San Francisco Public Defender InternAt — San Francisco Public Defenders Office
Our internship for college students provide an opportunity to learn about the work of public defenders and gain work experience in a law office environment. It is recommended for students who are considering going to law school or working in in and on behalf of under-privileged communities. These internships can be tailored to the needs of the student, and are often a life-changing first step toward a career as a public defender.
Student Learning Outcomes
- Collaborate effectively with others to achieve shared goals.
- Develop professionalism, adaptability, and workplace readiness.
- Develop career goals, professional relationships, and self-awareness.
- Use field-specific tools, technologies, procedures, or practices.
- Analyze problems and develop solutions or recommendations.
- Support project planning, implementation, or evaluation activities.
- Develop and/or deliver programs, services, products, or resources.
- Engage ethically and responsibly within organizations and/or communities.
- Work and/or communicate effectively, respectfully, and inclusively with individuals from diverse backgrounds and perspectives.
- Examine how organizations contribute to societal well-being, equity, and/or sustainability.
We provide a mandatory general intern orientation for interns across all units to learn about the mission and goals of our office. Interns are introduced to our safety procedures, and trainings. Trainings include: how to use our internal client tracking systems, how to use Microsoft Teams, how to read a police report, how to write certain legal documents, how to safely conduct a client meeting, how to effectively assist attorneys and staff. We also hold weekly intern kick offs on Tuesday mornings to prepare interns for what they will be seeing in court and practice public speaking through mock-court exercises. Our office also holds office-wide trainings every Wednesday.
Our interns are expected to work with our clients, both in-custody an out of custody. Our County Jails are safe to go into, but if you are uncomfortable with jail settings please be advised that this may not be the role for you.
| Hours | Duration |
|---|---|
| 16 | hours per week |