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About PLAN Law Clerkships

A joint initiative of PLAN and the PLAN Foundation, PLAN Law Clerkships educate the next generation of attorneys in public interest law through Clerks’ robust participation in legal teams that provide cost-free civil legal services to presently and formerly incarcerated people.
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Our Mission & vision

Professional development through transformative legal advocacy and enduring community

PLAN Law Clerkships welcome law students and recent graduates into vibrant legal teams that foster collaboration, pioneer innovative legal strategies, elevate the contributions of directly impacted and student team members, and build enduring mentorship relationships. This dynamic learning lab environment catalyzes vital legal services and support, builds authoritative national advocacy coalitions, promotes meaningful legal education, and cultivates a tight-knit community and long-lasting professional relationships for alumni of the Clerkship Program.

Approach & Purpose

PLAN Law Clerkships afford law students and recent law school graduates unique opportunities to contribute to prisoners’ rights advocacy and gain skills in public interest law as fully integrated members of PLAN legal response teams and advocacy coalitions.

♦  PLAN Law Clerks work alongside public interest attorneys, legal paraprofessionals, jailhouse lawyers, and prisoner rights’ advocates as valued members of the PLAN community.

♦  PLAN Law Clerks gain direct experience in coordinating and conducting confidential legal consultations with incarcerated service recipients and inside partners, investigating conditions of confinement complaints, and developing and implementing responsive legal advocacy strategies under the direct legal supervision of PLAN attorneys.

♦  PLAN Law Clerks conduct legal research and writing and help develop actionable legal analysis and resource materials for jailhouse lawyers and pro se litigants.

♦  PLAN Law Clerks participate in inter-organizational advocacy coalitions coordinated by PLAN, and help shape the development and implementation of legal strategy and policy in the profession.

PLAN Senior Law Clerk Michelle Rodriguez received the 2024 Volunteer of the Year Award from the University of Pennsylvania's Toll Public Interest Center for her work with the Prisoners Legal Advocacy Network. Congratulations, Michelle!

“My two-semester Law Clerkship with PLAN was one of the most formative experiences of my law school studies. I felt empowered to take on high-impact legal services work, shape its direction, and assume increasing levels of responsibility in the organization. PLAN leadership not only supervised my work; they also provided invaluable mentorship and guidance. I was welcomed into the PLAN community, and I am thrilled to be continuing my involvement as I embark on my legal career.”

Michelle Rodriguez, PLAN Law Clerk, 2023-24

Law Clerkship Program Principles

PLAN’s Law Clerkship Program educates and involves Law Clerks in the organization’s legal practice to the benefit of participating law school students and graduates, PLAN service recipients, and the prisoners’ rights bar by centering principles of reciprocal learning and a spirit of outcomes-oriented collaboration.

Individualized Learning Agenda

Law Clerks work with supervising attorneys to develop an individualized learning agenda. This helps Clerks identify and achieve their experiential learning objectives during their placement in three areas: substantive knowledge, skills development, and professionalism. PLAN learning agendas facilitate Law Clerks’ application of legal theory to legal practice and structures their efforts to hone existing skills and develop new ones.

High-Impact Direct Services

Law Clerks play integral roles in advancing PLAN’s mission to defend and expand the rights of presently and formerly incarcerated individuals so that those who are directly impacted by the U.S. criminal legal system can live with dignity and without fear. Through their participation in direct legal services, PLAN Law Clerks gain confidence and experience with client contact. PLAN Law Clerks engage in meaningful legal work that imparts transformative impact on the lives of service recipients.

Inside-Outside Partnerships

PLAN goes beyond notions of being “client-focused,” functioning as a legal practice that is truly prisoner-led. The PLAN community includes more than 1,000 jailhouse lawyers and prison paralegals, whose legal skills and subject matter expertise bolster the substance and quality of PLAN’s work. In addition to engaging with service recipients, Law Clerks also collaborate with inside partners, many of whom have advocated for prisoners’ rights in prison law libraries for decades and are imbued with formidable legal skills. PLAN’s inside partners provide critical insights into prison practices and those strategies that may best serve the self-expressed priorities of people inside. Presently and formerly incarcerated paralegals and attorneys play prominent leadership roles in the organization.

Integral Involvement

PLAN is dedicated to reciprocal learning practices that invite all legal team members both to gain skills and also to impart their own knowledge and insights for the edification of others. PLAN Law Clerks are encouraged to innovate and help shape legal teams’ approaches and processes to vexing legal challenges. PLAN Law Clerks make substantial contributions as valued and fully integrated members of PLAN legal teams.

Coalition-Building

Law Clerks play key roles in PLAN’s coordination of national advocacy coalitions, which are comprised of some of the nation’s foremost prisoners’ rights and voting rights advocates. Through this policy-focused component of their scope of work, Law Clerks are exposed to the processes and practitioners of PLAN’s partner organizations. Law Clerks gain experience and confidence in project management and co-facilitation of legal consultations in partnership with PLAN attorneys.

Increasing Autonomy

As PLAN Law Clerks progress in their placements, they are encouraged to assume increasing levels of responsibility in their casework. This includes opportunities to engage in well-supervised unaccompanied confidential legal contact with the incarcerated individuals on their docket as the designated representative of PLAN attorneys. PLAN provides Law Clerks with opportunities to acquire new skills and gain confidence in a well-supported learning environment.

Mentorship

In addition to legal supervisors and collaborative partners, Law Clerks also work closely with a designated attorney mentor. Mentors support and guide Clerks in their professional development as they prepare to embark on their new legal careers. They also serve as sounding boards as Law Clerks explore various avenues for the attainment of their personal and professional goals.

Enduring Relationships & Community

More than half of the non-profit corporate board members for PLAN and the PLAN Foundation are alumni of PLAN’s Law Clerkship Program. Many Law Clerks continue their work with PLAN for multiple academic terms as law students, and return to PLAN as project attorneys following their admission to the bar. Some PLAN jailhouse lawyers and prison paralegals have worked with the organization for a decade or more. PLAN is a tight-knit community that fosters enduring relationships. This affords Clerkship alumni with ongoing mentorship and service opportunities.

PLAN Law Clerkships

Frequently Asked Questions

What kinds of legal services and support does PLAN provide to service recipients?

PLAN provides cost-free civil legal services and support to presently and formerly incarcerated people who have been detained or served time in a U.S. adult prison or jail. These civil legal services pertain to individuals’ conditions of confinement or voting rights. PLAN does not practice criminal law and does not, therefore, provide services related to criminal defense, appealing criminal convictions or sentences, or preparing for parole hearings.

What communities does PLAN serve?

PLAN provides civil legal services and support to individuals who are currently, or were previously, incarcerated in a U.S. adult jail or prison. There are substantial differences in the procedures and laws that govern juvenile detention centers and immigration detention centers, which lie outside of the scope of PLAN’s practice. PLAN does not provide services to people who are incarcerated outside of the United States, including U.S. citizens who have been detained in other countries.

What kinds of Law Clerkship placements are available?

PLAN provides Law Clerkship externships, full-time summer internships, and pro bono placements. As a host organization for the New York Courts Pro Bono Scholars Program (“PBSP”), PLAN also offers PBSP placements each spring semester.

Who is eligible to apply for a PLAN Law Clerkship?

Students who are enrolled in a Juris Doctor (JD) or Master of Laws (LLM) program at an accredited United States law school are eligible to apply. Recent graduates of these programs whose U.S. bar admission is pending are also eligible to apply.

Are licensed attorneys eligible to apply for PLAN’s Law Clerkship program?

Experienced attorneys who have practiced in other countries, who are studying for an LLM at a U.S. law school or completing the pro bono requirement for bar admission in a U.S. jurisdiction for the first time, frequently participate in PLAN’s Law Clerkship program. Interested attorneys who are already admitted to practice in one or more U.S. jurisdictions should apply for appointment as a PLAN pro bono attorney, even if they intend to apply their PLAN hours to meet a pro bono requirement for bar admission in a further U.S. jurisdiction.

Are PLAN Law Clerkships paid positions?

PLAN Law Clerks who are not receiving academic or pro bono credit for their Clerkship are typically paid for their work through public interest fellowships, federal work-study programs, or other third-party funding programs. While PLAN will certify hours or timesheets as necessary for Clerks to receive third-party funding, it is the responsibility of participating Clerks to identify and coordinate any third-party funding they may receive for their PLAN work.

How many hours per week do PLAN Law Clerks contribute?

Law Clerk externships and work-study placements are 12-20 hours per week. Law Clerks who participate in the program as summer interns, or as part of the New York Courts Pro Bono Scholars Program, work with PLAN full-time for 12-week placements. Pro bono Law Clerks work with PLAN for 12-24 weeks for a minimum of 100 pro bono hours.

Do PLAN Law Clerkships fulfill pro bono requirements for bar admission, law school graduation, or pro bono distinction?

PLAN routinely certifies hours for Law Clerks’ fulfillment of pro bono requirements for bar admission, law school graduation, and pro bono distinction programs. Program participants should confirm the eligibility criteria set forth by their bar or law school, and bear in mind that all PLAN Law Clerkships require a minimum 100-hour commitment.

Is it possible to participate in the PLAN Law Clerkship Program remotely?

PLAN has operated as a fully-remote organization since its inception. This enables the organization to build teams that benefit from geographically disparate experts. It also helps PLAN steer capacity to traditionally underserved areas. PLAN Law Clerks participate in this national legal community of the prisoners’ rights bar remotely and are, therefore, eligible to apply regardless of their geographic location.

How does PLAN supervise and support Law Clerks as a fully remote organization?

PLAN is committed to ensuring that Law Clerkship Program participants receive the same quality of supervision, mentorship, and community-building opportunities as those provided by in-person placements. All Law Clerks are provided with access to PLAN’s robust online remote work system, which facilitates collaborative work, extensive supervisory support, and community-building. PLAN supervisors hold virtual office hours and host virtual events for Law Clerkship Program cohorts. When possible, PLAN also tries to connect PLAN Law Clerks with local members of the PLAN community.