Apprenticeship

Balestriere Lanza PLLC (www.balestriere.net) is a private trials and investigations law firm with a public service focus. We want interns who want an apprenticeship experience, where they will do meaningful work, will learn and grow by working alongside lawyers and other professionals, and who have mature, responsible attitudes, willing to do whatever work is necessary to get the job done.

We are not a prestigious law office. We do not care to be. Students interested in prestige or an attractive line on their resume should save their time and ours and apply elsewhere. We have absolutely no tolerance whatsoever for arrogance or poor attitudes. We only want students ready to work hard in a genuine lawyer apprenticeship experience.

We expect much more from our apprentices than do other law offices and value training and mentorship as core values of the firm. We give undergraduates work usually reserved for law students, and give law students work usually reserved for junior associates or new law school graduates. In the past, interns have worked on a variety of projects including the following:

• Drafting complaints against one of the world's largest companies in a major, complex class action.
• Research on procedural and policy aspects of class action lawsuits.
• Writing first and later drafts of memoranda of law filed in current cases.
• Researching all cases decided by a judge regarding arbitration agreements.
• Interviewing witnesses for criminal cases in state court.
• Depositions in a regulatory action before the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority.
• Development of a marketing strategy for both the law firm and the investigations company.
• Work on commercial litigation involving a construction contractor.
• Investigation in a major civil rights matter involving allegations of serious police misconduct.
• Organizing articles for a firm newsletter.

The firm is seeking law students and college students as apprentices for the coming academic year or summer as listed in the Join Us page of the firm website. Students able to commit to work at the firm for the summer AND the following academic year are STRONGLY preferred – we spend a lot of time in training students such that the longer term work period makes sense both for the firm and for students.

Law students who work at and are trained at the firm during the summer have the possibility of being paid for their work on an hourly basis in the fall and spring semesters after their first summer of work and training.

Law students must have completed at least one year of school before beginning the internship. College students must either be seniors, if the position is for during the school year, or rising seniors, if the next available internship period is the summer. Past college interns have returned after graduation to full time analyst positions, and past law students interns have obtained full time employment as lawyers with the firm.

Students are not given a stipend, but receive other benefits as described below.

Requirements

Apprentices must be serious about their commitment to the internship. This is essentially a job, not a class, even if exposure, training, and simply learning are integral parts of the experience. Past interns have been asked to end their internship on the spot when they showed us that they did not treat the internship seriously enough. Poor attitude or a lack of respect for fellow apprentices, law firm staff, clients, witnesses, or anyone else is a basis for immediate termination of the internship.

Students must also pay attention to detail, possess excellent writing and research skills, be ready to take initiative and be creative, work well in teams, be willing to do whatever work is necessary for a given matter or research project, and be prepared to work on multiple tasks simultaneously. An interest in public service is very important.

We, in turn, will meet our responsibility to make the internship a challenging and rewarding one and to involve interns as much as possible in our work.

Benefits

While there is no cash payment to students, the firm does cover public transportation expenses within New York City and students will be invited to take part in a regular lecture series featuring lawyers, particularly from the criminal defense and government bars, and judges from both state and federal courts. There also will be social events during the apprenticeship, paid for by the firm. Students are encouraged to receive credit for apprenticeship and the firm will assist students in any way necessary to make that happen.

Time Commitment

For the summer, students must work in the firm at least four full days a week, generally in the firm conference room, and are required to use their own laptops with wireless modems to access the firm’s network. During the semester, students must work in the firm at least one full day a week, though two days are strongly encouraged, and must perform at least 12 hours of work (in and out of office). Finally, students must check their firm e-mail at least once daily on days when they are not at the firm.

We understand that, during the semester, school is a student’s top priority. At the same time, if a student commits to working a certain number of days or on a given project, we expect the student to fulfill that commitment and keep her word. Changing the time commitment after the semester begins is a basis for our terminating the internship.

Application Procedure

Applicants should submit a cover letter, resume, writing sample, an unofficial copy of an up to date transcript, and contact information for at least three references (including at least one employer reference) to recruiting@balestriere.net as soon as possible. Write “Internship Application” and the period of time in which you're interested in the subject heading of the e-mail.

More Information

For more information check out our website at www.balestriere.net.
Information on the apprenticeship position is listed at balestriere.net/apprentices.html