Policing Project Summer 2025 Legal Interns

The Policing Project at NYU Law is seeking applications from current law students to join our team as legal interns for summer 2025.

Background on the Policing Project

The Policing Project works to achieve transparent, racially just, and democratically accountable public safety. Our multifaceted approach includes community-based projects, incubating new approaches, drafting legislation, and impact litigation. We work across a broad range of issues—from use of force and pretextual traffic stops, to law enforcement use of AI-powered technology. We do so in close collaboration with groups from across the ideological spectrum and with stakeholders that typically find themselves at odds, including policing agencies, community organizations, governments, and other non-profits. Our work takes us all over the country and is moving the needle in tangible ways.  

We also are deeply involved in efforts to reimagine what public safety should look like. Too often government has turned to the police to address social problems, when armed officers are not the answer, but other social services—governmental and community-based—are. We have a national research and redesign effort underway and are providing technical assistance to cities across the country, including deep engagement with impacted communities, to transform substantially what public safety means and how it is achieved. (You can find more information at www.safetyreimagined.org)

In all areas of our work, we bring a new approach to this fraught area, one grounded in democratic values. In particular, our work focuses on ensuring accountability and democratic participation on the front end. Front-end accountability involves promoting public voice in setting transparent, ethical, and effective public safety policies and practices before the government acts. The goal is achieving public safety in a manner that is equitable, non-discriminatory, and respectful of public values.

You can learn more at www.PolicingProject.org.

Responsibilities of Legal Interns

Legal Interns engage in a wide variety of work depending on the Policing Project’s priorities. Responsibilities include:

  • Conducting a wide range of factual and legal research for our impact litigation challenging anti-democratic and unlawful policing practices. Past projects include:

    • Conducting legal research about a potential plaintiff’s Bivens claim against federal law enforcement officers for an unlawful search and seizure;

    • Researching the standing requirements to bring a lawsuit challenging the use of automated license plate readers by a government agency.

  • Drafting model policies, statutes, and public-facing materials. For example:

    • Outlining a comprehensive regulatory framework for law enforcement use of robots and drones designed to protect the public’s civil rights and civil liberties;

    • Synthesizing statewide regulatory approaches to police officer discipline and decertification to develop a model statute;

    • Authoring blog posts and explainers for our website.

  • Providing event and meeting support, such as planning agendas and supporting the events and communications teams in organizing closed door and public events. Example events include:

    • Upcoming webinar on law enforcement use of pretextual traffics stops that will spotlight community voices in conversation about their lived experience of these stops and share the Policing Project and peer organizations’ advocacy efforts to rein in this practice;

    • Past convening on non-police emergency response that brought together 150 alternative responders, municipal leaders, federal officials, and philanthropic organizations to plan for the future of this growing field.

Legal Interns will work closely with the Policing Project’s leadership team, including Professor Barry Friedman, and with other members of the Policing Project staff. Our work often requires close collaboration with both community groups advocating for police reform and with active municipal and law enforcement officials. Legal Interns should be comfortable with this type of broad engagement.

This is a full-time internship position.  Stipends are available for students who are unable to secure funding from their law school or elsewhere. Stipend amounts vary based on class year and how much funding, if any, an applicant has secured from other sources. If offered a position, students must request and complete an application for the stipend. 

Application Instructions

To apply to be a Legal Intern, submit a cover letter, resume, unofficial transcript, brief writing sample of 5-10 pages, and at least two references as one PDF to applications@policingproject.org. Indicate “Summer Legal Intern Application” in the subject line. Applications will be accepted until January

The Policing Project heartily welcomes applicants from diverse backgrounds. NYU is an Equal Opportunity Employer and is committed to a policy of equal treatment and opportunity in every aspect of its recruitment and hiring process without regard to age, alienage, caregiver status, childbirth, citizenship status, color, creed, disability, domestic violence victim status, ethnicity, familial status, gender and/or gender identity or expression, marital status, military status, national origin, parental status, partnership status, predisposing genetic characteristics, pregnancy, race, religion, sex, sexual orientation, unemployment status, veteran status, or any other legally protected basis. Women, racial and ethnic minorities, persons of minority sexual orientation or gender identity, individuals with disabilities, and veterans are encouraged to apply for vacant positions at all levels.

EOE/AA/Minorities/Females/Vet/Disabled/Sexual Orientation/Gender Identity.