Planning & Practice: Career Services and Summer Internships at UB Law
Published June 15, 2022
Summer is a time for hot sunshine, cool shade and all the sweet activities that come along with better weather. But it doesn’t mean you should zone out from your schoolwork completely! In fact, the summer is a crucial time to further your law career through summer internships. Whether you know exactly what you want to do with your law degree, or you’re looking to experiment in a new practice area, summer internships can give you the taste—and experience—for something new.
Let’s look at some of this summer’s more interesting placements.
What are the Summer Internships All About?
Before we dive into this year’s highlights, let’s review the program’s goals. First-year students begin working with the Career Services Office (CSO) during the Fall semester so they can start preparing right away for the earliest summer position interviews. “We work with law students individually to ensure their summer internships provide meaningful legal experience that will contribute to their overall professional career and post-graduate employment,” says Lisa Bauer, Assistant Director for Career Services. Gaining experience is always a plus, but is it difficult to get in? Well, students need to prepare and work for placements, but there’s no need to panic about dwindling availability. “There are enough opportunities for all first-year students to have a legal internship their first summer,” says Bauer.
Experience Gained from Employers and Mentors
The available placement options really run the gamut, allowing students to gain valuable experience from a variety of summer jobs and grow throughout the summer. “You will find UB Law students working in state and federal court internships, with non-profit legal services, law firms, state and federal government, and with corporate in-house legal teams around the northeastern U.S.,” mentions Marc Davies, Associate Director for Career Services. The CSO makes sure to collaborate closely with employers throughout the region so students can benefit from “interesting, high-quality internships and summer jobs where they will learn from accomplished attorneys and judges,” says Davies. With the CSO’s support and that of the UB Law community, students will position themselves for success.
Internships as a Force for Good in the Community
Speaking of success, it’s even sweeter when it comes from helping the community. “Our students thrive in the summer getting hands-on legal experience,” says Lisa Patterson, Vice Dean for Career Services. “Many of them work with not-for-profit agencies helping our most vulnerable populations. The School of Law has an extensive summer fellowship program that provides funding so that students can afford to take those volunteer positions.”
Through the Buffalo Public Interest Law Program (BPILP) and many generous alumni donors, over 50 students are awarded stipends for life-changing work in public interest and government positions.
Highlighted Summer 2022 Law Internships
Whether you want to focus on learning more about court systems, corporate law, insurance law, or local government, there are internship placement options for you!
Judicial Internships
- If you’re looking to really grow your research and writing skills—and want to get a look at some real-world cases involving effective advocacy—then the Judicial Internship might be for you. There are 20 spots available for 1Ls this summer where students can build strong relationships with UB Law alumna Judge Julio M. Fuentes in the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit.
New Era Cap internships
- Put your (sports) thinking cap on in one of the three law clerk internship positions at New Era. Known throughout the world as a lifestyle brand and clothing company that produces sports apparel for MLB, NBA, and NFL teams.
Insurance Company placements
- Looking to learn the legal intricacies of the insurance world, including all the statutes, codes, rules, and other regulations? There are two placements for insurance law internships at Merchants and NYCM.
Additional placements of interest include the Erie County Bar Association Volunteer Lawyer’s Project, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the Roy W. King Diversity Scholar at the Monroe County Law Department, and the Buffalo Bills. And finally, there are placements in government, federal and state prosecutors/agencies, private firms, corporations, and public interest organizations.
