Blue Ridge Legal Services Undergraduate Internship
Position Description
Harrisonburg Office
ON HOLD, PENDING PANDEMIC
Organization Description:
Blue Ridge Legal Services provides free legal services to lower-income residents of the Shenandoah Valley. Focuses include protection from domestic violence, predatory loans, unemployment compensation, nursing home discharge, financial exploitation of the elderly, bankruptcy and debt issues, foreclosure, eviction, and repair issues in rental housing.
BRLS enjoys a strong reputation for high quality legal services across our service area and the Commonwealth of Virginia. In the most recent needs assessment survey of judges within our service area, the judges uniformly gave our attorneys high marks for preparation, zealousness, and effectiveness both in trials and in written briefs.
Internship Position Description:
Semester-long internship positions are available for students enrolled in a four-year university in the Shenandoah Valley area.
There is no requirement for interns to be interested in law school. Blue Ridge Legal Services possesses a unique mission that can draw interest from students, regardless of major, interested in issues affecting low-income Virginians.
Interns help answer phones and greet clients, perform case research and follow-up calls, and assist attorneys with tasks related to their cases, among other duties.
Though this is an unpaid position, some colleges may offer credit contingent on a certain number of hours fulfilled at a student’s internship. Please refer to your university’s policies and procedures regarding class credit from internships.
Goals:
Throughout the internships, tasks are variable, but interns are expected to become familiar with office procedures and policies and attain a greater understanding of low-income legal issues.
Documents Requested:
– Resume
Please email your resume to: Molly Bell, Referral Coordinator for the Harrisonburg office, mbell@brls.org. You may call (540) 433-1830 to follow up and ensure it was received.
Interested students should submit materials at their earliest opportunity, as these internships are highly competitive.
Hiring Criteria:
– Maturity and ability to work with others as a team.
– Strong sense of responsibility in one’s work
– Self-motivated, showing an ability to take a project and run with it
– Language skills, particularly in Spanish, Russian, or Arabic, are a plus but not required.