Summer Judicial Internship Program

AEF is launching its annual Judicial Internship Program for Summer 2025. This is an unpaid 10-week internship open to first-year and second-year law students. Students may be placed in the following courts in the Greater Washington, D.C. area:  U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit; U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit; U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims; D.C. Court of Appeals; U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia; U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland (Greenbelt); D.C. Superior Court; and D.C. Office of Administrative Hearings

Instructions: Given the competitiveness of the applications, submissions that fail to follow the instructions below are likely to be disqualified from consideration.

Application Materials: Please submit the following materials to applications@aefdc.org:

  • (1) Application Package

    • (a) Resume;

    • (b) Cover Letter, including two or three professional references;

    • (c) Law School Transcript (an unofficial transcript is acceptable);

    • (d) Legal writing sample (5-10 pages); and

  • (2) On a separate sheet, please indicate the courts you are interested in being placed with, in order of preference.

    • For those who wish to be considered for an internship in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, please include a brief statement (no longer than 250 words) explaining your interest or experience in patent law.

    • For those who wish to be considered for an internship in the U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims, please include a brief statement (no longer than 250 words) explaining your interest or experience in Veterans’ law.

Format: The Application Package (a)-(d) must be submitted in one single PDF, labeled as “First and last name, 2025 SJIP,” and organized in the order listed above. placement preferences (2) should be a second, separate PDF. If Fall 2024 grades are not available when you submit your application, please indicate so in your cover letter and submit your transcript immediately once grades are available.

Deadline: We review applications on a rolling basis, so we strongly encourage you to apply early. We will begin reviewing applications and extending invitations to interview on January 2, 2025. We will not accept applications submitted later than January 16, 2025.

Interview and Selection Process: A limited number of applicants will undergo a screening interview with an AEF Board Director to further determine student qualifications. Qualified students may subsequently be sent on for judicial interviews.

Questions? Visit our website at aefdc.org, or contact us at applications@aefdc.org.