The Bronx Defenders (BxD) – an innovative, progressive, holistic indigent defense office in the South Bronx – seeks passionate interns committed to public service and social justice to join our Non-Legal Summer Internship Program. This year, we will be offering internships in our Community Organizing, Investigations, Family Defense, Civil Action, Immigration, Benefits, Policy and Communications Teams.

The Bronx Defenders is a public defender non-profit that is radically transforming how low-income people in the Bronx are represented in the legal system, and, in doing so, is transforming the system itself. BxD seeks thoughtful, creative individuals with a strong commitment to social justice to join our dynamic and diverse staff. Our staff of over 400 includes interdisciplinary teams made up of criminal, civil, immigration, and family defense attorneys, as well as social workers, benefits specialists, legal advocates, parent advocates, investigators, and team administrators who collaborate to provide holistic advocacy to address the causes and consequences of legal system involvement. Through this integrated team-based structure, we have developed a groundbreaking, nationally-recognized model of representation called holistic defense that achieves better outcomes for the people we represent.

Each year, we defend more than 20,000 low-income Bronx residents in criminal, civil, family, and immigration cases, and reach thousands more through our community intake, youth mentoring, and outreach programs. Through impact litigation, policy advocacy, and community organizing, we push for systemic change at the local, state, and national levels. We take what we learn from the people we represent and communities that we work with and launch innovative initiatives designed to bring about real and lasting change.

The Non-Legal Summer Internship Program

Over a period of 10 weeks, The Bronx Defenders Summer Internship Program provides interns with the opportunity to immerse themselves in one of our practice areas and play an integral role in holistic defense. Summer interns participate in a comprehensive holistic orientation, gain invaluable experience with community members, and develop critical professional skills.

This year, candidates can apply for internships with any one of the following practices: 

• Community Organizing
• Investigations
• Immigration
• Healthy Parents, Healthy Babies
• Civil Action Practice
• Benefits
• Policy
• Communications

Community Organizing and Engagement

Our Community Organizing and Engagement Team focuses on fighting for systemic change, informed by the expressed needs of the Bronx community. Interns will support the Organizing and Engagement Project and engage Bronx residents in community organizing and engagement efforts around immigration, criminal justice reform, family reunification, education, housing, police accountability and more. Through this work, interns will have the opportunity to learn about our Criminal Defense, Family Defense, Immigration and Civil Action Practices. Responsibilities include: 

• Extensive community outreach, including phone banking, flyering, door knocking, street outreach, tabling and digital outreach. This work will entail significant amounts of time spent outside engaging with community members—rain or shine. A willingness to speak to strangers and excitement to galvanize people is a must
• Administrative responsibilities to properly document community organizing efforts
• Assisting with organizing Know Your Rights trainings and community meetings for Bronx organizations and community members
• Engaging with stakeholders such as educators, elected officials, and organizational leaders in the social justice field to build collaborative partnerships that will strengthen issue-based work 

To apply to this internship, candidates should demonstrate: 

• Knowledge and understanding of the systemic issues that face racially, ethnically and socioeconomically marginalized communities, and more specifically, the South Bronx
• Familiarity with the Bronx community and/or experience collaborating with individuals from low-income communities of color
• Ability to work outside the office in the Bronx community
• Ability to be creative and approach community organizing and outreach with enthusiasm 

Investigations

Investigators are a vital part of our interdisciplinary legal teams representing Bronx residents charged with misdemeanor and felony offenses. The majority of Investigators’ work does not take place in the office but is carried out in the field: at private homes, on the street, in local businesses, and in the Bronx community. Ideal applicants for the Investigations Internship will be comfortable working in the Bronx community and possess the ability to engage with individuals from diverse backgrounds, and gather evidence from and interview reluctant witnesses. The ability to speak Spanish is incredibly helpful in that regard. The schedule of Investigators often varies according to the availability of the witnesses so the ability to have flexible work hours is preferred. Responsibilities include: 

• Gathering and reviewing time-sensitive video surveillance
• Locating, interviewing and taking detailed statements from prosecution witnesses accusing the people we represent of committing a crime
• Writing memoranda regarding investigative efforts and results 

To apply to this internship, candidates should demonstrate: 

• Comfort navigating the Bronx community and conducting in-home interviews
• Effective interpersonal skills and ability to connect with reluctant witnesses
• Active listening skills and ability to memorialize important conversations
• Ability to think critically and creatively in unpredictable environments, approaching problems and setbacks with creativity and ingenuity 
• Ability to be resourceful and persistent in gathering evidence 

Healthy Parents, Healthy Babies

In 2013, The Bronx Defenders’ Family Defense Practice launched the Healthy Parents, Healthy Babies Project (HPHB), formerly Healthy Mothers, Healthy Babies. This initiative was a response to systems of oppression—rooted in white supremacy and capitalism—that have long dictated who is deemed “worthy” to parent or care for their children. Our mission is clear: to push for perinatal safety and freedom while addressing the stark realities of maternal and birthing mortality, especially for Black, brown, and non-citizen parents, with the aim of birthing and parenting freedom.

The HPHB team consists of advocates specializing in these issues specific to perinatal health, fathers' rights and support, and the family policing system. HPHB's team does this by providing holistic defense, advocacy, case management and connection to supportive services. HPHB's Focus on Fathers offers intentional and focused support for fathers we represent in family court proceedings as well as expectant fathers. HPHB aims to support families so children can remain at home, or when that is not possible due to system involvement, to develop plans to preserve the parent-child relationship and minimize the length of stay in the foster system. Responsibilities include: 

• Shadowing HPHB Advocates as they work with parents to plan for their families and provide support and advocacy to prevent and reduce the family policing system’s (aka child welfare system) involvement in their family’s lives
• Shadowing HPHB Advocates in procedural family regulation system meetings and court appearances
• Helping facilitate the weekly HPHB Support Circle
• Connecting parents to relevant, evidenced-based services and resources in line with their wants, needs and the legal strategy of their case
• Assisting HPHB with the receiving, sorting, and distributing material needs to the people we work with 

To apply to this internship, candidates should demonstrate: 

• Interest in and commitment to defending low-income expectant parents at risk of family regulation system involvement and family separation 

Civil Legal Advocate

Civil Legal Advocates are a vital part of our interdisciplinary teams, operating in a variety of venues and providing a myriad of services to the people we represent. Civil Legal Advocate interns will support advocates in holding the New York City Police Department accountable for misconduct, as well as defending the property rights and access to housing and public benefits of the people we represent. Responsibilities include: 

• Developing materials for our Know Your Rights Trainings
• Participating in our Notice of Claim Clinic to challenge police misconduct
• Assisting the people we represent with applications for Certificates of Relief from Disabilities
• Gathering documentation to prepare for hearings
• Providing support to our community intake program
• Working with our Legal Advocates to recover clients’ property confiscated in criminal proceedings 

To apply to this internship, candidates should demonstrate: 

• Interest in advocating for the people we represent and addressing the civil legal issues that arise as a result of their contact with the criminal and/or family legal system 

Immigration Civil Legal Advocate

Immigration Civil Legal Advocates collaborate with attorneys and social workers to help our clients fight their immigration cases, push for their release from detention, and advocate for them to remain in the country. This internship will provide interns with the opportunity to support that work. Responsibilities include:

• Obtaining records across the United States and overseas (e.g. criminal, medical, probation, school, taxes, Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR), Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR)) to aid in building our clients’ cases
• Collaborating with family and community members to draft letters of support/affidavits for the people we represent
• Conducting country conditions research to identify salient points for pull-out quotes and create an index
• Coordinating bond payments with family for clients’ release from detention
• Providing drafts of applications to be filed for relief from removal
• Coordinating voluntary departures and deportation with deportation officers and the families of the people we represent 

To apply to this internship, candidates should demonstrate: 

• Interest in defending people with limited financial resources placed in removal proceedings or facing immigration consequences based on contact with the family and/or criminal legal system 

Benefits Advocate

Working with community members and our interdisciplinary holistic defense teams, Benefits Advocates assist people in the process of obtaining, recertifying and advocating for public benefits. This internship will provide interns with extensive community engagement and exposure to fair trial hearings with the Human Resources Administration. Responsibilities include: 

• Screening, completing applications for, and referring clients and community members for eligibility and interest in public benefits including but not limited to:
  • Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program (SNAP) and food pantries
  • Cash Assistance
  • Emergency rental assistance and other housing benefits
  • Employment assistance
  • Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) Federal Assistance Program
  • Medicare and Medicaid
  • Supplemental Security Income (SSI)
  • Childcare benefits
  • Utility benefits
  • Transit assistance
• Engaging in advocacy to secure benefits for the people we represent by corresponding with agencies, aiming for conciliation, attending fair hearings and assisting with reapplication
• Collaborating with and supporting attorneys and advocates in the civil, criminal, family and immigration practices by responding to benefits-based referrals and conducting benefits screenings
• Updating our case management system with accurate client data and notes regarding formal and informal advocacy
• Assisting in developing public benefits and outreach materials 

To apply to this internship, candidates should demonstrate: 

• Interest in helping people from low-income, marginalized communities obtain public benefits
• Ability to interact with people from diverse backgrounds and assist them in navigating the unique obstacles they’re facing in the criminal, family, immigration and civil legal systems while seeking to obtain public benefits 

Policy

The Policy Team works in conjunction with our direct representation practices to develop legislative and policy changes that push for transformational change to the criminal legal system, immigration policy, the family regulation system, and housing law. Responsibilities include: 

• Conducting research on complex policy issues, government agencies, community organizations and elected officials
• Drafting letters, talking points, memoranda, reports and white papers
• Assisting with the development and training of community members who want to serve as leaders and lend their stories to public policy conversations
• Updating staff contact lists for state, city and federal legislators 

To apply to this internship, candidates should demonstrate: 

• Familiarity with the Bronx community and/or issues affecting low-income communities of color
• Ability to analyze complex issues and translate ideas into effective strategies
• Effective research and writing skills 

Communications

The Communications team uses press outreach, social media, and graphic design to advance the organization's direct representation, policy, and community engagement priorities. In addition, the team provides strategic guidance on how the organization should talk about its work to change narratives about the people we represent and build support to dismantle the legal systems that oppress them. Responsibilities include: 

• Drafting and scheduling social media posts on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn
• Developing metrics reports on our press and social engagement
• Assisting with graphic design requests
• Updating and monitoring the editorial calendar
• Managing and executing tasks related to the 2025 Annual Gala 

To apply to this internship, candidates should demonstrate: 

• Familiarity with the Bronx community and/or issues affecting low-income communities of color
• Passion for using media to advance social and racial justice goals

Effective research, writing, and/or graphic design skills

To be eligible, all candidates must have: 

• At least one year of college or vocational education OR one year of cumulative work or volunteer/internship experience in a professional setting
• Note: Students enrolled in law school are not eligible to apply for this internship 

Candidates must demonstrate: 

• Interest in and commitment to social justice and racial equity work
• Interest in working with racially and socio-economically marginalized communities targeted by the carceral system
• Interest in supporting individuals navigating the criminal, family, immigration and civil legal court systems
• Ability to effectively and respectfully communicate, collaborate and connect with people with various backgrounds, identities and experiences 
• Ability to work well independently as well as collaboratively within a team
• Ability to multitask, maintain order and meet deadlines in a fast-paced, high-stakes environment 
• Meticulous attention to detail
• Ability to think critically and creatively in fast-paced settings, finding innovative solutions to unique obstacles
• Ability to receive constructive feedback, demonstrate introspection, and shift behavior accordingly
• Ability to exercise excellent judgment, discretion, and confidentiality with sensitive matters
• Commitment to raising one’s cultural consciousness and challenging oppressive practices on an interpersonal and institutional level
• Proficiency in Spanish, French or Wolof is a plus, but not required 

All our internships will be taking place in-person from May 25, 2025 through August 1, 2025. If you would like to learn more about the work of our specific practice areas, you can refer to the following FAQ Document.

This is an unpaid internship, but if you wish to apply for funding through third-party fellowships, grants or universities, we are more than happy to support you in that effort.

Note that you are welcome to apply to more than one internship so long as you specify that in your cover letter. To apply, please click APPLY TO THIS JOB ONLINE and upload your resume and a cover letter in one document. If you would prefer to send in a video or audio statement in lieu of a cover letter, you may upload your resume and separately upload a video or audio statement. Your cover letter or video/audio statement should share why you want to do this work at our office, some key lived and/or professional experiences that have prepared you for this position, and any additional information you would like for us to consider. This information allows us to understand your distinct perspective, experience and potential beyond the work history summarized on your resume. Your cover letter may be up to one page if written or up to 3 minutes if an audio/video statement. Please note that applications without either a written cover letter or audio/video statement will not be considered.

Applications will be accepted through January 12, 2025. You will be contacted by January 17^th if you are invited to a pre-screening video interview. Please contact Michelle Soto, Recruiting & Hiring Associate, via email at MichelleS@bronxdefenders.org with any questions regarding the internship. 

The Bronx Defenders is an equal opportunity employer and is cultivating an anti-oppressive workplace that embraces staff with a diversity of backgrounds, identities and experiences. We acknowledge the ways in which systemic oppression and injustice can undermine access to professional opportunities and are committed to conducting hiring and promotion processes that are equitable and accessible to those commonly excluded from the workforce. We do not discriminate against and in fact specifically encourage applicants from marginalized communities to apply, including those who identify as Black, Indigenous, people of color, queer, transgender, gender non-conforming, disabled, neurodivergent and those directly impacted by criminal, civil, family and immigration legal systems. We value lived as well as professional experience and particularly welcome applications from the Bronx community that we work with.