Legal Aid Society Spring Internships - Legal Aid Society of Metropolitan Family Services

About the role

The Legal Aid Society (LAS) is the legal aid arm of Metropolitan Family Services. Founded in 1886, it is the oldest provider of legal aid in Illinois and the second oldest in the nation. The mission of LAS is to protect and strengthen families by providing equal access to justice for all by focusing on the most vulnerable communities, including those who are impoverished, the elderly, and victims of violence & crimes. We are based in Chicago, Illinois, and serve low-income clients in Cook and DuPage Counties, and the Decatur area. LAS has four practice groups: Safety & Family focuses on issues related to family law and orders of protection for survivors of domestic violence and on the prevention of abuse and financial exploitation of seniors; Health, Housing, & Economic Stability represents low-income tenants facing evictions, housing voucher terminations, and other housing issues; Individual Rights & Social Justice works with survivors of human trafficking and immigrant victims of crime to obtain immigration relief, and with individuals with certain employment law matters; Communities Partnering 4 Peace is a community lawyering project dedicated to removing barriers to housing, employment, and financial stability, among other issues, for members of the Chicago community who have been impacted by gun violence. LAS hires law students for internships/externships and law students & recent law graduates for fellowships. Students generally work out of LAS’s downtown Chicago office, but some positions are based in Wheaton or Decatur, Illinois. Our offices operate in a hybrid model, with students to be based in the Chicago area.

Responsibilities

• Client interviewing and counseling
• Negotiation
• Research
• Drafting pleadings
• Court appearances (if 711‑licensed)

Requirements

Law students for internships/externships and law students & recent law graduates for fellowships.

Qualifications

• Spanish‑language skills
• 711 student attorney license (or both)

Pay

Part‑time, unpaid positions are available for Spring 2027. Position type: Internship.