Seventy-five Vanderbilt Law students are working as legal interns in 15 states, Washington, D.C., and The Hague, Netherlands this summer. The students receive stipend support or earn course credit for their unpaid legal work with federal and state government agencies, in the chambers of federal and state judges, in the offices of federal attorneys general and state attorneys general, and of federal and municipal public defenders, in state and municipal law offices, with public interest and advocacy organizations, and in corporate law offices.
Students who do not earn course credit for their unpaid legal work receive financial support to help defray their living expenses through summer stipends provided by Vanderbilt Law School, the Law and Economics Program, the Law School Environmental Fellowship Fund, the Law and Government Program, the Starrett Family Fund, the Sally Shallenberger Brown Fund, the Legal Aid Society Public Interest Stipend Fund, the Victor S. (Torry) Johnson Stipend Fund, the Riley Public Interest Fund the George Barrett Social Justice Program, the Hyatt Public Service Grant Fund, the Henriksen Charitable Trust Fellowship, the Damali Booker Stipend Fund, the Edward Rubin Public Interest Fund, the Arterberry Family Fund, the Branstetter Litigation and Dispute Resolution Program, the Garrison Social Justice Law Fund, the Nichols Humanitarian Fund and the Dean’s Leadership Program. These stipends provide summer funding for students who serve in unpaid legal positions with government or nonprofit organizations.
Fifty-nine students are receiving stipend support his summer, and 16 students will earn course credit for their unpaid legal work.
“Every summer, our stipend funds give Vanderbilt Law students opportunities to gain practical legal experience working in judicial chambers and law offices throughout the nation and abroad. Many students discover the area of law they want to practice after graduation while working as legal interns,” said Associate Dean for Experiential Education Susan Kay, who administers Vanderbilt’s summer stipend programs. “The stipends we provide enable students to work pro bono for government law offices and legal aid organizations. Instead of receiving stipends, some students opt to earn course credit for their unpaid legal work.”
Vanderbilt Law students are working for the following legal employers, either with stipend support or for course credit, during summer 2022:
International (2)
- Global Rights Compliance, The Hague, Netherlands
- USAID Justice for All Activity, Ukraine
Federal Agencies (9)
- Federal Aviation Administration, Washington, D.C.
- Federal Trade Commission, Bureau of Consumer Protection, Atlanta, Georgia
- Federal Trade Commission, Washington, D.C.
- National Labor Relations Board, Washington, D.C.
- National Wildlife Federation Great Lakes Regional Center, Ann Arbor, Michigan
- U.S. Department of Energy, Office of the General Counsel, Washington, D.C.
- U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Human Rights Violator Law Division, Washington, D.C.
- U.S. Department of Justice, Environment and Natural Resource Division, Environmental Defense Section, Washington, D.C.
- U.S. Environmental and Protection Agency, Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance, Washington, D.C.
Judicial Chambers (20)
Federal – (16)
- Judge Charlene Honeywell, U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida, Tampa
- Judge Chip Frensley, U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Tennessee, Nashville (3)
- Judge Cynthia Wyrick, U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Tennessee, Greenville
- Judge Elayna T. Youchah, U.S. District Court for the District of Nevada, Las Vegas
- Judge Elizabeth S. Strong, U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Eastern District of New York, Brooklyn
- Judge James C. Mahan, U.S. District Court for the District of Nevada, Las Vegas
- Judge Katherine Crytzer, U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Tennessee, Knoxville
- Judge Laura Taylor Swain, U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, New York
- Judge Thomas L. Parker, U.S. District Court for the Western District of Tennessee, Memphis
- Judge Karen Gren Scholer, U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas, Dallas
- Judge Steven Grimberg, U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia, Atlanta
- Judge Waverly D. Crenshaw ’81 (BA’78), U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Tennessee, Nashville
- Judge Eli Richardson ‘92, U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Tennessee, Nashville
- U.S. District Court of the Middle District of Tennessee, Nashville
State (4)
- Judge Irma Raker, Maryland Court of Appeals
- Judge Sheila Calloway, Juvenile Court of Nashville, Tennessee (2)
- State of Florida Fifth Judicial Circuit, Tavares
Public Defenders’ Offices- State (9)
- Mecklenburg County Public Defender’s Office, Charlotte, North Carolina
- Nashville Defenders, Tennessee (2)
- Office of the Public Defender, City of Atlanta, Georgia
- Office of the Post-Conviction Defender, Nashville, Tennessee
- Public Defender Association, Seattle, Washington
- Regional Public Defender of Capital Cases, Lubbock, Texas
- Tennessee District Public Defenders Conference, Nashville
- The Bronx Defenders, New York
Federal Public Defenders (2)
- Office of the Federal Public Defender for the Middle District of Tennessee, Nashville
- Office of the Federal Public Defender for the District of Columbia, Washington
State Agencies (3)
- Metro Government of Nashville Department of Law, Nashville
- State of Tennessee Governor’s Office, Office of General Counsel
- Colorado Department of Law, Denver
U.S. Attorney’s Offices (6)
- U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York, Brooklyn
- U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of New Jersey, Newark
- U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of North Carolina, Raleigh
- U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Tennessee, Nashville (3)
State Attorneys General (3)
- Tennessee Attorney General’s Office, Nashville (3)
District Attorneys (5)
- Fort Bend County District Attorney’s Office, Richmond, Texas
- Wayne County Prosecutor’s Office, Detroit, Michigan
- Davidson County District Attorney’s Office, Nashville, Tennessee (2)
- Office of the District Attorney, City of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Advocacy and Nonprofit (14)
- American Civil Liberties Union of Tennessee, Nashville
- Harpeth Conservancy, Brentwood, Tennessee (2)
- Her Justice, New York, New York
- Kids in Need of Defense, New York, New York
- Legal Aid Society of Middle Tennessee and the Cumberlands, Murfreesboro
- Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination, Boston
- Rocky Mountain Children’s Law Center, Denver, Colorado
- Southern Migrant Legal Services, Nashville, Tennessee
- Southern Poverty Law Center, Economic Justice Project, Atlanta, Georgia
- Tennessee Innocence Project, Nashville
- The Exoneration Initiative, New York, New York
- The Legal Aid Society, Brooklyn, New York
- Virginia Legal Aid Justice Center, Richmond
Corporate and Nonprofit Law Offices (5)
- CMG Worldwide, Nashville, Tennessee
- Institute of Museum and Library Services, Office of General Counsel, Washington, D.C.
- Vanderbilt University, Office of General Counsel, Nashville, Tennessee (3)