Legal Summer Intern

Application Deadline: 14 January 2026

Department: Legal

Location: Stephen A. Schwarzman Building

Description

Overview
The New York Public Library Legal Department offers challenging, interesting internship opportunities for current law students during the summer following their first year of law school. NYPL Legal Interns are involved in a wide variety of legal matters, working closely with NYPL attorneys on issues including legal research and writing, contract review, copyright and IP matters, litigation, governance and not-for-profit law. Legal Interns will conduct research and draft memoranda and other legal documents, participate in internal meetings and may have the opportunity to attend external meetings and events. NYPL Legal Interns should be self-motivated and inquisitive, and have excellent writing skills and an interest in non-profit educational institutions.

This is a temporary position lasting only 8-10 weeks within the summer of 2026. To be eligible for this position, you must be a first year law school student who must receive funding from your law school for this internship. When applying, you are required to upload your cover letter plus a writing sample from a law school class, together as one document.

The application deadline is Wednesday, January 14, 2026.

Responsibilities
The Legal Summer Intern will:

• Conduct research;
• Draft memoranda and other legal documents;
• Participate in internal meetings; and
• May have the opportunity to attend external meetings and events.
  
  

Required Education, Experience & Skills

Required Education & Experience

• First year law school student, who must receive funding from their law school for internship .
• Should be self-motivated and inquisitive;
• Should have excellent writing skills and an interest in non-profit educational institutions.
  
  
  

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Core Values
All team members are expected and encouraged to embody the NYPL Core Values:

• Be Helpful to patrons and colleagues
• Be Resourceful in solving problems
• Be Curious in all aspects of your work
• Be Welcoming and Inclusive

Work Environment

• Office setting

Physical Duties

• None

Pre-Placement Physical Required?
No

Union/Non Union
N/A

FLSA Status
N/A

Schedule
35 hours a week for 8-10 weeks

This job description represents the types and levels of responsibilities that will be required of the position and shall not be construed as a declaration of all of the specific duties and responsibilities for the role. Job duties may change if Library priorities change. Employees may be directed to perform job-related tasks other than those specifically presented in this description as needed.

At the Library, we believe that pay transparency and pay equity are important to ensuring we source the best candidates and keep the best employees. When making a determination as to the appropriate salary for a candidate, we consider a variety of factors such, including, but not limited to, the position requirements, the skills, prior experience, and educational background required or preferred for the job, the scope and impact of the role within the organization, internal peer equity, and the candidate's specific training, experience, education level, and skills. No single factor is conclusive; the Library reserves the right to consider any and all relevant factors and make a decision consistent with its policies.

Union Salaries are determined by collective bargaining agreement(s).