Guest post by the Presidents of the the Palm Beach, Broward, and South Florida Chapters of the FBA

Guest post by the Presidents of the the Palm Beach, Broward, and South Florida Chapters of the FBA

A message to rising 2L law students at UM, FIU, Nova, and St. Thomas (and for attorneys please read to the end): 

As you near the end of your 1L year, many of you are inevitably still evaluating options for summer. Law firm jobs, government jobs, vacations, and more.

You’ve hopefully also recognized and considered the value of a judicial internship.

Enter the Judicial Intern Academy, or “JIA,” a partnership between US District Judge Beth Bloom and the South Florida, Broward, and Palm Beach Chapters of the FBA. The JIA is a summer internship program that provides learning opportunities for rising 2L students unable to devote the summer to a full-time, 40-hour per week judicial internship. The student commits to 20 hours each week. Each intern is paired with a former federal judicial law clerk who has agreed to serve as that intern’s advisor during the internship. Law Clerk Advisors (LCAs) volunteer their time and expertise to assist students in refining their oral advocacy, research, analytical, and writing skills. The LCAs are intended to serve as a resource to the intern, similar to the experience enjoyed by other full-time summer judicial interns who work in chambers with the judge’s law clerks.

This past summer, the JIA implemented a pilot program in the SDFL with two local law schools. The 2022 inaugural class consisted of 19 students selected from the University of Miami School of Law and Florida International University College of Law. Each student was paired with a former federal judicial law clerk. The interns received a case-specific writing and oral advocacy assignment. They researched and drafted a bench memorandum and then argued the issues during a mock hearing in the courtroom. The South Florida, Broward and Palm Beach FBA Chapters have formally adopted the Academy and this summer the JIA is expanding to each of the four ABA accredited law schools – UM, FIU, Nova, and St. Thomas.

Internships provide an invaluable opportunity for growth, yet are highly competitive and selective. As a result, well-qualified and motivated students are often rejected. For other students, a full-time, unpaid summer internship is not feasible due to financial or personal obligations. The Judicial Intern Academy was developed to give more law students this opportunity to learn.

The deadline to apply to the JIA is March 31, and applications should be submitted to JudicialInternAcademySDFL@gmail.com. Final decisions will be made by April 10, and the program runs for 8 weeks from June 5 through July 28. Please feel free to contact Yaniv Adar at Yaniv@MarkMigdal.com with any questions.

FOR ATTORNEYS** If you are a former federal judicial law clerk practicing in Palm Beach, Broward, or Miami and are interested in serving as an LCA, let us know! You can email Trevor Jones at trevor.jones@usdoj.gov to volunteer. Finally, the JIA is always looking for input and suggestions on additional student learning opportunities during the program. Please email Yaniv Adar at the address above with any ideas. Thank you.