Opportunites for young people in government and law
February 26, 2009 1:47 PM Subscribe
Daughter (sophomore about to turn sixteen in a few days) is interested in pursuing a career in law and would maybe like to serve a summer intership or clerkship in Washington her Junior year. I realize her school (college prepatory) should be able to assist with this and I will ask them but I thought I would bring the hivemind to bear on this as well. Tell me how this works, maybe a little of your own personal experiences, resources, web-based or otherwise you may know of.
For the record, daughter is excelling academically and is well-rounded, sober, scholarly and studious. Well balanced in other areas as well; humble, kind, joyful, conscientious, etc. I realize many thousands of students exhibit these qualities across the nation. I'm not saying she is the greatest etc., etc., however she certainly has never done anything to disqualify her from my trying to give her every advantage I possibly can and that's what I would like to do. She deserves the experience and the opportunity. I would like to assist, facilitate, encourage and empower her. So...how does one find political internships and clerkships for a promising young person. I realize there are opportunities for young people to intern , clerk (are there other terms for this?) all the way from The Whitehouse down to the local mayoral level. Ideally I would like to find a clearinghouse or repository of resources in one place but any ideas or personal experiences you would like to share are welcome.
For the record, daughter is excelling academically and is well-rounded, sober, scholarly and studious. Well balanced in other areas as well; humble, kind, joyful, conscientious, etc. I realize many thousands of students exhibit these qualities across the nation. I'm not saying she is the greatest etc., etc., however she certainly has never done anything to disqualify her from my trying to give her every advantage I possibly can and that's what I would like to do. She deserves the experience and the opportunity. I would like to assist, facilitate, encourage and empower her. So...how does one find political internships and clerkships for a promising young person. I realize there are opportunities for young people to intern , clerk (are there other terms for this?) all the way from The Whitehouse down to the local mayoral level. Ideally I would like to find a clearinghouse or repository of resources in one place but any ideas or personal experiences you would like to share are welcome.
If your daughter is certain that she wants a law career, efforts would be better spent on an LSAT program. Law schols really don't care about the internship.
In my experience, high schoolers will have a real problem catching a good, substantive internship. There are so many college kids (and grad students, that's how I got here), that high schoolers are often left out in the cold.
White House internships are hard to score. An old boss had one--his uncle was best friends with a U.S. Senator and a political force in his state. When the 200 people with White House internships were assembled, 198 were sent off to another room, with only him and a buddy sitting there. They went to the West Wing. The other 198 never set foot in the White House again.
posted by Ironmouth at 2:02 PM on February 26, 2009
In my experience, high schoolers will have a real problem catching a good, substantive internship. There are so many college kids (and grad students, that's how I got here), that high schoolers are often left out in the cold.
White House internships are hard to score. An old boss had one--his uncle was best friends with a U.S. Senator and a political force in his state. When the 200 people with White House internships were assembled, 198 were sent off to another room, with only him and a buddy sitting there. They went to the West Wing. The other 198 never set foot in the White House again.
posted by Ironmouth at 2:02 PM on February 26, 2009
Unfortunately, it's likely too late for her to apply for the page program. Most offices take applications in the fall for the following year. She may still be able to apply for summer 2010. Call your Member of Congress and your Senators and ask.
posted by decathecting at 2:07 PM on February 26, 2009
posted by decathecting at 2:07 PM on February 26, 2009
Mender is correct that legal intern positions go almost exclusively to law students--for obvious reasons--but it's also true that most intern positions period go to college students and above. High school is a little early to be looking at most positions on the Hill.
There is no clearinghouse. There just isn't. The closest you'll get is a well-staffed, well-resourced, competent career services office (and good luck with that).
You're going to have a lot better luck on the state level than the federal level, and probably even better luck on the municipal level. Call your state senator/representative. See what their deal is. Each politician's office is independent, so they'll all do things differently. You basically just have to call around and see what's out there.
posted by valkyryn at 2:14 PM on February 26, 2009
There is no clearinghouse. There just isn't. The closest you'll get is a well-staffed, well-resourced, competent career services office (and good luck with that).
You're going to have a lot better luck on the state level than the federal level, and probably even better luck on the municipal level. Call your state senator/representative. See what their deal is. Each politician's office is independent, so they'll all do things differently. You basically just have to call around and see what's out there.
posted by valkyryn at 2:14 PM on February 26, 2009
I think it would be very difficult for a 16-year-old to get a D.C. internship, unless she lived within commuting distance of D.C. Most 16-year-olds aren't mature enough to handle real responsibility, so there aren't programs set up to give internships to kids that young. And you would need a program, because she'd need some sort of supervised housing arrangement to live in D.C. There's lots of summer housing in D.C., but I don't think any of it would be appropriate for an unsupervised kid. Do you really want your high school junior renting a room in a group house with a bunch of 20-somethings?
I would either look for something closer to home or see what kind of D.C.-based summer enrichment programs there are for high school students. The latter probably won't include fancy internships, but they'll be fun and educational anyway. (They'll also be very expensive, though.) When she's in college, she'll be eligible for a lot of great D.C. internships.
posted by craichead at 2:25 PM on February 26, 2009
I would either look for something closer to home or see what kind of D.C.-based summer enrichment programs there are for high school students. The latter probably won't include fancy internships, but they'll be fun and educational anyway. (They'll also be very expensive, though.) When she's in college, she'll be eligible for a lot of great D.C. internships.
posted by craichead at 2:25 PM on February 26, 2009
I had ambitions toward a legal career when I was that age (though I ended up doing nothing of the kind), and I had a fantastic experience working for my local State Attorney General's office. They had a regional office near me, and I was able to get a lot of experience working with meat-and-potatoes consumer protection law. I also got to tag along on court dates a couple times on cases involving consumer protection, defending the state from liability claims, and representing the state in mental health proceedings.
posted by kid_dynamite at 2:42 PM on February 26, 2009
posted by kid_dynamite at 2:42 PM on February 26, 2009
I forgot to add-- I got involved with the AG's office through the mock trial program at my school. In general I found that the lawyers & judges involved with those programs tended to be prominent in the local legal community, and by extension local politics, and were also willing to use those connections to help earnest, hardworking young people.
In short, if your daughter does mock trial, ask the people involved with that, and failing that give your local bar association a call.
posted by kid_dynamite at 2:56 PM on February 26, 2009
In short, if your daughter does mock trial, ask the people involved with that, and failing that give your local bar association a call.
posted by kid_dynamite at 2:56 PM on February 26, 2009
Your Senators and House Reps should have regional offices in your state. Start there for internships.
posted by availablelight at 2:57 PM on February 26, 2009
posted by availablelight at 2:57 PM on February 26, 2009
For that age, I would recommend a local program. Teenagers don't have a great chance at internships that are better served by college or law students (partially because as adults, they're less of a liability than minors).
Other than the local goverment internships suggested, you may also see if there are any law firms that would allow her to work as an intern, or even as a paid office assistant. She can probably only get paid if she has actual experience, but it's great experience, even unpaid. I worked at a law firm starting when I was 18 and learned a ton.
posted by fructose at 3:05 PM on February 26, 2009
Other than the local goverment internships suggested, you may also see if there are any law firms that would allow her to work as an intern, or even as a paid office assistant. She can probably only get paid if she has actual experience, but it's great experience, even unpaid. I worked at a law firm starting when I was 18 and learned a ton.
posted by fructose at 3:05 PM on February 26, 2009
In college I interned with my county's Office of Law. I really liked it and was exposed to a broad range of legal areas of practice. Also, it was really easy to set up -- I just sent a letter to my County Attorney. I think she'll have the best success finding something in local government because college and law students will be looking at the state and federal levels, and because you probably know someone involved in the local level. Ask around!
posted by lockestockbarrel at 3:06 PM on February 26, 2009
posted by lockestockbarrel at 3:06 PM on February 26, 2009
I'd look into what availablelight said. I interned for my local house rep. If you live in the state capital, you could look into the state senate or house of rep, there are plenty. Another thing she can do is work for a local law firms. She is not going to get an internship in dc law firm as a high school student unless you have a really good friend that is a senior partner.
Now, you have to understand that in these internships, she won't be involved at all on any cases. She might hear some stories, but won't be able to participate in any. She'll be making copies, filing papers, organizing rolodex, entering data, and organizing some more crap that lawyers or their legal assistants are too busy to do, BUT necessary.
These interships also don't last too long, so it's not like she's going to get a recommendation for law school from these people any way (she's the fastest copier I've had?) She's going to have to go through college to go to law school. As many suggested above, she should explorer internship opportunities then. During high school, she should concentrate on creating a leadership role for herself, even if it's a treasurer for the chess club, not that there's anything wrong with that.
Having said that, what I recommend, for a great way to learn about a career in law, a internship (in college) for public defender services in dc. The interns get to be investigators and work WITH the lawyers. Yes, there are some copying involved, but they are 'hands-on' involved with the cases. The lawyers KNOW that they are getting smart kids to help them out, so they are awesome. She can get college credit, but she'll be able to learn about criminal law and civil law. It'd be most effective after she'd taken some courses.
posted by icollectpurses at 3:22 PM on February 26, 2009
Now, you have to understand that in these internships, she won't be involved at all on any cases. She might hear some stories, but won't be able to participate in any. She'll be making copies, filing papers, organizing rolodex, entering data, and organizing some more crap that lawyers or their legal assistants are too busy to do, BUT necessary.
These interships also don't last too long, so it's not like she's going to get a recommendation for law school from these people any way (she's the fastest copier I've had?) She's going to have to go through college to go to law school. As many suggested above, she should explorer internship opportunities then. During high school, she should concentrate on creating a leadership role for herself, even if it's a treasurer for the chess club, not that there's anything wrong with that.
Having said that, what I recommend, for a great way to learn about a career in law, a internship (in college) for public defender services in dc. The interns get to be investigators and work WITH the lawyers. Yes, there are some copying involved, but they are 'hands-on' involved with the cases. The lawyers KNOW that they are getting smart kids to help them out, so they are awesome. She can get college credit, but she'll be able to learn about criminal law and civil law. It'd be most effective after she'd taken some courses.
posted by icollectpurses at 3:22 PM on February 26, 2009
Best answer: Definitely look into the Congressional Page Program -- that's probably the only internship type program that she can participate in as a minor, and you are only eligible as a Junior (or the summer after your junior year). If she gets into the page program, she should have no problem getting summer internships with her congressional sponsor in the future - and a sustained relationship with your Congressman/Senator (and/or his/her staff) could be great for networking/recommendations down the road.
I was a page, and it was an AMAZING experience (plus she will meet loads of interesting kids with similar interests and the potential to do and be great in the future - I'm still in touch with several of my fellow pages, and some of the accomplishments among alumni of the program are really amazing); I also spent subsequent summers on the Hill and ultimately went to a top tier law school, so I'd say that all of these things could certainly put her on a path to doing legal/policy work. Kudos to her to thinking ahead, given that she's only a sophomore now.
In a similar vein, there's the Congressional Youth Leadership Council (CYLC), which I also interned for in college, as well as Presidential Classroom.
posted by roundrock at 5:48 PM on February 26, 2009
I was a page, and it was an AMAZING experience (plus she will meet loads of interesting kids with similar interests and the potential to do and be great in the future - I'm still in touch with several of my fellow pages, and some of the accomplishments among alumni of the program are really amazing); I also spent subsequent summers on the Hill and ultimately went to a top tier law school, so I'd say that all of these things could certainly put her on a path to doing legal/policy work. Kudos to her to thinking ahead, given that she's only a sophomore now.
In a similar vein, there's the Congressional Youth Leadership Council (CYLC), which I also interned for in college, as well as Presidential Classroom.
posted by roundrock at 5:48 PM on February 26, 2009
A handful of Members offer summer high school internships. I know the Alaska delegation does. I'm not sure which state you reside in, but it may be worth checking out.
posted by ASM at 6:04 PM on February 26, 2009
posted by ASM at 6:04 PM on February 26, 2009
PS - I'm happy to email with you about the page program, etc if you like; feel free to send me an email.
posted by roundrock at 6:22 PM on February 26, 2009
posted by roundrock at 6:22 PM on February 26, 2009
Look into the Congressional Page program. It's available for high school students, and does summers. Have enough loot to pay for housing and food, which will run $1000-1500/month.
posted by talldean at 6:38 PM on February 26, 2009
posted by talldean at 6:38 PM on February 26, 2009
Response by poster: Thank you all. Will email you in near future roundrock.
posted by Muirwylde at 1:16 PM on March 4, 2009
posted by Muirwylde at 1:16 PM on March 4, 2009
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posted by Mender at 2:00 PM on February 26, 2009