Internship Profile

The Open Society Justice Initiative is seeking current law school and other advanced degree graduate students to join our team as Legal Interns based in our New York.This summerinternship willcommence inJune 2025, exact date to be determined based oncandidate availability and agreement.The internshiprequires a full-time(40 hours/week) commitment for a minimum of 15 weeks. The Open Society Foundations cannot provide immigration assistance to legal interns nor relocation financial support.

As an intern at Open Society, you will:

Draft legal and non-legal reports and memoranda on programmatic or legal issues related to priority areas (this may include political rights, physical integrity, fair trials, national security, corporate accountability, women’s rights, and/or United Nations mechanisms).

• Conduct all-source research via websites, Lexis/Nexis, foreign source materials, academic studies, oral interviews of experts, and legal and political documents.
• Research and analyze international and domestic law jurisprudence as it relates to human rights, and the situations and development of targeted country situations.
• Compile country/region-specific information on human rights and rule of law issues; this may include human rights defenders, civil society activities, legislative developments, and state compliance with international human rights standards.
• Participate in grant making, researching organizations and developing funding opportunities based on OSJI’s grant making approach
• Help to develop and participate in OSJI convenings
• Participate in OSJI scheduled staff calls and other relevant meetings.
• Perform other duties and tasks as assigned.

What we are looking for:

• Currently enrolled in a law school or graduate program with legal component or a recent graduate;
• Highly motivated with demonstrated excellence in prior endeavors.
• Demonstrated interest in human rights litigation and commitment to public service, with an understanding of and strong interest in international human rights law;
• Strong legal research and writing skills.
• Advanced proficiency in English-language communication skills (both orally and in writing) required, proficiency in other languages, particularly French or Arabic, an added plus.
• Proven ability to work efficiently in a fast-paced environment, troubleshoot and follow projects through to completion, consistently on schedule, without loss of attention to detail; flexibility and ability to work simultaneously on a wide range of tasks and projects and ability to prioritize tasks, particularly under pressure.
• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills, good humor always appreciated, with an understanding of cross-cultural issues and ability to build and maintain relationships with a wide range of people from diverse backgrounds.
• Ability to work independently.