The New York City Law Department is now seeking applications for its annual Corporation Counsel Clerkship, open to law students graduating in 2016 and recent graduates who are completing clerkships in 2016. The recipient of this paid one-year post-graduate fellowship will work closely with the chief lawyer of the City of New York, the Corporation Counsel, as well as the NYC Law Department’s Executive Staff and senior attorneys, on legal issues pertaining to NYC governance and in the formulation and defense of significant policy issues. The recipient of the Clerkship will gain experience and insight into the overall operations and governance of New York City, and may also have the opportunity to work closely with the Mayor’s Office, the City Council and various City agencies.
Depending upon the interests of the recipient of the Clerkship, his or her responsibilities may include trial court level litigation, appellate work or counseling, and legislative drafting on matters involving significant policy initiatives in fields such as criminal or juvenile justice, the environment, elections, education, social welfare, municipal finance, land use and economic development. For a description of the 16 legal divisions at the Law Department, please visit our website – http://www.nyc.gov/html/law/html/divisions/legal-divisions.shtml.
Applicants must have a record of academic excellence and a demonstrable interest in urban affairs and governance. The successful candidate will be chosen by a committee of senior executives at the Law Department. The clerkship stipend will be roughly equivalent to the salary of a first year attorney at the NYC Law Department, which is currently $66,499.
Applications should include a resume, writing sample, law school transcript, and a list of three references. In addition, applicants must submit a statement of interest, of no more than 500 words, including a discussion of which divisions the applicant is most interested in. Before submitting your application, please review our guidelines for writing samples and references on our website – http://www.nyc.gov/html/law/html/careers/writing.shtml.
Applications must be submitted online through this link – https://lawcruit.micronapps.com/sup/v2/lc_supp_app_frm.aspx?lawfirm=217&id=10.
The deadline for applications is Friday, December 18, 2015. Once your application is submitted, you should receive an email confirmation that it has gone through. If you do not receive such an email, please email recruitment@law.nyc.gov to confirm that we have your application.
Questions regarding the Clerkship may be sent to recruitment@law.nyc.gov.