What We Do
ICLS’s Law Clerks will gain hands-on legal aid experience assisting clients and staff in one of ICLS’s legal practice groups or programs. Law clerk opportunities vary depending on their assigned team, but opportunities often include a range of assignments designed to build core legal competencies such as legal research and/or writing, client contact, litigation support, and community engagement and education. ICLS Law Clerks will be supervised by a licensed attorney and will have the opportunity for mentorship from their supervisor.
Please note: Fall and Spring Law Clerk internship positions are voluntary/unpaid. ICLS is happy to accommodate students seeking school credit for unpaid externships. The Summer Law Clerk internship may include paid positions, depending on the availability of funding.
Qualifications
The Summer Program is limited to 1Ls, 2Ls, LLMs and other law students who are scheduled to graduate after Spring 2026. Spring and Fall internships are available to any law student who will be currently enrolled in law school during the internship period. Applicants must be a law student in good standing at an ABA or CA State Bar-accredited law program, possess strong legal research and writing skills, and demonstrate experience or a strong interest in serving the public interest.
For more information or to apply for a Law Clerk position, please contact ICLS’s Pro Bono Managing Attorney, Amanda Jancu, at ajancu@icls.org.
Applicants applying through career fairs or On-Campus Interview (OCI) programs should follow the career fair/OCI instructions regarding submitting applications.
Types of Opportunities
Number of Positions Available: 3 per semester
Key Competencies to be Developed: legal research and writing; legal forms and document preparation; client interviewing and counseling; procedural law and court systems; community education and outreach; collaboration and teamwork
Location:
Summer: Hybrid – minimum 1 day per week in ICLS’s Ontario or Riverside Office; additional in-person opportunities to attend court hearings and consumer rights or tax clinics at various locations in the IE
Spring and Fall: Remote
Schedule:
Summer: 30 hours per week for 10 weeks
Spring and Fall: minimum of 3 hours per week for 8-10 weeks
Opportunity Description:
The Consumer Law Practice Group helps people struggling financially to secure stronger footing by assisting with various financial issues including debt, tax, and bankruptcy.
Through its Consumer Law team, ICLS assists with answers to debt lawsuits related to credit card debt, medical bills, identity theft, auto repossessions, and other consumer debts. The Consumer Law team operates ICLS’s Consumer Rights Clinic at various locations throughout the Inland Empire to assist with counsel and advice and filing answers to lawsuits. The Consumer Law team also includes a Bankruptcy team to provide advice and representation in bankruptcy.
The Consumer Law team also operates ICLS’s Low-Income Taxpayer Clinic (LITC), which provides advice and representation to taxpayers on tax issues. The LITC assists with negotiations of tax debt settlements, audits, earned income tax, credit appeals, tax litigation, fraudulent tax preparation, identity theft, liens and levies, innocent spouse relief, and IRS collection matters.
Law clerks with the Consumer Law team will conduct legal research and write memoranda on topics impacting borrowers and taxpayers, draft legal pleadings, court forms and client declarations, shadow or conduct client interviews or communications, observe court hearings, participate in clinics, support with litigation including discovery, attend networking and outreach opportunities and community partner meetings, and assist with drafting informational resources and outreach materials. Summer law clerks will attend clinics for consumer rights issues and/or taxpayer issues at various locations throughout the Inland Empire. All work will be completed under the supervision and guidance of a licensed attorney.
The ideal candidate will have strong research and writing skills, strong attention to detail, and ability to exhibit cultural responsiveness in working with clients. LLM Students with a focus on Tax Law are specifically encouraged to apply.
Number of Positions Available: 1 per semester
Key Competencies to be Developed: legal research; legal forms and document preparation; client interviewing and counseling; procedural law and court systems; cultural competency and trauma-informed lawyering; community education and outreach; collaboration and teamwork
Location:
Summer: Hybrid – minimum 1 day per week in ICLS’s Ontario or Riverside Office; additional in-person opportunities to attend clinics at senior centers at various locations in the IE
Spring and Fall: Remote
Schedule:
Summer: 30 hours per week for 10 weeks
Spring and Fall: minimum of 3 hours per week for 8-10 weeks
Opportunity Description:
The Elder Law Practice Group’s mission is to provide the highest level of legal assistance to empower, educate and improve the lives of seniors in our community who are in the greatest social and economic need. The Elder Law team serves seniors aged 60 and older.
Through its Elder Law team, ICLS assists with an array of issues impacting older adults, such as simple estate planning including simple wills, powers of attorney, and advance healthcare directives; consumer protection; restraining orders including elder abuse, civil harassment and domestic violence restraining orders; grandparent visitation; and small claims issues. The Elder Law team also visits various senior centers throughout the Inland Empire to provide on-site legal assistance to seniors in their community.
Law clerks with the Elder Law team will conduct legal research on topics impacting seniors in the Inland Empire, draft legal pleadings and court forms, shadow or conduct client interviews or communications, observe court hearings, participate in clinic appointments, attend networking and outreach opportunities and community partner meetings, and assist with drafting informational resources and outreach materials, including to educate the community on new laws. Summer law clerks will observe community lawyering at senior centers in various parts of the Inland Empire and will have the opportunity to engage in outreach activities such as community fairs and educational presentations. All work will be completed under the supervision and guidance of a licensed attorney.
The ideal candidate will have strong interpersonal skills, have experience or a demonstrated interest in working with vulnerable populations, and have a passion for creating and sharing community resources and information.
Number of Positions Available: 1 per semester
Key Competencies to be Developed: legal research and writing; legal forms and document preparation; client interviewing and counseling; procedural law and court systems; cultural competency and trauma-informed lawyering; community education and outreach; collaboration and teamwork
Location:
Summer: Hybrid – minimum 1 day per week in ICLS’s Ontario or Riverside Office; additional opportunities to attend court hearings if desired.
Spring and Fall: Remote with opportunities to observe court hearings if desired.
Schedule:
Summer: 30 hours per week for 10 weeks
Spring and Fall: minimum of 3 hours per week for 8-10 weeks
Opportunity Description:
The Family Law & Domestic Violence Practice Group helps clients obtain emotional, physical, and financial security for themselves and their families. The Family Law team works primarily with survivors of domestic violence on various family law matters.
Through its Family Law team, ICLS assists with an array of family law issues including Domestic Violence Restraining Orders, establishing parentage/paternity, marriage dissolution/divorce, child custody and visitation, child and spousal support, and division of community and separate property assets and debts.
Law clerks with the Family Law team will conduct legal research and write memoranda on family law legal issues, draft client declarations, legal pleadings and court forms, shadow or conduct client interviews or communications, observe court hearings, support with litigation including discovery, attend networking and outreach opportunities and community partner meetings, and assist with drafting informational resources and outreach materials. Law clerks will learn about domestic violence dynamics, common barriers impacting survivors, and various forms of legal relief available to support survivors of abuse. Law clerks may also have the opportunity to collaborate with the Pro Bono team in the development of a restraining order clinic to serve survivors seeking Domestic Violence Restraining Orders. All work will be completed under the supervision and guidance of a licensed attorney.
The ideal candidate will have strong research and writing skills, experience or a demonstrated interest in working with vulnerable populations, ability to exhibit cultural responsiveness in working with clients, and a passion for creating and sharing community resources and information.
Number of Positions Available: 1 (Summer and Fall Only)
Key Competencies to be Developed: legal research and writing; client interviewing and counseling; procedural law and court systems; cultural competency and trauma-informed lawyering; community education and outreach; collaboration and teamwork
Location:
Summer: Hybrid – minimum 1 day per week in ICLS’s Ontario or Riverside Office
Fall: Remote
Schedule:
Summer: 30 hours per week for 10 weeks
Fall: minimum of 3 hours per week for 8-10 weeks
Opportunity Description:
ICLS’s Health Law Practice Group focuses on obtaining and maintaining health benefits for clients and increasing access to health services. The Health Team works in conjunction with the Health Consumer Alliance (HCA), a coalition of California legal aid programs providing health care access services to California consumers.
Through its Health Law team, ICLS provides advice, brief services and/or direct representation in a variety of health law issues including Covered California, dual special needs plans, In-Home Supportive Services (IHSS), Medi-Cal, Medicare, Medicare-Medi-Cal dual plans, medical billing, private health insurance and other healthcare matters.
Law clerks with the Health Law team will conduct legal research and write memoranda and briefs on topics related to healthcare and access to health services, shadow or conduct client interviews or communications, observe court or administrative law hearings, attend networking and outreach activities, attend community partner meetings, and assist with drafting informational resources and outreach materials. All work will be completed under the supervision and guidance of a licensed attorney.
The ideal candidate will have strong research and writing skills, experience or a demonstrated interest in working with vulnerable populations, and a passion for creating and sharing community resources and information.
Number of Positions Available: 2 per semester
Key Competencies to be Developed: legal research and writing; client interviewing and counseling; procedural law and court systems; collaboration and teamwork
Location:
Summer: Hybrid – minimum 1 day per week in ICLS’s Ontario or Riverside Office; additional in-person opportunities recommended to attend court hearings and housing clinics at various locations in the IE
Spring and Fall:: Remote with opportunities to observe court hearings and attend Unlawful Detainer Clinics in person if desired.
Schedule:
Summer: 30 hours per week for 10 weeks
Spring and Fall: minimum of 3 hours per week for 8-10 weeks
Opportunity Description:
The Housing Law Practice Group’s goal is to preserve housing for ICLS clients. The team’s focus is to fight evictions, foreclosures, and unfair termination from programs such as Section 8. The housing team also provides legal advice and education on several other tenant and landlord issues.
Through its Housing Law team, ICLS staffs a housing hotline, which serves as the first point of contact for many residents in need of housing assistance. The hotline provides phone advice to tenants on issues such as eviction and unlawful detainer notices, rent increases, habitability issues, harassment and discrimination by landlords, foreclosure, and subsidized housing applications and terminations. ICLS’s Housing Team also provides extended services through its ICLS’s Unlawful Detainer Clinic to help tenants prepare answers and fee waivers and prepare for trial and its Tenant-Landlord Assistance Program (TLAP) to provide day-of-trial assistance, including settlements and representation, at eight different courthouses in the Inland Empire. The Housing Team also provides extended services to defend against violations and terminations and to request accommodations for subsidized housing to negotiate, litigate and provide HCD referrals for Mobile Home Residency Law cases, and to help prevent foreclosure through forbearance requests, mortgage relief, and litigation, as needed. The Housing Team’s brief services include drafting motions and letters, repair demands, and challenges to rent increases. The Team also engages in self-help and innovation through maintaining a video library for tenants, a Tenant Power Toolkit, and motion & letter templates.
Law clerks with the Housing Law team will conduct legal research and write memoranda or briefs on various issues affecting tenants and homeowners/mobile-home owners, draft client declarations, shadow or conduct client interviews or communications, observe court hearings, participate in clinics, and assist with drafting informational resources and outreach materials. Law clerks may also assist with creating a Housing Employee Manual with procedural and substantive law summaries to be used by the Housing Team. Summer law clerks will attend Unlawful Detainer and TLAP clinics at various locations throughout the Inland Empire. All work will be completed under the supervision and guidance of a licensed attorney.
The ideal candidate will have strong research and writing skills, strong attention to detail, and ability to exhibit cultural responsiveness in working with clients. Candidates for the Summer Program should also be willing and able to travel regularly to various areas of the Inland Empire.
Number of Positions Available: 1 (Summer Only)
Key Competencies to be Developed: legal research and writing; client interviewing and counseling; cultural competency and trauma-informed lawyering; community education and outreach; collaboration and teamwork
Location:
Hybrid – minimum 1 day per week in ICLS’s Ontario or Riverside Office
Schedule:
30 hours per week for 10 weeks
Opportunity Description:
ICLS’s Immigration Practice Group provides high-quality legal services to individuals navigating the U.S. immigration system.
Through its Immigration team, ICLS uses a client-centered, holistic approach to ensure clients have access to information and legal support necessary for their immigration journey. The Immigration Team assists with immigration relief for survivors of crime and abuse, including domestic or sexual violence, human trafficking, persecution, torture, and child abuse, neglect or abandonment. ICLS immigration cases includes services to petition for U-Visa, T-Visa, or VAWA relief, adjustment of status (green card) applications, naturalization and citizenship, and removal defense.
Law clerks with the Immigration team will conduct legal research and write memoranda and briefs on topics impacting the immigrant community, assist with client declarations, shadow or conduct client interviews or communications, participate in clinic appointments, and assist with drafting informational resources and outreach materials. Law clerks will also have the opportunity to work on affirmative applications for relief, such as humanitarian, family-based, and naturalization cases, as well as removal defense work. All work will be completed under the supervision and guidance of a licensed attorney.
The ideal candidate will have strong research and writing skills, strong interpersonal skills, experience or a demonstrated interest in working with vulnerable populations, and a passion for creating and sharing community resources and information.
Number of Positions Available: 2 per semester
Key Competencies to be Developed: legal research and writing; community education and outreach; cultural competency and trauma-informed lawyering
Location:
Summer: Hybrid – minimum 1 day per week in ICLS’s Ontario or Riverside Office.
Spring and Fall: Remote
Schedule:
Summer: 30 hours per week for 10 weeks
Spring and Fall: minimum of 3 hours per week for 8-10 weeks
Opportunity Description:
The Public Benefits Practice Group help those most in need to obtain, preserve, and recover the government assistance to which they are entitled. Through its Education Law practice, the team fights for students’ rights to special education and disability accommodations with the goal of ensuring access to public education.
Through its Public Benefits team, ICLS assists with an array of issues related to government benefits, including denial, reduction, or discontinuation of benefits such as Social Security Income (SSI), Adoption Assistance Program (AA), Foster Care and Kin-Gap, and General Relief. Through its Education practice, ICLS assists students with enforcing special education or disability rights, resolving disciplinary issues related to a disability need, and ensuring access to education, including for unhoused students, foster students, or in other situations where a child is being denied access to education.
Law clerks in the Public Benefits & Education Practice Group will have the opportunity to assist with legal research on various topics related to public benefits and education and may have the opportunity to draft written memoranda on the research topics. Law clerks may also assist with drafting legal arguments and briefs, preparing medical summary reports for clients’ full medical history and records, and creating informational resources and outreach materials related to public benefits and education. All work will be completed under the supervision and guidance of a licensed attorney.
The ideal candidate will have strong research and writing skills, be a self-starter with ability to work independently, and have a passion for creating and sharing community resources and information.
Number of Positions Available: 1 per semester
Key Competencies to be Developed: legal research and writing; client interviewing and counseling; procedural law and court systems; community education and outreach
Location:
Summer: Hybrid – minimum 1 day per week in ICLS’s Ontario or Riverside Office.
Spring and Fall: Remote
Schedule:
Summer: 30 hours per week for 10 weeks
Spring and Fall: minimum of 3 hours per week for 8-10 weeks
Opportunity Description:
The Systemic/Impact Litigation (SIL) Practice Group’s mission is to challenge unlawful policies, procedures, and practices that prevent indigent people from improving their lives. The SIL team focuses on access to public benefits, preservation of low- income housing, and cases that will have a broad impact in the Inland Empire community.
Through its SIL team, ICLS challenges unfair or unlawful practices that affect large numbers of people in the Inland Empire through systemic advocacy efforts and, when necessary, litigation. The SIL team defends affordable housing needs for low-income populations, defends low-income residents’ access to public benefits, and challenges abuses of Property Assessed Clean Energy (PACE) loan or HERO programs. The SIL team is also exploring issues involving towing and ticketing in San Bernardino and working with the Pro Bono team to address systemic issues impacting the transgender and broader LGBTQ+ community.
Law clerks in the SIL Practice Group will have the opportunity to assist with legal research and writing memoranda on various legal issues. Law clerks may also assist with drafting legal arguments and briefs, drafting pleadings and court forms, observing or conducting client meetings, assisting with litigation including discovery, and attending community partner meetings. All work will be completed under the supervision and guidance of a licensed attorney.
The ideal candidate will have strong research and writing skills, be a self-starter with ability to work independently, and have a passion addressing systemic injustices.
Number of Positions Available: 2 per semester
Key Competencies to be Developed: legal research and writing; oral presentations; case and file management; procedural law and court systems; community education and outreach; cultural competency and trauma-informed lawyering; collaboration and teamwork; strategic thinking and resourcefulness; client interviewing and counseling (limited)
Location:
Summer: Hybrid – minimum 1 day per week in ICLS’s Ontario or Riverside Office.
Spring and Fall: Remote
Schedule:
Summer: 30 hours per week for 10 weeks
Spring and Fall: minimum of 3 hours per week for 8-10 weeks
Opportunity Description:
Inland Counties Legal Services (ICLS)’s dynamic Pro Bono team develops clinic and other pro bono opportunities for volunteers in five core pro bono programs as well as in collaboration with other ICLS practice groups. The Pro Bono team works closely with law firms, local attorneys, law students, and other volunteers to close the justice gap in Riverside and San Bernardino Counties and expand ICLS’s reach and impact to meet the legal needs of our community.
Through its Pro Bono team, ICLS assists with issues related to disaster relief, criminal record expungement, guardianship, LGBTQIA+ issues, and small business and nonprofits. The Disaster Relief program aims to provide essential legal support and aid in preparation for or response to a disaster. The Pro Bono team organizes clinics to assist with public benefits access and vital documents as well as prepares informational resources and materials that help the community to prepare for and respond in a disaster. The Expungement Clinic assists with criminal record clearing of convictions and arrests so that a person’s past mistakes do not define their future by limiting access to critical opportunities such as housing, employment, or professional licensure. The Guardianship Project’s mission is to ensure that children and caregivers in the Inland Empire have access to superior legal guidance and representation when seeking guardianship through the court system. The Guardianship Project assists clients with filing and successfully completing the process to obtain guardianship over a minor who is not their child. The LGBTQIA+ Services Program provides free, culturally competent legal services and community education on issues impacting the LGBTQIA+ community. The LGBTQIA+ project assists with gender marker/name change applications, advanced health care directives, and identity document updates. The project is also soon to include a Civil Harassment Restraining Order (CHRO) clinic to assist with harassed or abused youth in need of protection. The Small Business and Nonprofit Clinic provides free legal information, services, and resources to entrepreneurs, small business owners, and nonprofit organizations in the Inland Empire. The Small Business and Nonprofit project assists with a variety of corporate issues for small businesses and nonprofit organizations including business formation and selection of corporate entity, contracts, trademark, and more. ICLS’s Pro Bono team also recently launched a new HIV Services project to address the legal needs of persons living with HIV, including access to healthcare, anti-discrimination, and other matters.
Law clerks on the Pro Bono team will work across multiple ICLS core pro bono projects and may also collaborate with other practice groups to expand pro bono offerings in other areas of law. Law clerks will participate in clinic meetings with clients and pro bono volunteers, complete legal research on various topics, draft memoranda, develop training materials, templates, and other resources for volunteers, and participate in community and partner meetings and other networking and outreach activities. Law clerks may also be asked to assist with client screenings and case management, prepare limited legal forms and documents, or make oral presentations. Law clerks may also have the opportunity to observe or work on discreet projects with other ICLS practice groups. All work will be completed under the supervision and guidance of a licensed attorney.
The ideal candidate will have strong interpersonal skills, be a self-starter with ability to work independently, have a passion for creating and sharing community resources and information, and have an interest in developing knowledge and experience across various practice areas.
Number of Positions Available: 1 per semester
Key Competencies to be Developed: legal research; client interviewing and counseling; cultural competency and trauma-informed lawyering; community education and outreach; collaboration and teamwork; strategic thinking and resourcefulness
Location:
Summer: Hybrid – minimum 1 day per week in ICLS’s Ontario or Riverside Office; additional 1-3-per-month in-person visits to Lawyer in the Library clinics at various locations in the IE. Each library session is approximately 4 hours plus travel time.
Spring and Fall: Hybrid – remote work with additional 1-3-per-month in-person visits to Lawyer in the Library clinics at various locations in the IE. Each library session is approximately 4 hours plus travel time.
Schedule:
Summer: 30 hours per week for 10 weeks
Spring and Fall: minimum of 8 hours per week for 8-10 weeks
Opportunity Description:
ICLS’s Lawyers in the Library” (LITL) program is part of a national program that provides free legal aid and services to eligible library patrons. Through participation in the LITL program, ICLS provides free legal consultations to income eligible patrons in 5 key areas of law including: expungements; consumer law; housing; elder law; and public benefits. LITL also enhances access to legal information for all library patrons regardless of financial means, facilitates lawyer availability, and keeps ICLS informed of and responsive to pressing community legal needs. Through LITL, ICLS attorneys and law clerks receive hands-on training in community lawyering, training in substantive law, client interviewing and intake, legal research and writing, time management, cultural competence and wellness, and additional practical skills preparing them for long-term success and satisfaction as lawyers.
Law clerks in LITL will attend library sessions with ICLS attorneys to meet with applicants on a walk-in basis and offer pro bono assistance. Legal services may be completed during the walk-in clinic, or they may be ongoing, depending on circumstances and issues presented. The law clerk and ICLS attorney will work together as a team to ensure appropriate legal services are provided to the LITL clients. Outside of the walk-in clinics, law clerks will conduct legal research, prepare client declarations, legal forms and documents, and participate in outreach activities as needed. All work will be completed under the supervision and guidance of a licensed attorney.
The ideal candidate will have strong interpersonal skills, have experience or a demonstrated interest in working with low-income populations, and have a passion for creating and sharing community resources and information. 1L students are particularly well-suited to this opportunity.
