The United States District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana is accepting applications for a one-year, student internship as part of the Model Intern Program (MIP) offered through the Administrative Office of the United States Courts. This program was established to expand applicant pools and increase access to opportunities within the federal Judiciary. The MIP fosters excellence and values the unique perspectives, experiences, and backgrounds present within the Judiciary and the communities it serves. The program is designed to address barriers to opportunity unrelated to merit, talent, or qualifications, ensuring that individuals have the chance to pursue opportunities based on their skills and abilities. Through the MIP, talented college students compete for paid internships with federal courts to prepare them for future employment opportunities within the Judiciary.
This unique internship is offered to rising junior and senior undergraduate students who will work in person at the federal courthouse in downtown New Orleans, Louisiana. The MIP internship begins in June 2025 and concludes by May 30, 2026. The incumbent will work full-time (no more than 40-hours/week) during the Summer semester and part-time (no more than 20-hours/week) during the Fall and Spring semesters. The incumbent will report directly to Clerk of Court’s Office and will work with federal judicial officers, court unit executives, federal practitioners, and other court-system professionals, performing or assisting in the performance of a variety of judicial, legal, and/or administrative functions within the federal judiciary.
Representative Duties:
The Intern will function as a student trainee and his/her duties include:
- Observing a variety of civil and criminal court proceedings to develop familiarity with the judicial process;
- Shadowing Clerk’s Office personnel, and other court-system professionals;
- Assisting Clerk’s Office, legal, professional, and/or administrative staff with a variety of court matters;
- Assisting legal, professional, and/or administrative staff as needed in handling special events, such as naturalization ceremonies, investitures, and community outreach events;
- Assisting legal, professional, and/or administrative staff in collecting, maintaining, and processing case information;
- Performing basic legal, social science, historical, statistical, and other research to support judicial, legal, professional, and/or administrative staff;
- Collecting, organizing, and summarizing statistical, accounting, or mathematical data on case processing, budgetary, workload, and other court-related issues for judicial, legal, professional, and/or administrative staff;
- Organizing legal pleadings, briefs, motions, and letters for judicial, legal, professional, and/or administrative staff;
- Sorting, classifying, copying, distributing, and filing court records to assist judicial, legal, professional, and/or administrative staff; and
- Performing other duties as assigned.
Minimum Experience and Education Qualifications:
Candidates must be a junior or senior during the 2025-2026 academic year and remain enrolled full-time and in good standing at an accredited college or university. The candidate must be working toward a bachelor’s degree. Helpful concentrations include pre-law, criminal justice, business administration, finance, liberal arts, English, History, Civics, Information Technology, or a related discipline.
How To Apply:
Applicants must be citizens of the United States or be authorized to work in the United States. (See Citizenship Requirements).
Qualified candidates should submit one PDF document that contains:
- A completed AO_078 Federal Judicial Branch Application For Employment.
- A cover letter, including your response to the following question: Why are you interested in this internship and what experience do you hope to gain?
- A current resume.
- At least one (1) character reference from a college professor or employer.
Please reference the vacancy announcement number in your cover letter. Applications will not be considered complete until all items listed above have been received by Human Resources.
All application materials must be submitted ELECTRONICALLY, no exceptions, to:
HRadmin@laed.uscourts.gov