Externships/Fellowships
Willkie maintains four externship programs and one fellowship program. Associates serve on a rotating basis as full-time attorneys from four months to one year during which they are relieved of all Willkie responsibilities. Associates from all practice areas are invited to participate. In addition, summer law clerks have the opportunity to participate in weeklong externships with several organizations.
“I served as an extern-attorney for six months at Her Justice, an organization that provides free legal services to women in NYC. During the externship, I had the privilege of helping over a dozen clients. The experience was both personally and professionally invaluable, and I am grateful for Willkie’s continued commitment.”
- Genevieve M. DiSpirito,
Partner
Her Justice
Her Justice, an organization founded by a former Willkie partner, provides legal services to women living in poverty in New York City in the areas of matrimonial, family and immigration law. The Willkie extern is given a full caseload of family law matters in New York City Family Court and New York State Supreme Court.
Mobilization for Justice
Mobilization for Justice provides legal assistance to low-income residents of New York City on a wide range of civil issues. The Willkie extern handles a full caseload of landlord/tenant matters in and out of New York City Housing Court.
The Washington Lawyer’s Committee
The Washington Lawyer’s Committee provides pro bono legal services to address discrimination and poverty in the Washington, D.C. area. The Willkie extern works on a variety of matters to combat discrimination based on race, gender, disability, family size, criminal history and more.
Summer law clerks in New York have the opportunity to participate in weeklong externships with Access Justice Brooklyn, the Apollo Theater Foundation, Children’s Law Center, Her Justice, Hot Bread Kitchen, Mobilization for Justice, and Sanctuary for Families, among others.
“I had the privilege of serving as an extern-attorney for seven months at the Washington Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights and Urban Affairs. I worked on numerous cases during my time at WLC, including a disability suit against a public school system for failing to accommodate our client’s severe asthma and allergies, a gender discrimination employment suit, and multiple high-profile cases concerning immigration enforcement. The externship exposed me to new and challenging legal scenarios and was hugely beneficial to my personal and professional development.”
- J. Tyler Knoblett,
Associate
