Summer Internship Program at the Kansas Federal Public Defender Office
What will you do with your freedom this summer?
Join Third Chair and help others realize theirs.
Over the last two years, law student interns at the Kansas Federal Public Defender Office helped our office knock 200 years off of 59 people’s prison sentences through motions for compassionate release—a newly available legal procedure that became a “life-or-death lottery”* for clients during the pandemic. Interns interviewed clients in the Bureau of Prisons, gathered records, recommended action, drafted motions, and saw results.
What you will do in our office depends on the needs of our clients, many of whom come from impoverished and over-policed minority communities. You might track and call out police misconduct. You might help a young father reenter life outside prison. You might research ways to diversify the federal jury pool. Or you might contribute to a Supreme Court petition. Whatever the work, it will involve real cases with real consequences for real clients and beyond. And you will leave our office with a strong, closely-edited writing sample reflecting that work.
What’s more, you’ll get a crash course on federal criminal law and procedure; shadow trial attorneys; tour prisons; and meet personally with former clients, judges, experts, and probation officers. Every day you will render public service in an office that puts our clients first through holistic representation, collaboration, and education.
Third Chair is a 9-week, 40-hours-per-week unpaid** internship in our Kansas City, Kansas office starting May 31, 2022 (with days off to observe Juneteenth and the Fourth of July). We aim to empower students from diverse backgrounds to explore public service as a possible career. Apply by February 15, 2022 at https://ks.fd.org/content/third-chair.
Positions will be filled on a rolling admission basis.
Questions? Contact Shajiah Jaffri at 913-825-6924 or shajiah_jaffri@fd.org.
**Funding may be available; we will work with your school to meet criteria for credit or other support.
