Gain Experience

These positions may involve doing basic legal research, filing court papers, and gathering relevant information from attorneys or clients.

Lawyers and paralegal/legal assistants typically work in the following settings:

• Private law firms ranging from sole practitioners to global firms with over a 1,000 lawyers
• In house counsel for companies
• At all levels of the government (local, state and federal)
• Nonprofits and public interest organizations

Legal Assistant positions are usually entry level positions and the easier jobs to obtain, especially if you have not graduated from college yet. Even if you don’t have any prior law related experience, you can craft a resume that highlights transferable skills obtained from other experiences to apply for these jobs.  Your school or college career center can help you tailor a resume for these positions.

For Paralegal positions, paralegal certification is not required but is often listed as a preference on many job postings. Keep in mind that a job posting is a wish list, and not a list of requirements, so this should not prevent you from applying. Undergraduate students and recent alumni have been successful in obtaining these positions in the past. If you plan to work as a paralegal during gap time before law school, you may wish to look into paralegal certification, as it can increase job prospects and salary.

The Occupational Outlook Handbook: Paralegals and Legal Assistants

The Difference between Paralegal Certificates and Certification

Wisconsin Paralegal Certification Process

Here are some other job titles that you may find with legal employers:

-Client Manager: Sometimes legal employers may hire recent graduates to meet with clients before they meet with an attorney to collect initial intake information and hand that information off to the attorney.

-Legal Secretary: These roles can vary widely depending on the employer and the scope of the position. For some employers you might be answering phones and getting coffee, but in other instances, this position can be very similar to a Legal Assistant position where you are gaining a lot of great legal experience.

-Project Manager/Project Assistant: These titles can be used in place of the Legal Assistant title if the employer is hiring you for a particular project only.

-HR intern/Marketing intern/Positions in Non-Legal roles: Sometimes working in a role at a law firm that supports attorneys less directly can still give you a great insight into firm culture and help you develop some great legal networks, while allowing you to

-Patent Agent: College graduates with a STEM degree can work in patent law as a patent agent without needing a law degree. Learn more about patent agents and patent attorneys here.

-Data Analyst: Helping crunch data and visualize that data so that it can be shared with internal and/or external audiences. This can be especially important in areas like criminal law where tracking outcomes of policies are important.

-Policy Analyst: Nonprofits and governmental legal employers may have a great need for those who can write well and analyze policy.

Timing

*As with all things in law, it depends, but here is some general guidance:*

In general, law jobs tend to hire undergraduates for positions starting soon, as opposed to planning ahead for next summer.

Summer internships may be posted anytime beginning in the fall and going all the way through spring semester.

One important thing to know about legal internships is that they often will not be on the same timeline for hiring as other kinds of internships (ie. Engineering or Business related internships).  If you are going into spring semester, it is not too late to find legal internships or other legal related job opportunities for the summer.

Often pre-law students express feeling behind their peers in their jobs search, but many times legal employers just begin the search process later than other employers.  It’s always great to start searching early, but don’t panic if it’s taking longer to find the right position.

How do I search for legal jobs and internships?

Legal employers may not have bandwidth to do a lot of undergraduate recruiting, so you may have to look harder and try some additional tactics to secure these types of positions.

Here are some steps to take to find these types of opportunities:

• Meet with a career advisor with your school or college to go over job search strategies, the best websites to use, and to review your resume before applying. You can use your school or college’s career center for pre-law job search questions even if you are not in a major that is typically seen as common for pre-law students. The information listed on this website will give you some ideas but is not exhaustive. (For more information on what to ask your career advisor versus your pre-law advisor, check out our advising page.)
• The best way to secure an internship in a legal firm is to utilize your contacts and further develop a network of legal professionals. Know an attorney? Know someone who knows an attorney? Let them know you are looking for positions, and ask them to suggest anyone they know who may be looking for help. Sucessworks has a database of L&S alumni that you can use to look for mentors called Career Conversations that you can access via a canvas module. If you’re looking for a place to start with your networking, that is one great option.
• The term “legal intern” is often used for internships designed for students already in law school, so a search for legal internships can sometimes feel very discouraging to undergraduate students. Be nimble in your search terms. Many legal internships do not have the word law or legal in the job title. Ex. “Immigration intern.”  Also, try adding the word “Undergraduate” to your ‘Legal Intern” search.
• If you haven’t already, sign in to Handshake, UW-Madison’s job search platform, to activate your profile and begin searching for jobs and internships. You will find some law jobs posted here, but for best results, you’ll want to use other job search boards as well.
• Try searching on Indeed, the Law Bulletin Job Site, LinkedIn, Nation Jobs, 80,000 Hours, or this Undergraduate Legal Internship list.
• If you are open to an internship with a Non-Profit, check out Idealist.org.
• If you are looking for opportunities with the Federal Government, the main search site is USAJobs.gov. The Federal Government hires all majors, and entry level jobs for undergrads are typically GS level 5-7. The website MakingtheDifference.org is designed to teach you all you need to know for an effective job search within the Federal Government.
• If you are into social justice, check out the Successworks Social Justice Internship Program.
• If you are interested in interning abroad, check out UW-Madison’s International Internship Program.
• If you’re looking to become more involved on campus and advocate for issues with the UW Administration, Madison City Council, or the WI State Legislature, you may consider applying for an internship with the Associated Students of Madison (ASM).
• Students who are interested in policy, politics, legislation or government often pursue internships at the Wisconsin State Capitol. See the Political Science Department Internships page.
• Want to work in DC? Check out the Wisconsin in Washington Program.
• Want to work in NYC? Check out the Cornell Prelaw Program & Internship in New York City.
• Subscribe to the Center for Pre-Law Advising Newletter.  We sometimes post job or internship announcements there.
• If you are interested in temp jobs as a Legal Assistant, Legal Secretary, or Paralegal, check out Robert Half Talent Solutions.
• Follow firms that you are interested in on Linkedin, Facebook and other social media. Sometimes they might only post a job via social networks.
• Cold outreach (especially if you want to work in a law firm environment). Sometimes lawyers are so busy that they need help but do not have the time to post a job. Consider reaching out to law firms to inquire about whether they are currently hiring or planning to hire anyone soon. Attach a resume and let them know that if any opportunities to apply for an undergraduate legal intern or legal assistant come up that you would love to know so you can apply. Here is a list of law firms with 10 or more employees in the Madison area.