Law clerk internships
The County of Santa Clara District Attorney's Office offers a paid 2L Honors Program each summer as well as volunteer law clerk internship programs throughout the year to students who have completed at least one full year of law school. The internship positions provide an invaluable experience to individuals interested in a career in the field of criminal law. Interns have the opportunity to work closely with prosecutors in a wide variety of areas of prosecution, work on actual motions and briefs, conduct hearings in court, and they have the opportunity to attend tours of several County facilities. Interns also may attend in-house trainings and the weekly noon time Brown Bag lecture series where different legal topics are presented as well as the opportunity to attend networking events tailored to the law clerks. Each intern will be provided a laptop and a dedicated work-space, along with a mentor in the office to help guide them for a successful clerkship.
The Office has internships for 1Ls (summer only), 2Ls, 3Ls, 4Ls (part-time) and the takers of the February and July Bar Exams.
Important information for all internship candidates
The County of Santa Clara District Attorney’s Office receives applications for our internship program from candidates who have attended law schools in California and throughout the United States. The number of potential applicants well exceeds the number of interns accepted into each program. Students applying for any one of the programs must submit a completed packet at the time of application. Please make sure to follow the instructions and provide all the necessary documentation in your application.
**Acceptance into any one of the Internship Programs is conditioned upon the candidate passing a background check.
California Government Code §§1125 through 1127 prohibits local agency officers and employees from engaging in activities that are incompatible, inconsistent, in conflict, or inimical with their agency employment. As a volunteer intern with our office, interns are bound by these sections of the Government Code. Students selected for any of the intern programs are advised that they may not perform any work (paid or unpaid) for any criminal defense attorney during the pendency of their internship with this office. This applies even if the criminal defense work is in a different county. Students who have other outside employment/incompatible activity during the pendency of their internship must disclose this to our office for review prior to accepting the internship.
Should an intern engage in outside employment/incompatible activity after commencing the internship, the intern must immediately advise the Program Director, Deputy District Attorney Angela Alvarado. If the outside employment/incompatible activity is deemed to fall within the prohibitions of California Government Code §§1125 through 1127, the intern will not be able to remain in our program. If an intern has any questions concerning other employment/incompatible activity, they should contact the program director.
All students will be required to complete a Criminal Record Check Information with the submission of their application packet. These forms are thoroughly reviewed by our Bureau of Investigation, and students are encouraged to be candid.