Summer and Academic Year Legal Intern Positions in our Philadelphia (Region 3) Office
Region 3 is not presently accepting applications for unpaid or paid legal internships; please check back later.
About the Summer Internship
EPA's Office of Regional Counsel in Region 3, an equal opportunity employer, has paid legal internship positions available during the summer for law students.
Summer legal interns will be expected to undertake a variety of tasks, which will include complex research projects and the drafting of legal documents under the supervision of staff attorneys in the Office of Regional Counsel. Additionally, interns will be encouraged to accompany staff attorneys to client meetings, negotiating sessions, trials, hearings, and depositions.
Our selection process for summer internship positions is competitive. Qualified candidates should have strong academic credentials and excellent legal research and writing skills. Previous experience or demonstrated interest in environmental or administrative law is helpful, but not required. All qualified applicants are encouraged to apply.
The summer program typically runs ten weeks, from roughly late May to early August of each year.
Seminar Program
As part of the summer internship program, the Office of Regional Counsel will hold weekly seminars for interns concerning various topics related to EPA's environmental law practice. The seminars are presented by EPA Region 3 staff attorneys and are designed to give our interns a deeper understanding of current legal environmental issues. Former summer interns have praised the seminar program as a highlight of their internship experience. Seminars presented during recent summers include “Global Warming: Is There Any Law Out There?”, and "Anatomy of an Environmental Crimes Investigation and Prosecution".
Application Process
Interested candidates should apply to the Region 3 Office of Regional Counsel’s paid summer internship program through the USAjobs.gov solicitation, which will be posted in the preceding Fall. Interested candidates should monitor USAjobs.gov in the Fall to ensure the application window is not missed. Interviews will be conducted shortly after the specified application window closes.
Spring and Fall Semester Externships
EPA Region 3’s Office of Regional Counsel also has full- and part-time volunteer legal externship positions available during the academic year. Many of our academic-year externs earn course credit from their law schools. Externs are responsible for coordinating with their respective schools to ensure the necessary paperwork and obligations are completed in order to obtain academic credit. Application materials must be received by May 15 to be considered for the fall semester and by October 15 to be considered for the spring semester; however, materials will be reviewed on a rolling basis.
Applications for spring or fall semester externships should be submitted as follows:
Interested students should submit their application (consisting of a resume, cover letter, writing sample, contact information for three (3) references, and a copy of your most recent law school transcript (unofficial is acceptable) by email to r3_orclawclerkships@epa.gov. Please indicate in the subject line of your email, as well as in your cover letter, that you are applying for a spring or fall externship.
Semester and summer internships have traditionally occurred in-person, requiring externs to be physically present in the Philadelphia office. During the COVID-19 pandemic, interns were permitted to work remotely; however, internships have resumed taking place in person in our Philadelphia office.
Note: all summer and semester interns will be subject to a background check and fingerprinting. In the event that an intern does not pass a background check, they will be unable to participate in the internship, even if the internship has already begun.