Disability Rights Louisiana (DRLA) uses the talents of law student legal interns in the following ways:
- Conduct legal research, including factual investigations when necessary.
- Assist our attorneys in other areas of case-handling.
DRLA is a non-profit agency that provides legal advocacy services to persons with disabilities and seniors. Types of cases include public benefits (Medicaid, Medicare), special education, advocacy for rights of residents of institutions including nursing homes, cases involving issues of inaccessibility or discrimination, community integration, and issues related to self determination. We also handle some class actions and impact litigation. DRLA will consider law student legal interns who have completed at least one year of law school and who have a demonstrated interest in working on behalf of people with disabilities and/or public interest law.
We can usually arrange for some client contact and attendance at administrative or court hearings with our attorneys if this is of interest to the student. While our primary needs are for research, we usually have an interesting variety of assignments and projects, some short and some long term, which expose the students to a number of different aspects of the legal profession.
Because we are a private non-profit corporation, we are unable to pay law student legal interns. Therefore, we use a combination of student volunteers, students who receive public interest service grants from other organizations, such as law school or national Public Interest Law Foundations, and students eligible under work-study programs. We encourage students to explore alternative funding sources.
We realize that many students’ circumstances are such that they cannot afford to perform volunteer or low paid work while in school or over the summer. However, for those who are able to do so, the experience gained is beneficial in obtaining paid public interest positions at a later time. The legal hiring field is so competitive, that a student with demonstrated commitment and experience during the law school years has a much better chance of being hired for one of the few positions that become available.
To apply, please send a letter of interest and a resume to:
Melanie Bray, Assistant Legal Director
Disability Rights Louisiana
8325 Oak Street
New Orleans, LA 70118
Phone: (504) 208-4151
E-mail: mbray@disabilityrightsla.org
