International Human Rights Program Firm-Funded Summer Internships

The IHRP Firm-Funded Summer Internships afford law students enrolled at the University of Toronto Faculty of Law an opportunity to gain exposure to both private legal practice and international human rights work during the summer following their second year of law school.  Students spend part of the summer (usually the first part) working at the sponsoring firm, and a minimum of 7-8 weeks as an intern with a human rights organization.  The combined exposure to private legal practice and human rights law affords students a unique opportunity to gain practical experience in diverse areas of law and apply their skills in different settings.  (The IHRP also runs a faculty-funded internship program for students in first and second year who wish to spend a minimum of 10 weeks at an international human rights organization and are not working at a law firm.)

How does it work?

Under the Program, students spend part of the summer working at a law firm (typically the first part) and part of the summer as an intern at an international human rights organization (for a minimum of 7-8 weeks).  While students are working at the sponsoring law firm, they are integrated as fully as possible into the law firm's summer program and are included in social and other events held by the law firm during the summer.  Each sponsoring law firm remunerates its Summer Internship students for the duration of the entire summer. A list of sponsoring firms is available in UTLawcareers.ca (password-protected). 

For the internship portion of the summer, students identify a suitable international human rights organization that has a need for a student to do law-related work.  Given the nature of the work and that the internship is international, it is expected that students spend a minimum of 7-8 weeks at their host organization.  To be considered as a suitable host organization, there should be a defined need and a lack of funds to support a particular legal project, research or casework.   Organizations should also have the capacity to provide adequate supervision for the student intern.  Students are encouraged to contact potential host organizations during first term as it can take time to obtain an agreement to supervise a student and to develop an internship plan.  Visit the IHRP web pages for a list of past interns and list of international human rights organizations and contact names, or contact the Directory of the IHRP.

To be eligible for the Program, students first obtain a summer job with a sponsoring law firm during the regular fall recruitment period and speak to the Recruitment Coordinator about their interest in the Program.  Students then submit an application form by November 30th to Shannon Leo, Director, Career Services. The application form is available in UTLawcareers.ca (password-protected).  There is no pre-requisite course or prior human rights experience required to participate in the firm-funded internship. Once a suitable host organization has agreed to supervise the internship, students submit a a one page proposal outlining their internship plan.  This proposal is due in the CDO by March 1st.  For more details on how to apply, see the Summer Internship Program: How to Apply page and the application form.

Which international human rights organizations will host students?

In the past, faculty-funded and firm-funded interns have worked at a vast array of intergovernmental and governmental human rights organizations around the world, and students can consult a list of available organizations or contact the Director of the IHRP. It is open to students to identify other human rights organizations.

What kind of experience will I gain as an intern?

One of the core opportunities that IHRP provides is the opportunity for law students to work during the summer alongside international human rights practitioners at governmental, non-governmental and United Nations organizations. Through the internship program, students conduct legal research, provide legal services and carry out legal literacy education. 

The goal of the internship program is to train and develop the capacity of students in the promotion and protection of international human rights through advocacy, activism, research and education.  Student interns gain practical experience in the field, undertake independent research or experience human rights concerns that are of interest to them.

As with faculty-funded interns, students are required to attend pre-internship orientations and to  write a two-page report after the completion of their internship.  They may be asked to attend at least one gathering to share their experiences with each other and with prospective interns and  with the wider University of Toronto Faculty of Law community.  Some sponsoring law firms may also require firm-funded interns to prepare a written report or oral presentation at the end of the summer as well.  Students may choose to write an academic paper related to the legal issues they engaged in during their internships.  Past students have used this opportunity to write a Directed Research Paper or an Extended Paper.