Spring 2025 Legal Intern – Free to Be Youth Project

The Free to Be Youth Project (FYP) seeks law students as applicants for a semester internship/externship for Spring 2025. FYP is one of eight independent projects at the Urban Justice Center. FYP is a legal services, systemic advocacy, and community education project that focuses on the legal needs of homeless and street-involved lesbian, gay, bisexual, queer, and questioning (LGBTQ+) young people (up to age 24) in New York City.

FYP works to interrupt the cycles of poverty and criminalization that prevent LGBTQ+ youth from living fulfilling, enriching lives. We advocate for LGBTQ+ young people living in poverty on a wide range of issues, including safe and affirming access to shelter, benefits, accurate identification documents, employment, and legal immigration status.

Interns will engage in client intake, interviewing, and outreach; conduct legal research and writing; observation of court proceedings and/or administrative hearings; and advocacy and representation with administrative agencies. Interns work as a team with the Staff Attorney and Project Director to ensure quality legal service provision, identify systemic priorities, and develop FYP’s capacity to take direction from the communities we serve.

This will be a hybrid position with a combination of virtual and in-person work. A commitment of 10 hours per week is required during the semester.

Application Instructions:

Applications will be accepted until the position is filled. Please submit a cover letter, resume, and writing sample via email to Project Director, Amy Leipziger, at aleipziger@urbanjustice.org with the subject line “FYP Internship.” Only applicants whom we wish to interview will be contacted.

FYP, part of the Urban Justice Center, is an equal opportunity employer and encourages applications from all qualified individuals regardless of race, sex, gender identity or expression, age, disability, religion, creed, national origin, citizenship, marital status, sexual orientation, veteran status, predisposing genetic characteristics, victim of domestic violence status, record of arrest or conviction, or any other characteristic protected by applicable law. Persons of color, transgender, lesbian, bisexual and queer people, persons with disabilities, persons who have lived in poverty, immigrants, persons with criminal legal contact and people fluent in more than one language are strongly encouraged to apply.