Law Students
I am a Law Student
We appreciate your interest in Prairie State Legal Services. Law student involvement is an important aspect of our work and can help to expand the number of clients we serve. We also hope that working with PSLS early in a future attorney’s career can help foster lifelong support for PSLS and legal aid generally.
The main way that law students can get involved is through summer or school year internships. If you cannot commit to a full internship, we often have short term volunteer opportunities throughout the year. Check back to this page for any upcoming opportunities or email volunteer@pslegal.org to discuss potential opportunities.
Law Student Interships
Prairie State regularly hosts summer law student interns at its each of its local offices (Bloomington, Galesburg, Joliet, Kankakee, Ottawa, Peoria, Rockford, Rock Island, Waukegan, West Suburban, and Woodstock), and the following special projects: Legal Help for Homeowners Project (West Chicago and Waukegan); Low Income Tax Clinic (West Chicago); and Fair Housing Project (Waukegan, Rockford, and Peoria). Some offices and projects also host school year interns.
What will I do?
Law students perform a variety of duties at Prairie State depending on their experience level and the needs of a particular office or project. These duties may include client interviews and case investigation; drafting of pleadings, memoranda and briefs; legal research; and negotiations. (NOTE: Law students with a limited practice license under Illinois Supreme Court Rule 711 will additionally have the opportunity to appear in state court.) All work is supervised by an experienced attorney. Prairie State provides frequent training opportunities to interns.
Compensation
Prairie State understands that many students who seek to work in a public interest setting are unable to accept an unpaid position. Working together with PILI and other funders, we are able to offer a limited number of paid law student positions; the number and location of these positions varies depending on current funding opportunities. Prairie State also welcomes internship applications from law students who have outside funding or seek school credit, or who simply wish to volunteer their time.
How To Get Involved
To apply for a law student internship, please submit an application before February 15, 2023. If you have questions, you may contact Prairie State’s internship coordinators for more information at intern@pslegal.org.