The Long Career Launch Program (the “Program”) is designed to make it financially possible for recent graduates of The University of Texas School of Law to obtain legal work experience in unpaid internships while they are awaiting bar results and looking for permanent employment. Graduates who are selected to participate in the Fall 2012 Program will receive a stipend to support work in an unpaid legal internship with a government agency or a 501(c)(3) public interest organization. Internships with judicial courts are not eligible. The Fall 2012 Program is generously funded by a grant from the Joe R. and Teresa Lozano Long Foundation.
Sponsored interns are required to work a minimum of 400 hours to be completed during the period between the July bar exam and the publication of bar results in November. Internships may start on July 30 and no later than August 13, and will end no later than November 16, 2012. The length of the Program gives graduates time to complete their hours while maintaining an active job search for permanent employment. Graduates who are interested in participating in the Program secure an internship with an eligible organization, designate a supervising attorney at that organization, and then apply for a place in the Program. If selected, graduates complete the necessary paperwork and begin their internships. The number of applicants accepted into the Program depends on available funding; we expect selections to be competitive.
For more information, contact Denyse Demel, Government Career Counselor, at 512-232-1162 or ddemel@law.utexas.edu or Nicole Simmons, Public Interest Career Counselor, at 512-232-1160 or nsimmons@law.utexas.edu.
As an agency or organization that would not normally hire unlicensed attorneys or may not have the resources to pay interns, the Long Career Launch Program is a way to obtain much-needed legal assistance from outstanding UT Law graduates. The Program increases access to justice in the community and promotes public service work among our graduates. Response from employers has been overwhelmingly favorable. Here’s what a few employers have said about the Program:
"The Dean’s Career Launch Program represents an extraordinary gift by the UT School of Law to the practice of public interest law in Texas. Anna Bocchini, the Career Launch intern who worked at the Equal Justice Center this fall, made an exceptionally valuable contribution to our work recovering unpaid wages for low-income immigrant workers. Even better, the internship gave our organization an opportunity to discover Anna’s great skill as a legal advocate and gave Anna a chance to confirm her interest in our type of practice. As a result we have subsequently hired Anna to continue on in a permanent attorney position – a match that the Career Launch Program was instrumental in bringing about. This program is a stroke of genius." - Bill Beardall, Equal Justice Center (Austin, TX)
"The Career Launch Program has proven to be a wonderful opportunity for both graduates and the people of Texas alike. Two UT Law graduates were placed with the Office of the Solicitor General last fall. Both have contributed to a number of our most important cases, including matters before the U.S. Supreme Court and the Supreme Court of Texas. Both have confronted a variety of challenging legal issues involving the U.S. Constitution and the administration of Texas government. We were so pleased with their work that both were offered--and, we are glad to say, both accepted--paid, full-time, one-year positions in the office." - James C. Ho, Solicitor General of Texas
The Fall 2012 Long Career Launch Program is open to December 2011, May 2012 and August 2012 J.D. graduates of the UT School of Law who will be taking the July 2012 bar exam. It is open only to those who have not yet secured offers of employment; it is not open to those who have secured jobs but have deferred start dates.
Eligible UT Law graduates have been notified and fully briefed about the Program. As part of the application process, graduates are required to secure an internship with a qualifying organization and designate a supervising attorney at that organization. Graduates are encouraged to look for opportunities with agencies in which they are interested. UT Law’s Career Services Office (CSO) will provide counseling to assist graduates in locating appropriate opportunities.
The internship must be for a minimum of 400 hours to begin no earlier than July 30, 2012 and no later than August 13, 2012, and end no later than November 16, 2012. Because it is our hope that Program recipients will simultaneously conduct a permanent job search, they will have 14 weeks to complete the 400 hours.
If you are interested in hiring an intern as part of the Long Career Launch Program, you may begin posting a position on the Career Services Office’s online Job Bank. We encourage you to post positions no later than May 18, 2012. As a potential sponsoring employer, you will have the opportunity to screen applicants before offering an internship. In addition, you may sponsor multiple applicants.
Please refer to the Sample Long Career Launch Program Job Posting (PDF).
For those employers participating in the program, we ask that you please complete the Fall 2012 Long Career Launch Program Supervising Attorney Certification (PDF).
We hope you will take advantage of this opportunity to connect with some of the finest law students in the country seeking to work for the public good.