Justice Center, a non-profit law firm based in Austin, Texas, which seeks fair treatment of workers regardless of immigration status. I volunteered as an intake intern, along with other 7 incredible individuals. My responsibilities included performing initial screening for potential clients. I gathered basic information about them, but also, and most importantly, I gathered detailed information about their story and claim. However, before we talk to the potential clients, we make sure that they have not been called before by another intern, if they have, then we move to the next person. We keep a call roster where with all the calls and voicemails from clients reside. They include name, phone number, day of the call, city, language, and reason for their call.

We also have a system that redirects their voicemail to our intern email; we check those every morning too. If we have to contact a client because of a tight timeframe to file a claim, we make those calls first. Once we make those calls, we then move down the call roster. If they answer their phone, we ask them if they have 20-30 to talk to us and conduct an initial intake. If they can, we conduct the intake. It the cannot, we ask what time to call back and put a note on the call roster. If we get no response, we leave a voicemail. Once we are able to do an intake, we then create a file on PIKA, the system we use to keep track of our cases. We must add all

communications we make with the client on here. Once we open a file, we added to another excel sheet only used by team of attorneys we collaborate with. We conduct meetings with the attorneys once a week, if they refer the clients out, then I must inform the clients about this. If the attorneys have follow up questions, then I also ask them to the client. Once the attorney has all the information they need for the final decision on a case, we must also inform the potential client about. We refer out 97% of the people that call, which was reflected by the zero cases I opened during my internship at the Equal Justice Center.

Fall 2016

Position: Worker's Rights Intern/ Bilingual Intake Employment Law Intern
Student: Government and Mexican American Latina/o Studies Junior

Interning at the Equal Justice Center is a fulfilling opportunity that I would recommend to any student interested in pursuing a career as a public interest lawyer. Students get hands on experience with legal cases and gain education and relationships connected to public interest law.

Interns begin their 10 hour work week by conducting detailed interviews with clients over the phone or in-person. The intakes often have highly sensitive information regarding labor injustice and interns are required to pass on this information to attorneys. Once a week, interns meet with their assigned attorneys for about an hour (though it depends on the caseload) to review the intakes conducted. In these meetings, the intern and attorneys review each case to decide if there is any legal action that can be pursued and if the EJC can provide legal representation, limited counsel, or referrals. The attorneys often have follow up questions for each case before they decided on what course of action to take. These follow up questions are assigned to interns to conduct. Interns then conduct follow up questions and review the information with attorneys through the legal case management online system. After more extensive vetting is conducted, interns and attorneys reach a conclusion about the case using state and federal employment laws. Finally, interns whose cases are accepted for legal service work with the attorneys with any issue relating to that case.

In addition, interns can attend the Transnational Workers Rights Clinic hosted at the EJC once a week to become more educated about employment and immigration information. This is a unique opportunity that can benefit students who are interested in attending law school because it allows interns to work alongside law students, attorneys, and law professors. Aside from the education gained in these classes, interns also create professional relationships with people who have pursued or are pursuing careers they (interns) are interested in.

Spring 2016 

Position: Intake Intern
Student: IRG Junior

After almost a full semester though I am glad to say that my time spent as an intern at the Equal Justice Center was one of the best decisions I’ve made thus far in my college career. Not only did I learn more about myself, and what I would want in my future career, but I also learned what it is like to work in an office setting with coworkers much older than me. Overall, my experience as an intern was truly a highlight of my spring semester.

The Equal Justice Center (EJC) is a non-profit law firm that seeks to empower low-wage workers by providing free legal representation for workers to recover unpaid wages or fight other injustices in the workplace. As an intern, I am mostly in charge of intakes which are basically questionnaires that help the EJC’s lawyers better understand the situations specific people are in in their work.

When I first arrive at the office I usually check the office phone’s voice mail and record any messages on a Google document that anyone in the office can access. After this, I begin to call back people that gave us a call about injustices in the workplace. Many times I have to leave a voicemail because no one answers, but if someone does answer I fill out an intake form which takes about 20 minutes, and I then place the intake file in a shared folder with the office.

If I am not working on new intakes, I am following up with potential clients with a status on their case. Since the EJC is non-profit and still very small we usually cannot represent people unless they have overwhelming evidence against their employer. I meet once a week with 2 EJC attorneys’ to evaluate all the intakes I’ve gotten done, and if any of them are cases the EJC might be interested in pursuing.

Although we are not able to take on everyone’s case, I work hard with the EJC’s attorneys’ to give legal advice to every person who calls us and I make sure to let them know the legal resources the state of Texas offers. It can be disheartening to have to turn so many people down, but finally getting justice to a low wage worker that otherwise would not have gotten it is one of the best feelings in the world.

Spring 2015 

Position: Intake and Outake Specalist
Student: IRG and Anthropology Senior 

A Day in the Life of an Intern at the Equal Justice Center begins before I arrive at the office. I use public transportation to arrive at the office building in South Congress, one of the perks of being a UT student, is that the bus fares are free. Next I enter the office, and get comfortable in one of the Intake stations  which include a computer, chair, and phone. The first thing I do is go through the messages on our Spanish and the English mail box. I either deliver the messages to the corresponding people in the office, or if they are new potential clients I put their name, description of their problem, language, phone number, and date they called on our Call Roster.

My main responsibility is calling the people on our Call Roster. I go down the list of clients, which we each give three calls until we remove them from the list. If they do not answer I leave a voicemail explaining that I am calling back and hoping to hear back from them to do an Initial Intake form with them to see if they have a viable case. If I finally get someone to answer who is available, usually it takes a while because most of our clients work during the day, I do an Initial Intake form with them. This consists of a list of basic questions about the potential client, the employer, and specifics of the work done which was unpaid, or any issues of discrimination or harassment. After I have gone through all the questions I explain to the potential clients that I will send all this information to the lawyers and they will either give me follow up information if the case is potentially viable and we can take it, or referral information if we cannot take on the case. After the phone call I put all of their information on our software and server where our client information is stored.

On days that I review the cases with the lawyers they give me all the information I need to follow up with our clients, or all the referral information I need to give to them as well. On those days I also have to include calling these individuals back, and letting them know how their case will proceed. If the case is urgent, or extremely viable the lawyers themselves take care of the cases, but if not I have to do my best to give the clients the best information I can about how to proceed. After this whole process is over I must update the case on our software. I either close the case, or write notes about every action I do regarding a case. I am usually in the office for four hours a day, so that means a lot of time on a computer and a lot of time on the phone

Fall 2017

Position: Assistant Paralegal
Student: Government Senior

Interning as a clerk at Germer, Beaman & Brown, PLLC is an amazing experience and opportunity for any pre-law student at The University of Texas at Austin. The position is paid, and their hourly rates are competitive with other similar positions in the Austin metro area. You will receive your own desk when you secure a position at Germer, and you will be assigned to a team of attorneys. The firm as a whole handles many different types of legal issues. The group I was placed with focuses on administrative law, meaning that the attorneys represent clients in front of state and federal agencies and other administrative bodies. This a unique area of law that I knew nothing about prior to my employment with Germer. That is one of the greatest things about interning with the firm, the ability to explore and discover new areas of the law and legal process. Every day you are charged with performing legal research for existing cases, and in my case, assisting with client intake procedures. There is plenty of upward potential at Germer. I began as a clerk, but after my team saw the quality of work that I am capable of, they started having me perform more specialized tasks and billing as a Junior Paralegal. You get out exactly what you out into an internship at Germer, and if you work hard you will get to do more exciting tasks like accompanying attorneys to trial or hearings. Each day consists of drafting researched information for cases, billing hours, making binders for hearings and client meetings, and fielding calls from new clients. When interning at Germer, there is never a dull moment.

Spring 2017  

Position: Clerk
Student: Government Junior 

As a case clerk intern at Germer, Beaman & Brown PLLC, you will never have a dull day at work. Clerks are assigned to a team of two to four attorneys with a specific practice area of law. Depending on what area of law you are interested in and the needs of the firm, each attorney team may have one or two clerks. You will be expected to do everything from mailing out attorney bills to clients, to performing legal research for specific cases, to working the front desk and directing visitors to meetings. Clerks are expected to serve in a variety of roles.

In a typical day, you will arrive at the firm at 9am and log onto your computer at your own desk located in the vicinity of your legal team. Mornings will be spent going through emails and saving messages from clients onto the internal servers for record-keeping purposes. This is important because attorneys bill hourly for client communication, so records of this communication is sometimes requested in billing disputes. Chances are, you will be asked to act as a courier for legal paperwork to either a courthouse or state administrative body sometime each workday. You are reimbursed for gas at a generous rate, and getting out of the office is sometimes a welcome perk. You will learn to index and compile binders of pertinent documents for trials and hearings, which are requested on an as needed basis. Learning to prioritize time sensitive tasks, such as legal research for attorneys meeting with clients, over your never ending pile of documents to physically file is a key to success. Your work day will end at 5:30pm with the occasional opportunity to work optional overtime performing research for litigation teams.

Spring 2018

Position: Legal Intern
Student: Philosophy Senior 

At Hotze Runkle, the personal injury law that I intern at, interns have two duties. One is our recurring administrative tasks. The other is working on client projects with either a paralegal or attorney. This workplace is an extremely supportive environment for undergraduate students who want professional work experience, and it is especially supportive for undergraduate who are interested in law school.

For our recurring administrative tasks, we separate large pdfs of recently scanned releases, we file client documents in the filing room, we determine which client’s documents go to an off-site storage facility or go to the on-site filing room, and we send mailouts to clients. These tasks happen everyday without anyone asking, and it is expected that we complete these tasks as an intern team. While these tasks may seem boring and tedious, these tasks should only take up 30% of your day. Sometimes, they may take up the entire day if there documents to file or mailout to send out.

Our other duties are working on client projects with a paralegal or attorney. Currently, I am paired with a paralegal to complete work history affidavits for our asbestos clients. They give us a detailed work history and a list of products they used during their employments. With this information, we find and identify jobsites where they probably exposed to asbestos containing products, and we send these affidavits to the asbestos settlements trust to make a settlement claim of behalf of our clients. Some of the other interns are doing similar work with other paralegals. 

In all, I believe that this a great place to work at. Not only do you learn about personal injury law, you develop essential communication skills in a professional office setting.

Summer 2016

Position: Research Intern
Student: Economics Junior

The internship that I completed this summer was one that is great for someone who is interested in pursuing a career in commercial real estate in Austin. Specifically, this internship is good for someone who is interested in representing companies that are looking for a place to office in Austin. There are many other different aspects of the real estate industry but this is what is focused on at Cushman & Wakefield. The individuals that you get to interact with in the office are fantastic as well. Everyone is very friendly and looks out for each other. This internship is great because no matter how much you already know you will be able to learn a lot because it is self-paced. This internship also allows you a large amount of room to grow as a professional and is a great place to get your start in the commercial real estate industry in Austin. The site where the internship takes place is one that cannot be beaten. The building is in downtown Austin and looks out on Town Lake, right next to the Austin City Hall. There are identical buildings on either side on city hall and there are rotating food trucks that pull up right in front of the building where you can get lunch. Another thing that is great about this internship is that parking is provided in the office building. I think this is great because parking can be difficult downtown and can also be expensive. Another great thing about the site of the internship is how close, relatively, it is to campus. This makes getting to and from work very convenient and there is not a ton of traffic that you have to deal with.

Fall 2023

Position: Intake Specialist
Student: International Relations and Global Studies Junior

I have been interning for the Equal Justice Center for the past 3 months. The Equal Justice Center is a non-profit law firm and employment justice organization which empowers low-income families, workers, and communities to achieve fair treatment in the workplace, in the justice system, and in our shared society – regardless of immigration status. I found this internship by attending the Liberal Arts Career Fair my sophomore year after dropping off my resume at their table and briefly speaking to what would be my future supervisor. My duties as an intern include monitoring incoming voicemails in the inbox, and transferring potential clients’ info to the call roster, contacting and conducting intakes with potential clients using intake questionnaire, creating files for each intake on our online case management system, meeting weekly with staff attorneys and respective supervisor to review my conducted intakes, and following up with potential clients for further clarify intake information or provide referral info. We also take care of the firm’s social media. I would say my favorite part about the internship is how flexible it is. I’m able to work remotely which helps me so much with my busy schedule with school and sorority life, and the people I work for are kind and helpful, and I’ve learned a lot from them in these short 3 months.

Fall 2019

Position: Worker's Rights and Employment Law Intern
Student: Philosophy and History Senior 

The Equal Justice Center is a non-profit law firm with several offices in Texas. They offer various internships that are ideal for liberal arts students thinking about pursuing a career in law. As a non-profit, the Equal Justice Center prides itself on representing the disenfranchised. Their mission statement explains that they work to empower low-income families, workers, and communities in the workplace, in the justice system, and in our society. This highlights the progressive values carried by the Equal Justice Center and the attorneys who work there. For someone looking to go to law school and practice public interest-law, the Worker’s Rights and Employment Law internship is a perfect fit. This internship gives students the opportunity to see the day to day operations of a non-profit law firm. It also allows students to actively work in social justice; specifically, worker’s rights. As a Worker’s Rights and Employment law intern, you can expect to conduct interviews with workers who come to the Equal Justice Center looking for help. Interns hear the stories that these workers bring, and then relay this information to the attorneys. Every intern is assigned two attorneys, with which interns have weekly meetings to discuss potential cases. Though the intention of this meeting is to review potential cases, this meeting allows time for the interns to talk and get to know the attorneys. For me, getting to know the attorneys I work with has been an incredibly rewarding experience. The attorneys are very friendly people and have given me advice on law school and my goal of working as an attorney in the public interest field. I often ask them questions about their career and their lives as attorneys. On any typical day as an intern, you will call and interview potential clients who have reached out to us, maintain correspondence with clients whose cases your attorneys are taking, and discuss these cases with the attorneys. It is an ideal organization to do an undergraduate internship with.

Position: Worker's Rights and Employment Law Intern
Student: International Relations and Global Relations Junior

As a Workers’ Rights and Employment Law Intern, a typical shift starts with checking the voicemail boxes, English and Spanish, for messages from potential clients calling the Equal Justice Center for legal assistance. As we listened to these messages, we typed the information of the caller into an Excel sheet called the Call Roster, where we have all of the potential clients listed that have called in regarding a labor issue. Due to the high number of calls that the EJC receives, we make sure to label when each call came in, in order to call those who called in first to make sure their issue is addressed in time by the attorneys, given that many possible lawsuits or claims have to be filed within a specific timeframe, depending on the law. We also have to make sure that the people who have called in are not already current clients or have already spoken with someone at EJC, so we crosscheck their names on the database, PIKA, where we store all of the records of all of the cases that EJC has represented or just taken the clients’ stories.  We call people back and ask them questions based on a script already laid out for us and we type their answers out to eventually be written into a set of notes to be presented to the attorneys assigned to each intern. Every week, after we have accumulated a number of intake interviews, interns attend a meeting with two attorneys at EJC, and they go through each intake and the attorneys decide whether or not the person has a potential case and whether the EJC can represent them at all. Through these meetings, interns learn a lot about the laws that protect both workers and employees and this is probably the time during my internship where I learned the most about the world of law and government. My attorneys were very easy going, making it easy and comfortable for me to ask them all types of questions when I struggled to understand why we could not represent a particular person. All in all, my experience at the Equal Justice Center was very rewarding to me in terms of knowledge, the new friendships with the other interns and the professional relationships I was able to develop throughout my time there.

Fall 2021

Position: Fall Intern
Student: Psychology

My internship for this semester was at a company called Evident, and I think the best way to describe the company is a “legal tech startup.” Evident is a Public Benefit Corporation that provides a marketplace designed to help customers find the legal help they need. I like to call it a dating app to find a lawyer instead of a significant other. The work I have done so far is write and research articles about various legal issues, design social media posts, do a “site-teardown” so that we can find if there is anything that needs to be changed on the website from a lawyer or consumer perspective. We also have catch-up meetings on Mondays and Fridays and a Thursday meeting with Set Fire Creative, our marketing agency that helps with organic social, paid social, paid search, SEO, and landing page creation. My favorite part about the internship so far is learning about different aspect of the legal field because I find that very interesting.

Spring 2024

Position: Litigation Intern
Student: Government Sophomore

My internship is for Feltoon Law, PLLC, which is a personal injury law firm. I found this internship through LinkedIn – we connected, and the senior attorney reached out to me. In this internship my duties and assignments vary based on the case. I have done a lot of research pertaining to cases, including finding cases like the ones we work on in a search for precedents, as well as any laws that would pertain to the case and help to prepare the following court documents. I also review evidence, such as making timelines for body cameras from police departments, constructing medical chronologies, and making timelines of other reoccurring incidents. My favorite thing about the internship is how much responsibility I am entrusted with. Even though I do not have any experience in the law field and am still an undergraduate, my tasks are giving me law experience and I am not only given busywork.

Fall 2017

Position: Assistant Paralegal
Student: Government Senior

Interning as a clerk at Germer, Beaman & Brown, PLLC is an amazing experience and opportunity for any pre-law student at The University of Texas at Austin. The position is paid, and their hourly rates are competitive with other similar positions in the Austin metro area. You will receive your own desk when you secure a position at Germer, and you will be assigned to a team of attorneys. The firm as a whole handles many different types of legal issues. The group I was placed with focuses on administrative law, meaning that the attorneys represent clients in front of state and federal agencies and other administrative bodies. This a unique area of law that I knew nothing about prior to my employment with Germer. That is one of the greatest things about interning with the firm, the ability to explore and discover new areas of the law and legal process. Every day you are charged with performing legal research for existing cases, and in my case, assisting with client intake procedures. There is plenty of upward potential at Germer. I began as a clerk, but after my team saw the quality of work that I am capable of, they started having me perform more specialized tasks and billing as a Junior Paralegal. You get out exactly what you out into an internship at Germer, and if you work hard you will get to do more exciting tasks like accompanying attorneys to trial or hearings. Each day consists of drafting researched information for cases, billing hours, making binders for hearings and client meetings, and fielding calls from new clients. When interning at Germer, there is never a dull moment.

Spring 2017  

Position: Clerk
Student: Government Junior 

As a case clerk intern at Germer, Beaman & Brown PLLC, you will never have a dull day at work. Clerks are assigned to a team of two to four attorneys with a specific practice area of law. Depending on what area of law you are interested in and the needs of the firm, each attorney team may have one or two clerks. You will be expected to do everything from mailing out attorney bills to clients, to performing legal research for specific cases, to working the front desk and directing visitors to meetings. Clerks are expected to serve in a variety of roles.

In a typical day, you will arrive at the firm at 9am and log onto your computer at your own desk located in the vicinity of your legal team. Mornings will be spent going through emails and saving messages from clients onto the internal servers for record-keeping purposes. This is important because attorneys bill hourly for client communication, so records of this communication is sometimes requested in billing disputes. Chances are, you will be asked to act as a courier for legal paperwork to either a courthouse or state administrative body sometime each workday. You are reimbursed for gas at a generous rate, and getting out of the office is sometimes a welcome perk. You will learn to index and compile binders of pertinent documents for trials and hearings, which are requested on an as needed basis. Learning to prioritize time sensitive tasks, such as legal research for attorneys meeting with clients, over your never ending pile of documents to physically file is a key to success. Your work day will end at 5:30pm with the occasional opportunity to work optional overtime performing research for litigation teams.

Fall 2021

Position: Discovery Media Intern
Student: Health and Society

The company I work for is The Greening Law Group, which practices criminal defense in the College Station and Bryan areas. Majority of the cases that the firm works on are DWI and drug related cases. However, in the six months I have been interning for them, we have handled a handful of murder cases, federal cases, and sexual assault cases. The firm was started in 2010 by attorney Craig Greening and has grown from two employees to twelve, two of which being female attorneys that work alongside and independent of Mr. Greening. I was able to find this internship through searching Indeed. I applied through their application process and then decided to call the firm and speak over the phone to stand out from other applicants. My daily duties of this internship are to request and download all discovery for our clients. I am also responsible for answering phones, taking client payments, setting up appointments for the clients with attorneys and to view their discovery. Additionally, I make court-runs to drop-off or pick-up documents, flash drives, hard drives, or anything else the firm may need. My favorite thing about the internship is how familiar I have become with the court system on a state and federal level and their roles. The court system is very complicated to learn and having this internship has given me hands-on experience that allows me to apply knowledge of the system to my work to better understand the job and purpose of each court.

Spring 2018

Position: Legal Intern
Student: Philosophy Senior 

At Hotze Runkle, the personal injury law that I intern at, interns have two duties. One is our recurring administrative tasks. The other is working on client projects with either a paralegal or attorney. This workplace is an extremely supportive environment for undergraduate students who want professional work experience, and it is especially supportive for undergraduate who are interested in law school.

For our recurring administrative tasks, we separate large PDFs of recently scanned releases, we file client documents in the filing room, we determine which client’s documents go to an off-site storage facility or go to the on-site filing room, and we send mailouts to clients. These tasks happen everyday without anyone asking, and it is expected that we complete these tasks as an intern team. While these tasks may seem boring and tedious, these tasks should only take up 30% of your day. Sometimes, they may take up the entire day if there documents to file or mailout to send out.

Our other duties are working on client projects with a paralegal or attorney. Currently, I am paired with a paralegal to complete work history affidavits for our asbestos clients. They give us a detailed work history and a list of products they used during their employments. With this information, we find and identify jobsites where they probably exposed to asbestos containing products, and we send these affidavits to the asbestos settlements trust to make a settlement claim of behalf of our clients. Some of the other interns are doing similar work with other paralegals. 

In all, I believe that this a great place to work at. Not only do you learn about personal injury law, you develop essential communication skills in a professional office setting.

Summer 2023

Position: Legal Intern 
Student: Sociology Senior, UTNY Participant 

The John Gore Organization (“JGO”) owns and manages multiple entities within Broadway. A few notable entities would be Broadway.com and Broadway Across America. I participated in the UTNY program, so I was able to land this internship through a UTNY connection. The president at JGO is UT alum, so she loves to have some longhorn representation in the office! Over the course of my 8-week internship, I’ve been giving a variety of different work, all of it mostly pertaining to legal research. My biggest project has been updating the employee handbook. Since JGO is active in 48 different markets across the U.S., there are a lot of different requirements to follow in order to be compliant with the law. Through my internship, I’ve been able to better understand what it means to work as general counsel for a company. My favorite part of this experience has been the perspective I’ve gained. As a student interested in going to law school, this has helped me see a different path within the legal profession that I could take. 

Fall 2022

Position: Legal Assistant
Student: International Relations and Global Studies Junior

This semester I have been interning as a legal assistant at The Law Office of Charles Medearis. The way I found this internship is actually very funny. I searched up on Google Maps “Law Firm” or “Law Office” and would call everyone introducing myself and asking if they were hiring and I would send my resume even if they said no so they could have it on file in case a position opened up. My duties are to take client intake, and gather details in regards to the car crash or criminal arrest (we do personal injury and criminal law), set up appointments, make an insurance claim, schedule trials, etc. My favorite thing about my internship is that I get to be around a group of people that I aspire to be and that motivates me more to go to school and do better and aim higher.

Spring 2023

Position: Electronic Briefer
Student: Sociology Junior

Flahive, Ogden & Latson (FOL) is a law firm that specializes in worker’s compensation throughout Texas. FOL has been defending workers’ compensation claims for the last seventy years. I found this position on Handshake due to my preferences being set to jobs in the legal field. After a round of interviews, I was assigned to be an electronic briefer. My duty as an electronic briefer is to sort medical files and assure that they are in correspondence with HIPAA. My favorite thing about my internship is that I am able to talk to multiple attorneys who have many years of experience in the legal field and can provide me with advice and tips

Spring 2018

Position: Law Intern
Student: IRG Senior 

I have been working at the Law Office of Ramiro Lopes for the past nine months. The office I work at primarily handles Personal Injury and Criminal Defense cases, for a majority of Spanish speaking clients. My office is in a house off Oltorf Street and 3rd Street. There is only one single attorney who runs the office, however it was previously a firm of two personal injury and criminal defense attorneys. There are three other legal assistants that work along with the attorney, along with myself. The majority of the office is bilingual in both English and Spanish.

A majority of what my work consists of is contacting insurance providers, creating claims, contacting medical providers and creating documents such as Letters of Protection and Letters of Representation, along with Stower’s Demands and disbursal statements. I create a lot of legal documents regarding client’s cases. I also help intake clients; primarily English speaking clients, who have been in a recent motor vehicle accident. When in taking clients I focus on getting the full story on their accident, it is beneficial to know everything about the accident and whether they took the EMS, went to the hospital or are still seeking medical care. As a legal assistant I also focus on fostering relationships with medical providers who take Letters of Protection and making sure that both the clients and the medical providers are happy. Possibly my favorite portion of my job is handling medical bill reductions and demands. With these forms and events I get to bargain and argue prices and settlements, to help get the client the most money out of their accident, as possible.

Fall 2020

Position: Legal Intern
Student: Sustainability Studies Senior

Student Name: Gabriel Escalante

I work for the McElroy, Sullivan, Miller and Weber Law Firm. They have about 15 lawyers and several paralegals; their primary areas of practice are environmental, energy and land rights law. They work with many of the state’s commissions to work their cases, including the Railroad commission and the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality. Both of these institutions are very involved with the state’s policy and statutes regarding the environment and energy. I found the internship through a friend of mine who has a connection through one of the attorneys. I was able to talk to him, and I ended up getting an interview. My main role at the law firm is to assist the lawyers while they are setting up their cases. This involves driving to various firms or commissions and retrieving or delivering things, like dockets and evidence. I also do many things around the office, my favorite task is going through our library to find relevant cases or examples. The more hands on aspects of my job are definitely my favorite.

Summer 2019

Position: Criminal District Attorney's Office Internship
Student: History Junior

This summer I was given the opportunity to intern at the McLennan District Attorney’s office.  The internship site is in Waco, TX at the McLennan County courthouse. The internship is designed to allow undergraduate students interested in public policy or law by witnessing court procedures, case screening, trial proceeding and help students build connections with judges, legal assistants and prosecuting attorneys for potential future endeavors. The internship is also open for current law school students. Students are placed in one of three departments being felony, misdemeanor, and juvenile and help prosecutors assess cases.

During my time at the Waco District Attorney’s office I was placed in the misdemeanor department. I would be given cases that were needed to be “screened” or analyzed and highlighted to get out important facts out of the case such as, who, what, when, where, and why. Screening case files is an important part of dealing with particular cases because after screening a case file the prosecutor can determine a reasonable punishment to give the defendant. I would not only highlight case files, but I would watch videos from the police officers body cam, or car camera. This is important because this footage is a form of evidence that can be offered to the judge or used to help the prosecutor see actual footage of the crime scene itself.

At times I would Translate the case files from Spanish to English for special cases where the defendant was primarily a Spanish speaker. As an intern, it was my responsibility to be professional, reliable, and able to abide by all the rules dealing with confidentiality and criminal cases. I was able to build professional relationships with many lawyers and this internship gave me the opportunity to collaborate with prosecutors and other interns interested in pursuing public policy or law. Overall, this internship was very enlightening, and really allows students to get incredible hands on experience and develop new knowledge and skills.

Summer 2019

Position: Legal Intern
Student: Government Junior

This summer I interned in the Legal Department of a technology company called NetApp. NetApp sells data storage technology, including both hardware systems and cloud software. The majority of NetApp’s sales come from its non-cloud customers, however, as the cloud grows in prominence, the portion of NetApp’s customers who choose to pay for their data to be stored on a remote site through the cloud is increasing. NetApp is a publicly traded company, and therefore the corporation has obligations to its shareholders to produce earnings on their stocks.

The Legal Department of NetApp supports Sales by overseeing all parts of the sale that necessitate legal documents. When customer interaction is initiated, the Legal department produces a nondisclosure agreement for both parties to sign. When the customer is ready to purchase NetApp products, the Legal team creates a Master Purchase Agreement that outlines the details of the sale, including price agreements, service, term length, and more. Legal also oversees NetApp’s intellectual property. As a technology company, we produce many patentable technologies that we must protect from theft. We work with the US Patent Office to make sure that our unique inventions are safeguarded. In the event that NetApp is sued or files suit against someone else, the Legal Department handles all aspects of litigation, as we are the only employees qualified or licensed to do so.

I worked on a number of projects including creating an executive briefing book for our general counsel, reviewing NDAs and tagging them for multiple fields for organization into a database, producing tutorials for our new legal eBilling system, participating in database clean-ups, planning a networking event, and more.

NetApp has a fantastic intern program for students of varying disciplines, and they did an excellent job of planning activities for us all to get to know each other and people around the company. We had multiple intern events throughout the summer, and they set each of us up with a mentor from outside our department.

Spring 2018

Position: Law Intern
Student: International Relations and Global Studies Senior 

I have been working at the Law Office of Ramiro Lopes for the past nine months. The office I work at primarily handles Personal Injury and Criminal Defense cases, for a majority of Spanish speaking clients. My office is in a house off Oltorf Street and 3rd Street. There is only one single attorney who runs the office, however it was previously a firm of two personal injury and criminal defense attorneys. There are three other legal assistants that work along with the attorney, along with myself. The majority of the office is bilingual in both English and Spanish.

A majority of what my work consists of is contacting insurance providers, creating claims, contacting medical providers and creating documents such as Letters of Protection and Letters of Representation, along with Stower’s Demands and disbursal statements. I create a lot of legal documents regarding client’s cases. I also help intake clients; primarily English speaking clients, who have been in a recent motor vehicle accident. When in taking clients I focus on getting the full story on their accident, it is beneficial to know everything about the accident and whether they took the EMS, went to the hospital or are still seeking medical care. As a legal assistant I also focus on fostering relationships with medical providers who take Letters of Protection and making sure that both the clients and the medical providers are happy. Possibly my favorite portion of my job is handling medical bill reductions and demands. With these forms and events I get to bargain and argue prices and settlements, to help get the client the most money out of their accident, as possible.

Fall 2020

Position: Legal Intern
Student: Sustainability Studies Senior

I work for the McElroy, Sullivan, Miller and Weber Law Firm. They have about 15 lawyers and several paralegals; their primary areas of practice are environmental, energy and land rights law. They work with many of the state’s commissions to work their cases, including the Railroad commission and the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality. Both of these institutions are very involved with the state’s policy and statutes regarding the environment and energy. I found the internship through a friend of mine who has a connection through one of the attorneys. I was able to talk to him, and I ended up getting an interview. My main role at the law firm is to assist the lawyers while they are setting up their cases. This involves driving to various firms or commissions and retrieving or delivering things, like dockets and evidence. I also do many things around the office, my favorite task is going through our library to find relevant cases or examples. The more hands on aspects of my job are definitely my favorite.

Summer 2019

Position: Criminal District Attorney's Office Internship
Student: History Junior

This summer I was given the opportunity to intern at the McLennan District Attorney’s office.  The internship site is in Waco, TX at the McLennan County courthouse. The internship is designed to allow undergraduate students interested in public policy or law by witnessing court procedures, case screening, trial proceeding and help students build connections with judges, legal assistants and prosecuting attorneys for potential future endeavors. The internship is also open for current law school students. Students are placed in one of three departments being felony, misdemeanor, and juvenile and help prosecutors assess cases.

During my time at the Waco District Attorney’s office I was placed in the misdemeanor department. I would be given cases that were needed to be “screened” or analyzed and highlighted to get out important facts out of the case such as, who, what, when, where, and why. Screening case files is an important part of dealing with particular cases because after screening a case file the prosecutor can determine a reasonable punishment to give the defendant. I would not only highlight case files, but I would watch videos from the police officers body cam, or car camera. This is important because this footage is a form of evidence that can be offered to the judge or used to help the prosecutor see actual footage of the crime scene itself.

At times I would Translate the case files from Spanish to English for special cases where the defendant was primarily a Spanish speaker. As an intern, it was my responsibility to be professional, reliable, and able to abide by all the rules dealing with confidentiality and criminal cases. I was able to build professional relationships with many lawyers and this internship gave me the opportunity to collaborate with prosecutors and other interns interested in pursuing public policy or law. Overall, this internship was very enlightening,

Summer 2019

Position: Legal Intern
Student: Government Junior

This summer I interned in the Legal Department of a technology company called NetApp. NetApp sells data storage technology, including both hardware systems and cloud software. The majority of NetApp’s sales come from its non-cloud customers, however, as the cloud grows in prominence, the portion of NetApp’s customers who choose to pay for their data to be stored on a remote site through the cloud is increasing. NetApp is a publicly traded company, and therefore the corporation has obligations to its shareholders to produce earnings on their stocks.

The Legal Department of NetApp supports Sales by overseeing all parts of the sale that necessitate legal documents. When customer interaction is initiated, the Legal department produces a nondisclosure agreement for both parties to sign. When the customer is ready to purchase NetApp products, the Legal team creates a Master Purchase Agreement that outlines the details of the sale, including price agreements, service, term length, and more. Legal also oversees NetApp’s intellectual property. As a technology company, we produce many patentable technologies that we must protect from theft. We work with the US Patent Office to make sure that our unique inventions are safeguarded. In the event that NetApp is sued or files suit against someone else, the Legal Department handles all aspects of litigation, as we are the only employees qualified or licensed to do so.

I worked on a number of projects including creating an executive briefing book for our general counsel, reviewing NDAs and tagging them for multiple fields for organization into a database, producing tutorials for our new legal eBilling system, participating in database clean-ups, planning a networking event, and more.

NetApp has a fantastic intern program for students of varying disciplines, and they did an excellent job of planning activities for us all to get to know each other and people around the company. We had multiple intern events throughout the summer, and they set each of us up with a mentor from outside our department.

Summer 2023

Position: College Aide/Intern
Student: Psychology Junior, UTNY Participant
 The New York City Law Department handles all the criminal cases in which the city of New
York becomes involved. The cases within the Family Court Division are specific to juvenile delinquency
matters. As an intern, I’ve been trained to aid in the intake of new cases, including notifying NYPD
officers of court appearances, collecting evidence from the NYPD system, and filing paperwork that the
attorneys use to prepare for the next steps. I found this internship after connecting with a friend who
recently graduated from UT. She completed a similar internship last summer and referred me to
another person who works as an advisor for the UTNY program. Then this person sent my resume to
the NYC Law Department, and I entered the interviewing process from there. I must credit the UTNY
program for aiding me in this process. Furthermore, I complete a variety of tasks around the office to
help the paralegals and attorneys prepare for court or interview officers. My favorite thing about this
internship is getting the chance to shadow the attorneys during court appearances and trials. It’s
interesting to watch a case in real time and understand the structure of the court system. Overall, I
really appreciate my coworkers because they are all very accepting and willing to teach.

Fall 2017

Position: Legal Intern
Student: Sociology Junior

This semester I interned at a law firm called O’Connell & Associates, PLLC. It is comprised of a private defense attorney, Douglas K. O’Connell who sometimes reaches out to get second opinions or research done by other attorneys, hence the “& Associates”.  He rents out an office space downtown here in Austin, off of 7th street, from Mueller Law. This is nice because I can easily get to the office early or stay late if need be because Mueller Law always has a front desk attendant there, meaning I don’t need Mr. O’Connell to lock/unlock the door. Being alone with a to-do list happens sometimes because Mr. O’Connell travels a lot. He handles cases all around the nation so sometimes he has to spend the week in D.C. for a case, for example. When setting up my schedule, Mr. O’Connell was very flexible. He basically asked me when I could work my 15 hours a week and we went with that. I have MWF off from class this semester so I worked at the office WF 9am-5pm. He travels from near Round Rock so I would typically beat him to the office. This was nice because it gave me the opportunity to finish up anything I hadn’t the work day before or doing something else like organize case files or put in an order for more envelopes. Once he got to the office, we would have a sit down to discuss where our current cases were and what needed to be done. For an example day, I will use this past Wednesday. When Mr. O’Connell got there, we needed to prepare a case brief for the prosecutor and two for the judge as well as create a flow chart and a table for the judge. Other days I would spend time editing and sending in motions or viewing the prosecutor’s discovery to see if I saw anything that needed Mr. O’Connell’s immediate attention.

Fall 2019

Position: Undergraduate Intern
Student: IRG & Government Senior

Over this past semester, I was granted the opportunity to work at the Rapoport Center for Human Rights and Social Justice at the University of Texas at Austin Law School. As an undergraduate intern for the Center, I took a more hands-on approach to human rights and social justice at the intersection of academia and advocacy.

hrough the Center, I was able to learn more about the behind-the-scenes work when it comes to human rights. I was able to write articles for and design its Annual Review publication as well as coordinate the logistics behind its annual conference. This way, I could engage with like-minded students and renown scholars from across the world, with all of us working towards fulfilling a shared passion towards human rights.

We also have weekly meetings with the entire Rapoport Center team. This is a wonderful opportunity for interns to engage with the Center’s staff, professors/faculty, other interns, graduate students and law students or “human rights scholars”. Beyond planning and setting the agenda for the next week, the team meetings provide a safe space to discuss a variety of important, and often sensitive, topics regarding human rights. This leads to vibrant discussions that are vital prerequisites for anyone interested in pursuing a career in advocacy, especially those pertaining to social justice. These discussions coupled with the Center’s colloquium speakers’ series and annual conference really helped broaden my horizons and acquire more information on a variety of human rights topics that I was not as informed about previously. This education was further supplemented with research interns conducted on human rights and social justice issues within Texas and across the world for article set to be publishes in the Rapoport Center’s Annual Review and publications elsewhere.

Spring 2018

Position: Immigration Legal Program Intern
Student: English Senior 

Refugee Services of Texas has many different programs all aimed at aiding the refugee, asylee, and immigrant communities of Texas. The programs include, resettlement services, economic empowerment, English language program, immigration and legal services, survivor trafficking empowerment program (STEP), community wellness, medical case management, social adjustment services, unaccompanied children (UAC), refugee youth program, Central American minors (CAM), and refugee mobile. There are internship and volunteer positions available in each of the programs that make up Refugee Services of Texas. 

My internship was in the immigration and legal services department because I am interested in working within immigration once I graduate. There are two lawyers and two legal assistants, as well as five interns. My day to day interactions are mostly with the legal assistants and the other interns. Though I do see both of the lawyers every day that I am there, when I need to know what to do or ask for help on any particular assignment I ask either of the legal assistants. Though both lawyers are also extremely helpful and have an open door policy on any inquires.

I intern three days a week and do between three to four hours each day. Though Refugee Services of Texas opens from 8:30 AM until 4:30 PM, the legal immigration department starts their day at 9 AM until 5 PM. I intern Monday, Wednesday, and Friday from 9 AM – 12/12:30 PM. When I first started all of the interns, we all have different hours depending on our course schedules, would go into a big room and we would work on inputting mail into the system or filing with the legal assistants with us to help us. Eventually we would simply go into a room and if we needed help we could go out and ask one of the legal assistants or the lawyers. My days mostly consist of filing mail, inputting cases, case notes, and pertinent information into their system. Sometimes I would be asked to interpret and I would be able to sit in client meetings. But the day to day changed depending on what cases the legal assistants were working on and what needed to be done in order for everything to be streamlined. 

Spring 2016 

Position: Immigration Services Intern
Student: Government Senior

As an Intern, I work Monday, Wednesday, and Fridays. I work Mondays and Wednesdays from 1-4:30 and on Fridays 11-2. On Mondays, we work with Cuban parolees applying for employment authorization. Cubans have a special law where if they arrive here and reach dry land they are granted parole, however if they are caught in the water, they are sent back to Cuba.  As an intern, you will assist the immigration attorney with preparing the application and completing forms. 

For Cubans, you will make copies of their social security card, parole document with the Alien number front and back, Cuban passport, and a copy of their food stamps benefit letter. Then you will assist the attorney with filling out the G.28 (attorney on file with immigration) and I. 912(fee waiver, the food stamp letter is proof you qualify for the waiver. The attorney will complete the I.765, the actual application for employment authorization.  Lastly you will make copies for the office and client, and have them sign the original before getting it prepped for mailing. All applications are collected and mailed out together on Friday, post working hours.

On Wednesdays, we follow the same process with Green Card Applications I. 485 or Naturalization N.400. In between client intakes, the attorney will take in immigration consults. Interns are allowed to sit in during these meetings and learn about different policies in regards to immigration law. On Fridays, the office does not meet with clients. Interns can expect to catch up on paperwork, prep for the upcoming week and tally up receipts, and seal/stamp packages to be mailed out.  Apart from these tasks, interns will be required sort new mail, update the immigration client database, maintain client file closures, and contact United States immigration for an inquiry or case service request on an as needed basis. Mail sorting and database updates can be expected as a daily task. The intern is also left to handle the scheduling of Citizenship appointments, this includes conducting a pre screening and confirming the appointment. My internship experience has been valuable to my overall growth as a student.

Fall 2016  

Position: Attorney Law Aide
Student: Economics Senior 

Scott, Douglass and McConnico are an Austin based law firm that specializes in oil and gas litigation focused mainly in the state of Texas. An attorney aide has a range of responsibilities that help the organizational flow of the firm. The time you work everyday is dependent of your class schedule and the firm is very understanding of students time so they actively work with you to find a schedule that works for each individual student. The minimum shift and hours to work in a week is three hours a day and fifteen hours a week. 

Everyday when I arrive at work the first thing I do is go to the mail room and check in with my supervisor to see what needs to be done first. Generally, this consists of organizing the firm mail and making sure that important documents are being delivered directly to each attorney. After this there are generally documents that need to be copied and organized in the mailroom that range from attorneys preparing for trial to helping put binders together for clients.

One of the most important tasks that aides complete for the firm is taking legal documents to the Rail Road Commission, the General Land Officer, or the Office of the Comptroller, to get file stamped and copied. This is a task that is preformed multiple times a day and is generally under time constraints. In oil and gas law many documents need to be filed through the government to keep track of all proceedings taking place. Finally, one of the tasks is have been trained to do lately is handle reception and all phone calls and emails that are coming into the office around closing time. This entails learning how the office phone and email network work and most importantly helps you learn how to interact with clients and other people calling the office.

Spring 2018

Position: Intern
Student: Government Senior

I am currently interning at Shackelford Law Firm in Dallas, Texas. I am planning on attending law school next fall and really wanted to obtain an internship at a law firm. Shackelford is a mid-sized firm with attorneys practicing in a variety of different fields. Aviation, Family, Transactional, Construction, and Entertainment are just a few of the different practice areas at this firm. I have been fortunate enough to work for and learn from a few of these lawyers. The internship is unpaid and part time so that I can complete my online classes for my graduation requirements. Although it is part time, I find myself coming into the office as much as possible to learn from these inspiring attorneys.

A normal day consists of me arriving to the office at the time I established with whoever is needing my assistance. Lawyers schedules and timing are constantly being modified due to client conflicts etc. At the start of the internship I met with all of the lawyers at the firm and gave them my contact information as well as my location in the office so that whenever someone needs me they can find me. Working with a variety of lawyers has been really rewarding and they are eager to have extra help during their busy work days. Attorneys will stop by my office and tell me about offsite presentations, meetings and trials and invited me to attend. I spend most of my time working with a construction attorney. I have worked on motions to compel, motion for sanctions, and mediation statements that will be sent to the court. I draft these documents while using information from the case file and books regarding Texas Laws. I am given lots of responsibilities that force me to dig deeper, investigate, and research since I did not have much prior experience coming into the internship. I often draft whatever document is needed to the best of my ability, have it reviewed by the attorney, and then make the corrections and have it sent out to the court or client. I have also had the opportunity to sit in and observe mediations which was a great experience. I contact and interact with clients as well as attend client/attorney meetings when possible. Overall, the internship was a great learning experience and I would recommend it to anyone who is interested in pursuing law and who is willing to learn at work at a fast pace.

Spring 2024

Position: Death Penalty Mitigation Intern
Student: Psychology Sophomore

At the Texas Office of Capital & Forensic Writs, a significant aspect of our work involves investigating claims of ineffective assistance of counsel in death penalty cases that are under appeal. This crucial process seeks to ensure that individuals facing the death penalty receive fair and just legal representation. I found this internship through UT Liberal Arts Career Services. As a Death Penalty Mitigation Intern, I have the privilege of contributing to these investigations, which often reveal systemic injustices and discrimination within our current justice system. My favorite part of this internship is knowing that my work directly helps to address these issues and advocate for those who have been marginalized by the legal system.

Spring 2023

Position: Mitigation Intern
Student: Psychology and French Senior

The Office of Capital and Forensic Writs provides post-conviction representation to death-sentenced persons in Texas, as well as people convicted of lesser sentences that resulted from improper use of forensic science/disproven techniques. As a public defender’s office, the OCFW zealously represents indigent people by investigating possible mitigating factors and constitutional rights violations that took place at trial. I found this internship through the pre-law email announcements, and highly recommend that those interested in public service law pursue an internship here. In my position as a mitigation intern, I have had the privilege of working on record collection efforts, building our client’s social history narratives, and learning more about public defense as a while. For example, I have worked on building an Ancestry family tree, drafted numerous requests for client records, and even had the opportunity to accompany investigators on interviews across the state. My favorite part of this internship has definitely been the people. I have never met such a dedicated, empathetic, and enthusiastic group of people. Even when all odds seem to be working against our clients, they persevere and provide the highest quality legal representation. Not only have they welcomed my input in the office, but we also regularly grab lunch and they have always been willing to provide advice about my future legal career.

Fall 2019

Position: Undergraduate Intern
Student: International Relations and Global Studies and Government Senior

Over this past semester, I was granted the opportunity to work at the Rapoport Center for Human Rights and Social Justice at the University of Texas at Austin Law School. As an undergraduate intern for the Center, I took a more hands-on approach to human rights and social justice at the intersection of academia and advocacy.

Through the Center, I was able to learn more about the behind-the-scenes work when it comes to human rights. I was able to write articles for and design its Annual Review publication as well as coordinate the logistics behind its annual conference. This way, I could engage with like-minded students and renown scholars from across the world, with all of us working towards fulfilling a shared passion towards human rights.

We also have weekly meetings with the entire Rapoport Center team. This is a wonderful opportunity for interns to engage with the Center’s staff, professors/faculty, other interns, graduate students and law students or “human rights scholars”. Beyond planning and setting the agenda for the next week, the team meetings provide a safe space to discuss a variety of important, and often sensitive, topics regarding human rights. This leads to vibrant discussions that are vital prerequisites for anyone interested in pursuing a career in advocacy, especially those pertaining to social justice. These discussions coupled with the Center’s colloquium speakers’ series and annual conference really helped broaden my horizons and acquire more information on a variety of human rights topics that I was not as informed about previously. This education was further supplemented with research interns conducted on human rights and social justice issues within Texas and across the world for article set to be publishes in the Rapoport Center’s Annual Review and publications elsewhere.

Spring 2018

Position: Immigration Legal Program Intern
Student: English Senior 

Refugee Services of Texas has many different programs all aimed at aiding the refugee, asylee, and immigrant communities of Texas. The programs include, resettlement services, economic empowerment, English language program, immigration and legal services, survivor trafficking empowerment program (STEP), community wellness, medical case management, social adjustment services, unaccompanied children (UAC), refugee youth program, Central American minors (CAM), and refugee mobile. There are internship and volunteer positions available in each of the programs that make up Refugee Services of Texas. 

My internship was in the immigration and legal services department because I am interested in working within immigration once I graduate. There are two lawyers and two legal assistants, as well as five interns. My day to day interactions are mostly with the legal assistants and the other interns. Though I do see both of the lawyers every day that I am there, when I need to know what to do or ask for help on any particular assignment I ask either of the legal assistants. Though both lawyers are also extremely helpful and have an open door policy on any inquires.

I intern three days a week and do between three to four hours each day. Though Refugee Services of Texas opens from 8:30 AM until 4:30 PM, the legal immigration department starts their day at 9 AM until 5 PM. I intern Monday, Wednesday, and Friday from 9 AM – 12/12:30 PM. When I first started all of the interns, we all have different hours depending on our course schedules, would go into a big room and we would work on inputting mail into the system or filing with the legal assistants with us to help us. Eventually we would simply go into a room and if we needed help we could go out and ask one of the legal assistants or the lawyers. My days mostly consist of filing mail, inputting cases, case notes, and pertinent information into their system. Sometimes I would be asked to interpret and I would be able to sit in client meetings. But the day to day changed depending on what cases the legal assistants were working on and what needed to be done in order for everything to be streamlined. 

Fall 2016  

Position: Attorney Law Aide
Student: Economics Senior 

Scott, Douglass and McConnico are an Austin based law firm that specializes in oil and gas litigation focused mainly in the state of Texas. An attorney aide has a range of responsibilities that help the organizational flow of the firm. The time you work everyday is dependent of your class schedule and the firm is very understanding of students time so they actively work with you to find a schedule that works for each individual student. The minimum shift and hours to work in a week is three hours a day and fifteen hours a week. 

Everyday when I arrive at work the first thing I do is go to the mail room and check in with my supervisor to see what needs to be done first. Generally, this consists of organizing the firm mail and making sure that important documents are being delivered directly to each attorney. After this there are generally documents that need to be copied and organized in the mailroom that range from attorneys preparing for trial to helping put binders together for clients.

One of the most important tasks that aides complete for the firm is taking legal documents to the Rail Road Commission, the General Land Officer, or the Office of the Comptroller, to get file stamped and copied. This is a task that is preformed multiple times a day and is generally under time constraints. In oil and gas law many documents need to be filed through the government to keep track of all proceedings taking place. Finally, one of the tasks is have been trained to do lately is handle reception and all phone calls and emails that are coming into the office around closing time. This entails learning how the office phone and email network work and most importantly helps you learn how to interact with clients and other people calling the office.

Spring 2018

Position: Intern
Student: Government Senior

I am currently interning at Shackelford Law Firm in Dallas, Texas. I am planning on attending law school next fall and really wanted to obtain an internship at a law firm. Shackelford is a mid-sized firm with attorneys practicing in a variety of different fields. Aviation, Family, Transactional, Construction, and Entertainment are just a few of the different practice areas at this firm. I have been fortunate enough to work for and learn from a few of these lawyers. The internship is unpaid and part time so that I can complete my online classes for my graduation requirements. Although it is part time, I find myself coming into the office as much as possible to learn from these inspiring attorneys.

A normal day consists of me arriving to the office at the time I established with whoever is needing my assistance. Lawyers schedules and timing are constantly being modified due to client conflicts etc. At the start of the internship I met with all of the lawyers at the firm and gave them my contact information as well as my location in the office so that whenever someone needs me they can find me. Working with a variety of lawyers has been really rewarding and they are eager to have extra help during their busy work days. Attorneys will stop by my office and tell me about offsite presentations, meetings and trials and invited me to attend. I spend most of my time working with a construction attorney. I have worked on motions to compel, motion for sanctions, and mediation statements that will be sent to the court. I draft these documents while using information from the case file and books regarding Texas Laws. I am given lots of responsibilities that force me to dig deeper, investigate, and research since I did not have much prior experience coming into the internship. I often draft whatever document is needed to the best of my ability, have it reviewed by the attorney, and then make the corrections and have it sent out to the court or client. I have also had the opportunity to sit in and observe mediations which was a great experience. I contact and interact with clients as well as attend client/attorney meetings when possible. Overall, the internship was a great learning experience and I would recommend it to anyone who is interested in pursuing law and who is willing to learn at work at a fast pace.

Fall 2016  

Position: Legal Department Intern
Student: International Relations and Global Studies Senior

A day in the life of this internship begins by checking my email. Everything that I need to do for the day is in my email, and a lot of times my bosses have already emailed me with tasks to catch up on from the day before after I left. The tasks I have to do are usually to save and to file all of the Contracts that have been signed in the previous day. My schedule varies each week, so a lot of times things get signed when I am not there. Other times, it is writing a letter terminating a Contract or writing a letter for someone travelling between offices, and there are occasions where they have left something for me to UPS.  After I see everything that has been given to me, I prioritize them and figure out which should be done first. When I am working a full day, usually I am working on tasks that are assigned to me in the morning, and then I am filing in the afternoon.

With this job, it is important to be aware of everything and to be paying attention because it is incredibly easy to miss something such as an email or a Contract being sent. To avoid missing things in the morning, I am usually preparing letters and then printing out contracts that need to be stamped and signed. I get them signed by the CFO in the afternoon and then finish my day with filing them and sending them away. My advice to another student working this job as a Legal Department Intern would be the advice that my boss gave me when I interviewed him for this class. He told me that everyone has their time in the file room, and you have to understand that this time is temporary and you have to give 110% to what you are doing. As a potential internship site, SolarWinds is an awesome place to intern at because they are willing to teach you and walk with you, but they are also willing to give you responsibility. My bosses always say that they will never give me something that they can’t fix, but it is an incredible opportunity to be surrounded by people who allow you to learn and create a safe environment for you to succeed and fail. I would definitely recommend working here.

Spring 2018

Position: Civil Rights Intake Specialist Intern
Student: Psychology Freshman

The Texas Civil Rights Project is a socially conscious, easy going, fun internship! A typical day for a civil rights intake specialist usually starts by being greeted by everyone you walk past, which is super great and makes you as an intern feel welcomed and loved in the environment. Then Rolando (the intern supervisor / legal manager) tells you what’s going on at TCRP that day, and what you need to do to help make that happen. The responsibilities vary day to day, but typical intern duties are answering the phone, returning phone calls, scheduling appointments, and sending out letters. Pretty much every intern has a “project” they are working on in conjunction with Rolando to help ensure everything is going smoothly at TCRP. For example, my project was to help close the cases of the people that TCRP had to reject. This includes working on the computer and essentially filing away their information, and then drafting a “referral letter” and putting the other organizations we recommend they seek out. One thing I noticed at my time at TCRP is that every single task I did helped the wheels turn. I never did “busy work” or something that wasn’t really needed. The interns are an essential part to helping TCRP function, and it feels great as an intern working there.

Fall 2015 

Position: Legal Intake Intern
Student: IRG Senior

Texas Civil Rights Project is a small nonprofit that aims to promote social and economic justice through litigation, education, and social services to low/moderate-income individuals who have faced civil rights violations. These are the types of violations the organization deals with: 1st Amendment free speech and assembly, privacy, discrimination, disability, official misconduct, prisoners’ rights, and due process. When possible clients come to us with other types of cases, we refer them to other lawyers or agencies that specialize in those cases and may better be able to serve them.

Each Thursday, we conduct intake. Thursday is the only day that possible clients can call with a new case. We all stay by the phone lines so we can take as many calls as possible. As an intern, I’m not allowed to give any kind of legal advice, but I take notes in our database about the person’s case with as much detail as possible so that I can present it to the TCRP attorneys later in the day.

At the end of the intake session, we all sit down with the attorneys and present the cases that we received. I basically act as liaison between the client and the attorneys during the preliminary stages of the case. If the attorneys think a case may be one they are interested in representing, they will ask me to collect documents from the client, take statements from witnesses, etc. If they don’t want to take the case, they have me look up different organizations or agencies that may better represent the client. Due to limited funding, we can only take 5% of the cases that we receive, so this is what usually happens.

Spring 2018

Position: Intern, Mithoff Pro Bono Program
Student: Government Senior 

A day in the life of an undergraduate intern at the University of Texas School of Law. Mithoff Pro Bono Program is full of excitement and curiosity. I arrive to work in the afternoon and the office is bustling and alive. At the start of my shift, the supervisors are ready to hand out tasks and receive help from the interns.

Since there is a team-oriented environment in the office, I report to each supervisor to see what they would need help with for the day. If the program coordinators have tasks for me that would range from designing graphics on Adobe Photoshop for events to updating excel sheets for data entry. But, the real treat lies in working for The Expunction Project’s supervising attorney.

The Expunction Project expunges and seals criminal records for free to low-income individuals in the Austin area. If the office is preparing for an intake session, I call potential clients and e-mail them information regarding the project. After the intake session, I assist the law students in preparing court petitions for the “exit session” where the clients will review their information before its e-filed to the court. After the exit session, I e-file the petitions and notify the clients on the status of their petitions.

I never know what I am going to do when I walk in to work. Every day brings a new challenge which gives me the opportunity to learn something new on a daily basis.

Fall 2019

Position: Legal Intern
Student: Middle Eastern Languages and Cultures & Plan II Senior

The University of Texas Immigration Clinic offers a yearlong internship for undergraduate students to serve as legal interns. The clinic provides pro-bono representation to low-income immigrant families living in Austin. In addition, there is a class which meets two times a week with the law students in the clinic which is available for interns to attend when they are available. This is a great opportunity to get exposed to law school and learn more about the immigration system in the US. The clinic provides hands-on experiential learning as well as opportunities for course work, making it a comprehensive introduction into immigration law. Students work 10 hours a week.

Responsibilities range depending on the cases the intern works on. Interns are directly supervised by one of the two attorneys at the clinic, and will meet with them once a week to check in on their tasks. If students speak another language they will assist in interpretation for the other law students as well as translation of supporting documents for their cases. They will do the same for their own cases. Students will have the opportunity to work directly with clients to fill out applications. Applications include work permit renewals, adjustment of status, asylum applications, and more. Students will support their clients with any other questions or concerns that may come up during their time.

Students will occasionally travel to Don Hutto detention center to carry out these interpretation tasks. The entire class will take a trip to the San Antonio Immigration Courts to see hearings first hand and speak with judges who work there. Other opportunities may arise as well to leave Austin with the clinic. These visits will inform the work that students do at the UT clinic. Lastly, students will have the opportunity to engage in the community of activism and advocacy that surrounds the immigration law network.

Fall 2017

Position: UT Immigration Clinic Intern
Student: Government Senior 

I have interned at the University of Texas School of Law Immigration Clinic during the Fall semester. We represent individuals who are in different immigration proceedings. We have two supervising attorneys, Denise Gilman and Elissa Steglich. The Immigration Clinic shares offices with the Civil Rights Clinic, however, we (undergraduate interns) do not collaborate with the other clinic. It’s possible that the law students have a few cases with the Civil Rights Clinic’s students, but I am not aware of this. We do, however, actively collaborate with the Domestic Violence Clinic. I am required to contribute 10 hours per week, though, I often contribute a few more than that. My hours are Tuesday and Thursdays, 12:30pm-4:30pm and Friday 8:30am-11:30am. If you have a very important exam, Denise is understandable if you want to leave early. There’s a mixture of 15 2L and 3L law students, another undergraduate intern (who does similar work than I) and a social worker undergraduate intern from St. Edward’s University, she uses her social work experience to interact with our clients and offer emotional support. My responsibilities consist of supporting the law students in their cases. Those tasks consist mostly on translating documents, such as birth certificates, police reports, and affidavits. Additionally, to my surprise, I was also given my own clients. I am helping those clients apply for Legal Permanent Residency, this requires filing out I-485. Another one of my clients is applying for work permit, although he needs to take care of some legal issues in California before he can apply for Legal Permanent Residency. We are also responsible for responding to USCIS regarding any our clients and subsequently inform our clients on any updates on their case. We are also responsible for recording all communication and activities we perform. We use a management software called CLIO. This software allows us to add any letters, phone calls or meetings we have with our clients. Additionally, we must also print any emails with our clients (or regarding our clients) and USCIS documents and organized them in a physical folder. 

Summer 2016 

Position: Pre-Law Intern
Student: Psychology Junior

My internship this summer took place at Verner Brumley McCurley Mueller Parker PC, a law firm in Dallas. This law firm specializes in family law, most often divorce, but also deals with child custody issues and adoption. The law firm has twelve attorneys working full time to help their clients with a range of issues. Each lawyer there brings a unique set of skills to the table. One of the partners, Janet Brumley, is passionate about women having equal opportunity, and really encourages young women, like myself, to consider going into the field of law.

A typical day at the office starts at 8:30 or 9:00 am. Each day brings in new cases and new opportunities to handle different issues. Most days there are consultations with new clients, which are very interesting. It’s the first opportunity to hear someone’s unique story. You get to listen and try to figure out if the marriage is salvageable. If it isn’t, the attorneys proceed to figure out the next step, whether or not it can be handled without having to go to court. Other days the attorneys handle mediations. Mediations last most of the day, if not all of it. In my personal experience, it is the most boring part of the job. You must sit in a conference room all day picking through details of what each party wants. On the other side, if a case has to go to court it can be very exciting to see some of the milder tempered attorneys get very aggressive during their arguments in the court room.
Most of my time was spent going with the attorneys to the courthouses. However, when I wasn’t in the court house, my time was spent researching new laws or information that could help with each case. I was able to learn more about specific family law codes. I also did research on laws not pertaining to family law, such as the laws regarding over time pay in Texas and across the United States. Each day was different, but each day equally interesting. Some days were more exciting than others, but each day was important to furthering my knowledge of the legal system.

My time at Verner Brumley McCurley Mueller Parker PC was the most adult experience I have had so far. It was my first nine to five job, and there was no one else I could rely on to do my tasks for me. I was on my own, and I think it made me more independent. I also was forced to become more reliable and trustworthy. I was forced to make professional relationships and make sure each lawyer trusted me with whatever task they gave me. It took a few weeks for some attorneys to realize I am smart and responsible. As the weeks went by my tasks went from making copies to more important tasks, like writing discovery papers and being responsible for important documents.

I learned that having a job and a strict schedule is important. I wasn’t wasting any time on social media at work. My days felt more important because I felt like an important asset to the firm. They were paying me to do a job, and to do it well. I took it much more seriously than I thought I would going into the experience. Before this experience I really didn’t think I would like having a full-time job, I thought it would be too time consuming and not rewarding enough. Even though I was only paid minimum wage, the experience was rewarding. I learned much more in my time there than I would have at other companies. It made me realize that I want to make my academic experience a positive one so that I do not have to work in a minimum wage paying job when I graduate. I realize how hard it is to live off that kind of money, it is incredibly challenging. I have a deeper respect for attorneys and all adults who work in similar professions. It is an incredibly challenging and time consuming occupation, but it is also rewarding. I am happy with my experience and that I was able to further my education through a real world experience.

Spring 2018

Position: Civil Rights Intake Specialist Intern
Student: Psychology Freshman

The Texas Civil Rights Project is a socially conscious, easy going, fun internship! A typical day for a civil rights intake specialist usually starts by being greeted by everyone you walk past, which is super great and makes you as an intern feel welcomed and loved in the environment. Then Rolando (the intern supervisor / legal manager) tells you what’s going on at TCRP that day, and what you need to do to help make that happen. The responsibilities vary day to day, but typical intern duties are answering the phone, returning phone calls, scheduling appointments, and sending out letters. Pretty much every intern has a “project” they are working on in conjunction with Rolando to help ensure everything is going smoothly at TCRP. For example, my project was to help close the cases of the people that TCRP had to reject. This includes working on the computer and essentially filing away their information, and then drafting a “referral letter” and putting the other organizations we recommend they seek out. One thing I noticed at my time at TCRP is that every single task I did helped the wheels turn. I never did “busy work” or something that wasn’t really needed. The interns are an essential part to helping TCRP function, and it feels great as an intern working there.

Fall 2015 

Position: Legal Intake Intern
Student: International Relations and Global Studies Senior

Texas Civil Rights Project is a small nonprofit that aims to promote social and economic justice through litigation, education, and social services to low/moderate-income individuals who have faced civil rights violations. These are the types of violations the organization deals with: 1st Amendment free speech and assembly, privacy, discrimination, disability, official misconduct, prisoners’ rights, and due process. When possible clients come to us with other types of cases, we refer them to other lawyers or agencies that specialize in those cases and may better be able to serve them.

Each Thursday, we conduct intake. Thursday is the only day that possible clients can call with a new case. We all stay by the phone lines so we can take as many calls as possible. As an intern, I’m not allowed to give any kind of legal advice, but I take notes in our database about the person’s case with as much detail as possible so that I can present it to the TCRP attorneys later in the day.

At the end of the intake session, we all sit down with the attorneys and present the cases that we received. I basically act as liaison between the client and the attorneys during the preliminary stages of the case. If the attorneys think a case may be one they are interested in representing, they will ask me to collect documents from the client, take statements from witnesses, etc. If they don’t want to take the case, they have me look up different organizations or agencies that may better represent the client. Due to limited funding, we can only take 5% of the cases that we receive, so this is what usually happens.

Summer 2023 

Position: Student Intern 
Student: Psychology Senior 

I had the privilege of interning at the Travis County Attorney’s office in Summer 2023. I discovered this internship opportunity through LinkedIn. Throughout the internship, my duties were diverse and engaging. I received training in conducting comprehensive research, where I verified and interpreted data to support the office’s objectives. This research often involved analyzing legal issues and gathering relevant information for ongoing cases. One of the highlights of the internship was gaining firsthand experience in observing trials and working in the courtroom. Additionally, the team was supportive, did an excellent job at mentoring myself and the other interns, and extremely engaging. 

Spring 2023

Position: Student Intern 
Student: Psychology/ Businiess Minor Senior 

This semester I have been interning at the Travis County District Attorney's Office in the 147th and 167th district courts. I found this internship through the Travis County website which had a link to the District Attorney’s Office website where I applied. I have worked on a variety of projects throughout my internship. I am often asked to listen to jail calls, review body cam footage, and summarize cases for the attorneys. I also sit in on trials and hearings and take part in witness or victim interviews. This internship has taught me so much about the criminal justice system and what it would be like to work as a prosecutor. My favorite thing about this experience is that I have gotten a ton of hands-on experience by working directly on cases.

Fall 2019

Position: Legal Intern
Student: Middle Eastern Languages and Cultures and Plan II Senior

The University of Texas Immigration Clinic offers a yearlong internship for undergraduate students to serve as legal interns. The clinic provides pro-bono representation to low-income immigrant families living in Austin. In addition, there is a class which meets two times a week with the law students in the clinic which is available for interns to attend when they are available. This is a great opportunity to get exposed to law school and learn more about the immigration system in the US. The clinic provides hands-on experiential learning as well as opportunities for course work, making it a comprehensive introduction into immigration law. Students work 10 hours a week.

Responsibilities range depending on the cases the intern works on. Interns are directly supervised by one of the two attorneys at the clinic, and will meet with them once a week to check in on their tasks. If students speak another language they will assist in interpretation for the other law students as well as translation of supporting documents for their cases. They will do the same for their own cases. Students will have the opportunity to work directly with clients to fill out applications. Applications include work permit renewals, adjustment of status, asylum applications, and more. Students will support their clients with any other questions or concerns that may come up during their time.

Students will occasionally travel to Don Hutto detention center to carry out these interpretation tasks. The entire class will take a trip to the San Antonio Immigration Courts to see hearings first hand and speak with judges who work there. Other opportunities may arise as well to leave Austin with the clinic. These visits will inform the work that students do at the UT clinic. Lastly, students will have the opportunity to engage in the community of activism and advocacy that surrounds the immigration law network.

Spring 2018

Position: Intern, Mithoff Pro Bono Program
Student: Government Senior 

A day in the life of an undergraduate intern at the University of Texas School of Law. Mithoff Pro Bono Program is full of excitement and curiosity. I arrive to work in the afternoon and the office is bustling and alive. At the start of my shift, the supervisors are ready to hand out tasks and receive help from the interns.

Since there is a team-oriented environment in the office, I report to each supervisor to see what they would need help with for the day. If the program coordinators have tasks for me that would range from designing graphics on Adobe Photoshop for events to updating excel sheets for data entry. But, the real treat lies in working for The Expunction Project’s supervising attorney.

The Expunction Project expunges and seals criminal records for free to low-income individuals in the Austin area. If the office is preparing for an intake session, I call potential clients and e-mail them information regarding the project. After the intake session, I assist the law students in preparing court petitions for the “exit session” where the clients will review their information before its e-filed to the court. After the exit session, I e-file the petitions and notify the clients on the status of their petitions.

I never know what I am going to do when I walk in to work. Every day brings a new challenge which gives me the opportunity to learn something new on a daily basis.

Summer 2016 

Position: Pre-Law Intern
Student: Psychology Junior

My internship this summer took place at Verner Brumley McCurley Mueller Parker PC, a law firm in Dallas. This law firm specializes in family law, most often divorce, but also deals with child custody issues and adoption. The law firm has twelve attorneys working full time to help their clients with a range of issues. Each lawyer there brings a unique set of skills to the table. One of the partners, Janet Brumley, is passionate about women having equal opportunity, and really encourages young women, like myself, to consider going into the field of law.

A typical day at the office starts at 8:30 or 9:00 am. Each day brings in new cases and new opportunities to handle different issues. Most days there are consultations with new clients, which are very interesting. It’s the first opportunity to hear someone’s unique story. You get to listen and try to figure out if the marriage is salvageable. If it isn’t, the attorneys proceed to figure out the next step, whether or not it can be handled without having to go to court. Other days the attorneys handle mediations. Mediations last most of the day, if not all of it. In my personal experience, it is the most boring part of the job. You must sit in a conference room all day picking through details of what each party wants. On the other side, if a case has to go to court it can be very exciting to see some of the milder tempered attorneys get very aggressive during their arguments in the court room.

Most of my time was spent going with the attorneys to the courthouses. However, when I wasn’t in the court house, my time was spent researching new laws or information that could help with each case. I was able to learn more about specific family law codes. I also did research on laws not pertaining to family law, such as the laws regarding over time pay in Texas and across the United States. Each day was different, but each day equally interesting. Some days were more exciting than others, but each day was important to furthering my knowledge of the legal system.

My time at Verner Brumley McCurley Mueller Parker PC was the most adult experience I have had so far. It was my first nine to five job, and there was no one else I could rely on to do my tasks for me. I was on my own, and I think it made me more independent. I also was forced to become more reliable and trustworthy. I was forced to make professional relationships and make sure each lawyer trusted me with whatever task they gave me. It took a few weeks for some attorneys to realize I am smart and responsible. As the weeks went by my tasks went from making copies to more important tasks, like writing discovery papers and being responsible for important documents.

I learned that having a job and a strict schedule is important. I wasn’t wasting any time on social media at work. My days felt more important because I felt like an important asset to the firm. They were paying me to do a job, and to do it well. I took it much more seriously than I thought I would going into the experience. Before this experience I really didn’t think I would like having a full-time job, I thought it would be too time consuming and not rewarding enough. Even though I was only paid minimum wage, the experience was rewarding. I learned much more in my time there than I would have at other companies. It made me realize that I want to make my academic experience a positive one so that I do not have to work in a minimum wage paying job when I graduate. I realize how hard it is to live off that kind of money, it is incredibly challenging. I have a deeper respect for attorneys and all adults who work in similar professions. It is an incredibly challenging and time consuming occupation, but it is also rewarding. I am happy with my experience and that I was able to further my education through a real world experience.

Summer 2019

Position: Legal Fellow
Student: Psychology Junior

As an undergraduate in psychology with the intent of going into law school after I graduated, I knew I wanted to work at a law firm over the summer. In the spring, I had no idea where to begin looking, but Vinson and Elkins was the perfect place for me to go: it was close to home, a name recognition firm, and had a big intern program. I worked at their Austin office with two other interns, which is much smaller than their headquarters in Houston, that had over forty interns. I loved having a smaller group of interns. Even though we were all sent to different departments, we got to know each other very well, and never felt like we were competing with one another, especially when during firm wide intern seminars, the Houston interns were fighting to get a seat at the table (physically, and metaphorically).

I worked for Vinson and Elkins LLP in the Summer of 2019, from late May to the middle of August. I was able to build my schedule, which was a great plus for me, considering I worked a second job and was taking online courses. My days began between 8:00am and 8:30am, and lasted until 5:00pm. I spent the majority of my time with the talent management group, where I researched and presented different maternity, sabbatical, and insurance policies utilized by V&E’s competition, and potential lateral hires. Even though I was a part of the talent management team, I would also fill in for reception, help with filing, paperwork, and be available for any other project that an attorney would require help with.

I had a fantastic experience spending the summer at Vinson and Elkins. The staff was incredibly kind and helpful, and so patient at the beginning of my ‘learning curve.’ I cannot recommend the internship program enough to future law students.

Fall 2021

Position: Fall Intern
Student: Psychology

My internship for this semester was at a company called Evident, and I think the best way to describe the company is a “legal tech startup.” Evident is a Public Benefit Corporation that provides a marketplace designed to help customers find the legal help they need. I like to call it a dating app to find a lawyer instead of a significant other. The work I have done so far is write and research articles about various legal issues, design social media posts, do a “site-teardown” so that we can find if there is anything that needs to be changed on the website from a lawyer or consumer perspective. We also have catch-up meetings on Mondays and Fridays and a Thursday meeting with Set Fire Creative, our marketing agency that helps with organic social, paid social, paid search, SEO, and landing page creation. My favorite part about the internship so far is learning about different aspect of the legal field because I find that very interesting.

Fall 2021

Position: Discovery Media Intern
Student: Health and Society

The company I work for is The Greening Law Group, which practices criminal defense in the College Station and Bryan areas. Majority of the cases that the firm works on are DWI and drug related cases. However, in the six months I have been interning for them, we have handled a handful of murder cases, federal cases, and sexual assault cases. The firm was started in 2010 by attorney Craig Greening and has grown from two employees to twelve, two of which being female attorneys that work alongside and independent of Mr. Greening. I was able to find this internship through searching Indeed. I applied through their application process and then decided to call the firm and speak over the phone to stand out from other applicants. My daily duties of this internship are to request and download all discovery for our clients. I am also responsible for answering phones, taking client payments, setting up appointments for the clients with attorneys and to view their discovery. Additionally, I make court-runs to drop-off or pick-up documents, flash drives, hard drives, or anything else the firm may need. My favorite thing about the internship is how familiar I have become with the court system on a state and federal level and their roles. The court system is very complicated to learn and having this internship has given me hands-on experience that allows me to apply knowledge of the system to my work to better understand the job and purpose of each court.

Summer 2019

Position: Legal Fellow
Student: Psychology Junior

As an undergraduate in psychology with the intent of going into law school after I graduated, I knew I wanted to work at a law firm over the summer. In the spring, I had no idea where to begin looking, but Vinson and Elkins was the perfect place for me to go: it was close to home, a name recognition firm, and had a big intern program. I worked at their Austin office with two other interns, which is much smaller than their headquarters in Houston, that had over forty interns. I loved having a smaller group of interns. Even though we were all sent to different departments, we got to know each other very well, and never felt like we were competing with one another, especially when during firm wide intern seminars, the Houston interns were fighting to get a seat at the table (physically, and metaphorically).

I worked for Vinson and Elkins LLP in the Summer of 2019, from late May to the middle of August. I was able to build my schedule, which was a great plus for me, considering I worked a second job and was taking online courses. My days began between 8:00am and 8:30am, and lasted until 5:00pm. I spent the majority of my time with the talent management group, where I researched and presented different maternity, sabbatical, and insurance policies utilized by V&E’s competition, and potential lateral hires. Even though I was a part of the talent management team, I would also fill in for reception, help with filing, paperwork, and be available for any other project that an attorney would require help with.

I had a fantastic experience spending the summer at Vinson and Elkins. The staff was incredibly kind and helpful, and so patient at the beginning of my ‘learning curve.’ I cannot recommend the internship program enough to future law students.