1L Diversity Clerkship Programs

ABA Business Law Section Diversity Clerkship Program

The American Bar Association Business Law Section sponsors a Diversity Clerkship summer program that provides business law clerkship placements for diverse first or second-year law students.  Participating clerks will receive support and mentoring in the business law field and exposure to business practices that many of them lack.  

Applications for the summer of 2024 are due on December 31st.  Learn more and apply here. 

ABA Commission on Disability Rights

The ABA Commission on Disability Rights program work on various Commission initiatives, activities, and programs aimed at advancing disability civil rights and fostering the inclusion of law students and lawyers with disabilities in the legal profession. Tasks include researching disability law issues; compiling and analyzing statistics relating to the employment of lawyers with disabilities; identifying and assembling a list of resources for law students and lawyers with disabilities; growing the list of signatories to the Commission’s disability diversity pledge; representing the Commission at meetings and other events; and much more. Interns will have the opportunity to learn about and network with staff from other ABA groups. This internship is unpaid. However, students may qualify for academic credit. 

Multiple deadlines depending on participating employers.

See outdated listing from Mitchell Hamline here.

American Bar Association (ABA) Judicial Intern Opportunity Program

The American Bar Association Section of Litigation is a place where we work to advance diversity and inclusion in the legal system and where law students become engaged in the profession. One example of our work is the Section’s Judicial Intern Opportunity Program (JIOP), a summer internship program open to all diverse first- and second-year law students.

The mission of the Judicial Intern Opportunity Program Committee is to provide opportunities to students who are members of racial and ethnic groups that are traditionally underrepresented in the profession, students with disabilities, veterans, students who are economically disadvantaged, students who identify themselves as LGBTQ+, and women. 

Applications for summer 2024 are due on January 12, 2024. 

Baker Bots Programs

AT&T Diversity Fellowship Program, Baker Botts/AT&T

The Baker Botts/AT&T Summer Fellows Program offers a unique opportunity for diverse first-year law students to experience a 360-degree view of working with both in-house and outside counsel in our Dallas office. Under the program, the Summer Fellow will work with and be mentored by experienced AT&T lawyers, providing an opportunity to practice in-house and learn how they advise and advocate for a multinational public company. They will spend two to three weeks working directly with members of the AT&T Legal Department at AT&T’s offices. 

Diversity Fellowship Program, Baker Botts 

The highly qualified candidates selected to receive a fellowship will be eligible to receive up to $12,500 in stipends throughout the duration of their participation in the program, in addition to a salaried Summer Associate position. The stipends are paid to the fellowship recipients when they receive and accept an offer to participate in the Summer Program and when they return to the firm. The 2023 fellowship is open to all first year law students with an anticipated graduation date of May 2025, currently enrolled in an ABA-accredited law school, regardless of race, color, religion, citizenship, national origin, gender, age, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, marital status, military service, disability or any other characteristic or condition protected by applicable law 

The Boston Lawyers Group 1L Diversity Clerkship Program

BLG member organizations offer 5 or 10-week clerkships for rising 1Ls. Selected students who have just completed their 1L year typically spend the summer working with a member law firm & government agency; split by clerking five weeks in the private sector and five weeks in the public sector.  The program now offers the option of a full 10-week law firm or corporate law office clerkship along with an attorney mentor for the duration of the clerkship. Additionally, the clerks participate in BLG professional and social events designed to immerse the students in life as an attorney in the great city of Boston.

Check back for upcoming application timeline information. 

The Charlotte Legal Diversity Clerkship (CLDC)  Program

Established in 2006, the Charlotte Legal Diversity Clerkship (CLDC) program operates with one basic goal—to improve diversity in the Mecklenburg County Bar by attracting top first-year law students with diverse backgrounds to Charlotte through corporate and law firm summer internships. To date, the CLDC program has hosted 173 students from law schools around the country. The CLDC program has a strong Charlotte alumni base and continues to grow each year by clerks either returning for 2L summer employment opportunities or as full-time attorneys.

CLDC clerks are selected from across the country as part of a very competitive selection process. Each applicant provides a resume highlighting legal and undergraduate academic achievements and other professional experiences and grades, along with a statement explaining how the applicant would contribute to creating a more diverse legal community in Charlotte. The initial applicant pool is then narrowed down and interviewed by representatives from the CLDC firms and corporations. From there, the clerks selected then become part of the Charlotte Legal Diversity Clerkship program. 

Applications for the 2024 summer program opened in December.
The application deadline is January 19, 2024. 

 Leadership Council on Legal Diversity (LCLD) -  Scholars Program

The Leadership Council on Legal Diversity (LCLD) is dedicated to “creating a truly diverse U.S. legal profession." LCLD has many programs in place to achieve its mission. One of its very successful programs is the 1L LCLD Scholars Program. It offers 1L students a chance to spend a summer working alongside attorneys from LCLD Member organizations. This program is very extensive. Close to 200 LCLD Member law firms and corporations participate in the program, collectively offering more than 600 opportunities. The application period usually opens on December 1 and remain open per the Member organization’s discretion. Opportunities are available with both law firms and in-house legal departments.  There are opportunities all over the country.  More information here. 

Opportunities for the summer are currently being added by LCLD Members.  To find the list of previous LCLD participating employers, go to:

LCLD Member Organizations A-J | Leadership Council on Legal Diversity (lcldnet.org)

Note the Application Deadlines for Participating LCLD Employers that interest you. Deadlines vary by employer. 

Check back for upcoming application timeline information. 

Minnesota Defense Lawyers Association

MDLA hopes to further their dedication to improving diversity in the law by providing its members and select law firms with quality candidates for potential employment.  This is an opportunity for firms to be paired with at least two law clerks of a diverse background. At no cost to MDLA members or law school students, this program provides enrolled law firms with at least two candidates who meet the desired criteria.  

MDLA will review interested and qualified law students applications and determine pairings. MDLA aims to provide each firm with two applicants. After receiving the candidates, each firm reserves the right to make their own hiring and payment decisions.  

Check back for upcoming application timeline information. 

NH 1L Summer Associate Diversity Program 

The legal community of New Hampshire is excited to announce the second year of the New Hampshire 1L Summer Associate Diversity program, an iniative for 1L law students with a commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion.  Five of the state’s leading law firms are each offering a ten-week, paid Summer Associate position.  The participating firms each provide a meaningful law firm experience to students who have completed one year of law school and who will contribute to the diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts of the firms and the New Hampshire legal community.  Participating law firms in the past have included:  Sheehan Phinney; Sulloway & Hollis PLLC; McLane Middleton; Nixon Peabody; Orr & Reno.

 Applications are being accepted on a rolling basis until January 3rd, 2024. 

PracticePro 1L Diversity Scholar Program

The Diversity Scholar Program is a coaching, training, and recruiting program designed to help law students secure their dream employment while simultaneously preparing them with the skills, knowledge, confidence, and savvy to flourish in their legal positions and advance in corporate leadership.

The first-year law students who are accepted into the Program receive training in substantive and soft skills from the best attorneys in the country to gain competencies required of them as summer associates and as attorneys in their early years of practice.

Scholars also work one-on-one with a certified PracticePro career coach who will help them devise an individualized job search and networking strategy, and provide full assistance before and during on-campus interviews (OCI) to secure a position, assess law firms, handle complex situations, and otherwise navigate the legal recruiting landscape. Scholars also participate in exclusive PracticePro recruiting events with law firm partners. 

Eligibility: 

1. First-year law student enrolled at an ABA-accredited law school; and

2.  A personal background that contributes to the diversity of the legal profession, including but not limited to gender, racial, or ethnic groups historically underrepresented in the legal profession, the LGBTQ+ community, those with a disability, socioeconomic need, military experience, first-generation educational status, or other considerable hardships or challenges; and

3. A strong commitment to increasing diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility in the legal profession.

Applications for the summer of 2024 are now open.
Click here for more information and to apply.  The deadline is January 22, 2024.

Judicial Resources Committee and Just the Beginning - A Pipeline Organization Summer Judicial Internship Diversity Project

The SJID Project's goal is to provide highly qualified law students from underrepresented backgrounds in the legal profession with summer judicial internships. Operating nationally since 2011, the SJID Project has placed approximately 1,000 law students in successful internships to date. Judges from around the country have registered to participate in the SJID Project and are ready to hire a JTB law intern!  

Applications for the summer of 2024 are now open.
Click here for more information and to apply.  The deadline is January 14, 2024.

Twin Cities Diversity in Practice (TCDIP) - 1L Clerkship Program

For over a decade, the TCDIP 1L Clerkship Program (link to flyer) has helped launch the careers of law students of color in the Twin Cities. TCDIP strengthens the legal talent pipeline with strategic partnerships between TCDIP Members from law firms and corporate legal departments. The TCDIP 1L Clerkship Program was created to promote the Twin Cities legal community to 1L students of color from Minnesota and across the country. Highly qualified law students from racial and ethnic groups historically underrepresented in the legal profession are encouraged to apply.

 Applications open for all 1L students in November and for more information about the TCDIP 1L Clerkship Program, visit the website!  Also review a TCDIP powerpoint here.

Students are also welcome to reach out with questions at info@diversityinpractice.org.