About
Legal Aid of North Carolina’s Martin Luther King Jr. Internship Program provides a paid (currently $4,000), 10-week opportunity for talented law students to spend their summer experiencing the real world of legal aid advocacy. MLKs work under the supervision of seasoned Legal Aid attorneys in our offices and projects across the state, bringing legal theory to life by doing substantive work on real cases for real clients. MLKs also have priority when applying for attorney positions at Legal Aid after graduation. If you are passionate about equal justice for all and want a meaningful, skill-building summer internship, then commit to becoming an MLK today.
You can find a list of counties served by each field office here: https://legalaidnc.org/offices/. Additionally, details about the statewide projects are located here: https://legalaidnc.org/projects/.
Apply
The application for the summer 2026 MLK, Jr. Internship program is now closed. Please reach out to jobs@legalaidnc.org if you would like to be notified when the application opens for next year.
If you are interested in exploring other opportunities to volunteer with Legal Aid, including semester externships, please fill out this form and someone will be in touch: LANC Volunteer Interest Form
Thank you!
Summer Internship Host Site
Legal Aid of NC can host law students receiving funding from a private law firm or other employer to pursue a summer public interest internship. We are looking for students who are genuinely interested in our mission of equal access to justice, understand the importance of civil legal aid and of removing legal barriers to economic opportunity, and who have prior work experience that indicates the ability to serve our client population.
If you are interested in working at Legal Aid of NC through a summer public interest sponsorship program, please email jobs@legalaidnc.org with the subject line: “Public Interest Summer applicant – YOUR NAME.” Include a cover letter addressing your interest in working at Legal Aid of NC, a resume, and contact information for three references, ideally at least one who can speak to your experience in nonprofit or volunteer work. In your cover letter, please include any logistical requirements of your sponsorship program (required dates, work hours, etc.) as well as offices or projects that you would be open to placement with. We are particularly interested in students willing to work in our rural offices (noted above), but students may be placed in any office or project with the capacity to supervise additional interns.
Applicants will be accepted on a rolling basis. Please contact jobs@legalaidnc.org with any questions.
Meet our MLKs
MLK Internship Program Sponsors
Sponsors support the longstanding tradition of paid summer internships at Legal Aid of North Carolina offices across the state.
Thank you to our 2026 Sponsors:
Mountaintop Internship Sponsors:
To support Legal Aid of NC’s MLK Internship program, view the sponsorship packet or contact missyh@legalaidnc.org.