Internship (Graduates & Masters Associates) X2

Internship (Graduates & Masters Associates) X2. New York. Posting Date: 03/11/2025. Deadline: 03/25/2025

Summer Intern

Duration: 6 months

The Open Society Justice Initiative (OSJI) seeks to recruit a full time Intern with demonstrated commitment to the promotion of human rights through the use of strategic litigation. At the Justice Initiative, legal interns do real work with real impact. Under the close supervision of assigned mentors, our legal interns gain first-hand experience in using the law to protect and empower people around the world. Whether they support strategic litigation efforts, grant making for strategic litigation, conduct in-depth research, help provide technical assistance, or contribute to our broad advocacy initiatives, interns receive hands-on training on the various methodologies used by public interest advocacy groups to foster and encourage reform, inclusion, human rights, and the building of legal capacity for open societies. 

Who we are

The Open Society Foundations work to build vibrant and inclusive democracies whose governments are accountable and open to the participation of all people. We are active in more than 120 countries, making us the world’s largest private funder of independent groups working for justice, democratic governance, and human rights.  

The Open Society Justice Initiative undertakes strategic litigation in regional and international courts and administrative forums across the globe to advance Open Society Foundations’ goals and priorities. Under its new mandate it also undertakes grant making and holds convening to build a cohesive and coordinated strategic litigation field.  The Justice Initiative is comprised of lawyers and human rights practitioners with a wide range of practice experience who integrate in-court interventions with out of court legal advocacy, grant making, and community engagement. The Justice Initiative works closely with OSF’s regional and global programs to deploy the tool of strategic litigation effectively, and to provide support to OSF grantees and partners who wish to do the same. 

The Open Society Justice Initiative litigates across the spectrum of human dignity, equality and rights. For now, as a guide for ourselves and our partners, OSJI articulates three broad and permeable categories of emphasis that will, at the outset, focus the litigation we will pursue and fund. In each of these areas, OSJI direct litigation will focus primarily on international and transnational angles of engagement.  

• International justice: the commission of, and impunity for, grave crimes  

• Economic power: abuses of power by large economic actors that threaten open society values 

• Inclusive democratic practice: growing threats to electoral democracy, with an eye to ensuring equal access and participation, defending guardrails and protecting independent voices 

 

Internship Profile 

The Open Society Justice Initiative is seeking current law school and other advanced degree graduate students to join our team as Legal Interns based in our New York. This summer internship will commence in June 2025, exact date to be determined based on candidate availability and agreement. The internship requires a full-time (40 hours/week) commitment for a minimum of 15 weeks. The Open Society Foundations cannot provide immigration assistance to legal interns nor relocation financial support.