The Knight First Amendment Institute at Columbia University is looking for legal interns for the summer of 2027. We want a diverse group of creative, motivated, and committed law students to join us in the defense of the freedoms of speech and the press in the digital age and to help move forward our ground-breaking First Amendment litigation.
About Us
The Knight First Amendment Institute defends the freedoms of speech and the press in the digital age through strategic litigation, research, policy advocacy, and public education. We aim to promote a system of free expression that is open and inclusive, that broadens and elevates public discourse, and that fosters creativity, accountability, and effective self-government.
Since our establishment in 2016, we have filed precedent-setting litigation, undertaken major interdisciplinary research initiatives, and become an influential voice in debates about free expression in the shifting landscape of the digital age. Our active litigation docket includes cutting-edge cases relating to transparency, surveillance, and social media. Through our research program, we have hosted leading thinkers as visiting scholars and published influential essays focused on emerging threats to the system of free expression. We have also hosted public events on algorithmic amplification and society, AI and public discourse, lies and the law, and the future of press freedom, among others.
What You’ll Do
Your primary responsibility as a legal intern will be to support the Institute’s litigation. You’ll work alongside our attorneys on all aspects of our docket. This will include exploring potential new lawsuits, conducting legal research and analysis, contributing to litigation strategy, and drafting factual and legal memoranda, affidavits, and briefs.
Qualifications
The summer legal internship is open to students who are in law school at an accredited U.S. law school (i.e., J.D. or LLM candidates) and who will have completed at least their first year of law school before the internship begins. Applicants should have excellent research, writing, and communication skills. They should also possess a deep commitment to the freedoms of speech and the press, but prior subject-matter experience is not required.
Logistics
Location: Our office is in Morningside Heights in New York City. We will expect our interns to work in the office on the same schedule as the rest of the staff. That schedule is subject to change, but we currently work from the office two days per week, on Mondays and Wednesdays.
Duration: The internship is full-time, and we’ll give preference to those who can commit to a ten-week term.
Stipend: A stipend of up to $10,000 for a full-time, ten-week term is available for interns who are lawfully authorized to work in the United States. Interns with outside summer funding can receive a partial stipend so that their total funding equals our stipend amount.
How to Apply
Please send the following materials to [email protected]:
- A cover letter explaining your interest in the internship, including a description of any relevant life or work experience;
- A résumé;
- The contact information for two references;
- An official or unofficial law-school transcript (1Ls should send their transcripts when available); and
- One writing sample with legal analysis. The sample should be no longer than ten single-spaced pages. (You are strongly encouraged to submit a writing sample that reflects solely your own work. If you are unable to do so, please briefly explain in a cover page the contributions of others to the writing.)
Priority Application Deadline: November 1, 2026. Applications received after the priority deadline will be reviewed on a rolling basis until the posting is closed.
Note: Please send your materials in one combined .pdf file in the order listed above. Please write “Summer 2027 Legal Internship: [First Name Last Name]” in the subject line.
Writing is an essential skill for this position, so please do not use AI in the preparation of any of your application materials.