INTERNATIONAL INTERNSHIP PROGRAM

Suffolk University Law School has an exclusive agreement with the Center for International Legal Studies (CILS) to offer Internships to U.S. law students. International internships are available to JD students for credit in conformity with the American Bar Association guidelines, and to LLM students, Certificate students, and other post-graduates with law degrees.

CILS has been placing interns in international law firms and organizations since 1976. Suffolk University Law School is now CILS' institutional partner for administering the program and ensuring academic compliance in the US.

Internships are available in Europe, the Americas, and Asia. A list of CILS's internship placements is available here. New placements are added all the time. If you wish to use a personal contact in a location where no existing internship is presently offered, we will facilitate the process on your behalf.

To contact the internship director, email Alane De Luca for detailed program information. You will receive feedback from her regarding placement viability.

Suffolk J.D. student Lisa Keefer working her internship for an NGO in Patna, India helps out during an Earth Day festivity.

International Internships are a unique opportunity for law students to acquire practical experience in another jurisdiction during the summer for credit towards their JD.

Internships are for 3 JD credits. An additional 1-3 credits may be earned by non-Suffolk law school students towards the Certificate in Transnational Lawyering for extra academic work during the internship for purposes of getting financial aid.

Academic credit for a Suffolk Law internship may be transferred to another law school. Suffolk Law School will certify to the applicant's home institution (subject to the home institution's requirements) that credit has been satisfactorily earned.

A student cannot earn credit and receive compensation. Generally internships are not salaried positions, but by accepting an intern, each host undertakes to extend basic hospitality to their intern.

Suffolk J.D. student Quyen P. Gip (left) enjoys dinner with colleagues from her legal internship in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam.

Internships offer qualified lawyers the possibility of work abroad as a stepping stone to a career in international law. Internships provide the same experience for law graduates who may wish to work longer than the typical four weeks for three credits in the summer, or who wish to explore employment opportunities abroad after graduation.

Internships may also be taken as part of the LLM degree at Suffolk.  Applications for Advanced Standing toward the LLM may include the international internship for 2-5 credits towards the LLM and will be considered on an individual basis.

Transfer of credit to another LLM program is at the discretion of the home institution. Suffolk Law will certify to the applicant's home institution (subject to their requirements) that credit has been satisfactorily earned.

Suffolk LL.M student Paola Checo (far right) at her internship in Santiago, Chile with students from the University of Chile while attending a seminar.

Graduate law students may also earn separately the "Certificate of International Legal Practice." Certificate requirements include the satisfactory completion of an internship (3 credits or more); a course in "International Legal Practice" (2 credits) or its equivalent; and a substantial research project (5 credits). The topic is subject to approval by the Academica Director of Graduate Programs at SULS and would require a fifty page paper, minus footnotes.

Advanced standing of up to 5 credits may be awarded towards the LLM in Global Law and Technology for the satisfactory completion of the Certificate in International Legal Practice prior to being admitted to the LLM. The Writing Requirement for the LLM in Global Law and Technology may also be waived for satisfactory completion of the Certificate in International Legal Practice.