MLK Internships

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

NC Law School Students: Check your career services platform for our job posting and follow the deadlines and instructions there to apply. We will conduct on-campus interviews for 2Ls at all NC law schools during Fall 2026:

• High Point University – Sept 24
• Wake Forest University – Sept 24
• Duke – Oct 1
• UNC – Oct 8
• Elon – Oct 13
• Campbell – Oct 15
• NCCU – TBD

If you miss the deadline for OCI at your school, follow the out-of-state process outlined below.

For 1Ls, during the spring semester, we will participate in the North Carolina Interview Program (NCLIP), which will also be advertised by your career center. Email jobs@legalaidnc.org if you have any questions.

Out-of-State Law Students: Email your application to jobs@legalaidnc.org. Please follow the instructions in this posting: 2027 MLK Announcement.pdf 

Please note that we will prioritize review of 2L applications during the fall semester.

Please use this chart to help you understand the day-to-day work an intern can expect in each office or project.

Available Offices and Projects for Summer 2027 MLK Interns

Applications are being accepted for Summer 2027 MLK interns in the following offices/statewide projects:

Offices:

Field office work will primarily involve LANC’s general areas of practice, including but not limited to housing, domestic violence, consumer law, and benefits. Additionally, interns in the Fayetteville and Smoky Mountains offices may gain exposure to cases involving Indian law and/or tribal courts. Learn more about our areas of work here: https://legalaidnc.org/get-help/. 

Special Projects:

More information on the projects and their work can be found here: https://legalaidnc.org/projects/.

Please use this chart to help you understand the day-to-day work an intern can expect in each office or project.

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.

We will post instructions for students to apply to our internship if they are being sponsored by a law firm in early 2027. Please check back then. Email jobs@legalaidnc.org if you have 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:

Action Seeker Sponsors:

James E. Sheldon

Friends Internship Sponsors:

Bill and Eileen Blancato
Katherine Haddock
Ruffin and Jenna Sykes

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To support Legal Aid of NC’s MLK Internship program, contact missyh@legalaidnc.org.