Clerkships And Internships

2023 Walpin Fellowship

The Center for Individual Rights’ Gerald Walpin Fellowship summer program provides an opportunity for law students to gain first-hand experience in cutting-edge public interest litigation while contributing directly to CIR’s cases. The Fellowship is named after Gerald Walpin, a longtime member of CIR’s Board of Directors.

Fellows conduct legal research and help develop litigation strategies for active and potential cases.  Depending on the status of CIR’s docket, they may assist in other aspects of litigation, including helping draft discovery requests, motions, and briefs, primarily in federal court. Given the current expected status of CIR’s docket, Fellows may be involved in:

• Researching the scope of federal supplemental jurisdiction
• Participating in moots for dispositive-motion hearings on behalf of a “cancelled” medical school professor who challenged the orthodox view of race-conscious affirmative action programs in the medical field in a peer-reviewed articles published in a medical journal
• Preparing dispositive motions and/or participating in moots challenging a coronavirus relief program limited to African Americans and African-American owned businesses
• Preparing discovery requests or expert reports in a challenge to the Federal Government’s Section 8(a) program, which reserves federal contracting opportunities to businesses owned by socially and economically disadvantaged individuals and assumes that all minorities are socially disadvantaged
• Working on a case in administrative proceedings and/or in court on behalf of an employee fired because of views he expressed in an off-hours podcast

Fellows will be mentored and guided by CIR’s litigators and receive practical training that will be useful in any career in litigation.  The fellowship is a paid opportunity offering $8,000 for the 10-week program, which generally runs from the first week in June through early August.  It is intended for students who have completed at least the first year of law school. Fellows are expected to participate in-person in CIR’s Washington, DC offices. Applications to participate virtually will be considered in special cases.

If you are interested in applying, send a letter of interest, your c.v., and a short writing sample to Terry Pell at [email protected]

Deadline: Submit your application by January 31, 2023. Applications will be considered on a rolling basis and interviews will begin in December.

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Undergraduate Internship Program

Full-time and part-time internships are available during summer and the academic year. Interns have the chance to do research, write op-eds, spin the media, and perform other important tasks while working with some of the best lawyers in Washington.

Sound appealing? Send your resume to the attention of Terry Pell, preferably by February 28.

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Year Round Clerkships

CIR offers a limited number of unpaid, year-round, part-time clerkships. Applicants for a clerkship must have first-rate legal academic credentials, a commitment to public interest work, and excellent writing skills. Interested students should send short statement of interest to the attention of Terry Pell.

CIR’s Address:
1100 Connecticut Ave., NW
Suite 625
Washington, DC 20036