The Civil Rights Enforcement Section of the California Department of Justice, Office of the Attorney General, has volunteer internship opportunities available for undergraduate, graduate, and law students in its Los Angeles, Oakland, Sacramento, San Diego, and San Francisco offices. The Section invites interested and motivated candidates to apply. The Civil Rights Enforcement Section handles a broad range of significant civil rights and constitutional matters on behalf of the Attorney General and the State of California, including agency clients. The Section advances and protects federal and state civil rights in the areas of discrimination by business establishments, disability access rights, housing, employment, reproductive rights, hate crimes, sexual assault, police practices, human trafficking, immigrant rights, education rights, children’s rights, voting rights, and the protection of free speech. The Section includes the Bureau of Children’s Justice, Bureau of Racial Justice, and the
Disability Rights Bureau; its work ranges from in-depth investigations and researching complex legal issues to analyzing electronic data and other evidence, litigating at the trial and appellate levels in state and federal courts, negotiating and drafting settlements and stipulated judgments, working with local and federal law enforcement agencies, and engaging in outreach on civil rights issues.

Student interns will have an opportunity to work on a wide range of Section matters. Interns will assist deputy attorneys general and other staff by reviewing and assessing evidence in investigations and related projects and preparing written memoranda on a broad range of complex legal issues. Interns may also assist with witness interviews and may attend court hearings and client meetings. Internships are 40 hours per week during the summer and should be at least 16 hours per week during the school year; these requirements may be adjusted on an individual basis.

How to Apply:
Please submit a cover letter, résumé, writing sample of no more than ten pages, and current unofficial transcript in a combined PDF by email to the address below. Please indicate your preferred office location or locations in the subject line of your cover letter.

Shonise Flowers
Associate Government Program Analyst
Civil Rights Enforcement Section
300 S. Spring Street, Suite 1702
Los Angeles, CA 90013
CivilRightsInterns@doj.ca.gov

  • Applications for Spring 2023 will be considered on a rolling basis, with preference given to applications received by December 1, 2022.
  • Applications for Summer 2023 will be considered on a rolling basis, with preference given to applications received by February 1, 2023.
  • Applications for Fall 2023 will be considered on a rolling basis, with preference given to applications received by July 1, 2023.