7 Legal Internships for High School Students in Chicago
- Estelle Reardon
- 5 days ago
- 7 min read
Topics We Cover:
Legal internships for high school students in Chicago offer a great opportunity for Second City teens to build skills, gain firsthand experience, explore careers, and develop their professional network—ultimately helping them launch a career in law.
Why Do Internships in High School?
High school internships—and more specifically, legal internships for high school students in Chicago—can also increase your odds of acceptance at a top college. PRISM, the premier student-run consultancy at the University of Chicago, found that almost three-quarters of students attending U.S. News Top 50 universities completed at least one internship during high school.
Working a high school internship shows that you’ve pursued your interests outside of the classroom and verified them with real-world experience—all of which can distinguish you among a crowded field of college applicants.
Engaging in a high school internship can also make it easier to secure future opportunities, such as college internships and admission to pre-professional groups—for example, pre-law societies, mock trial teams, Model United Nations, and advocacy groups.
How to Find Legal Internships for High School Students in Chicago
Online is a great place to begin your search for legal internships for high school students in Chicago. StandOutSearch—the largest free online database of teen internships—is one noteworthy resource. It features filters that allow you to search by everything from field of interest to location to compensation (paid vs. unpaid). Curated lists, like this catalog of summer programs and internships from MIT Admissions, are also helpful.
The upside of official internship programs is that they’re relatively easy to discover; the downside is that they’re often incredibly competitive. Consequently, if you’re serious about securing an internship, you’ll want to form a cold outreach strategy—in other words, a strategy for contacting firms, groups, and nonprofits to inquire about internship opportunities.
Many students find the uncertainty of cold outreach intimidating. Fortunately, our guide and templates help reduce the anxiety that often comes with the process.
7 Legal Internships for High School Students in Chicago
Most of the legal internships for high school students in Chicago listed below have acceptance rates of 20% or lower, reflecting high demand compared with the limited number of available positions. We recommend applying to at least five opportunities.
If an internship below sparks your interest, mark its deadline on your calendar so you don’t miss out on an opportunity!
Ages: 15-19
Location: Virtual
Timeline: Summer, Spring, Fall, or Winter
Deadline: Various Deadlines
StandOut Connect is a program that bridges the gap between gifted high school students and the professional world, pairing them with remote internships at companies led by alumni from the world’s top universities. Students are matched with internships that align with their interests in fields including law, business, healthcare, technology, the arts, and more.
StandOut Connect is backed by the University of Chicago’s Polsky Center of Entrepreneurship and Innovation and has been featured in Forbes. StandOut Connect is supported by StandOutSearch, the largest free online directory of high school internships.
Ages: Seniors
Location: Chicago, IL
Timeline: Summer
Deadline: TBD
The Mikva Summer Fellows (MSF) is a paid six-week program that places participants in internships with city, county, state, and federal officials. In addition to gaining real-world experience, students participate in educational workshops focused on community building, goal setting, leadership development, and career readiness.
Ages: Freshmen-Seniors
Location: Chicago, IL
Timeline: Summer
Deadline: June 1
While not a traditional internship, this week-long program allows high school and college students to explore the legal profession. Participants take part in writing exercises, mock legal proceedings, and field trips, while also diving into legal issues related to social media and digital technology.
Students further prepare for the next step in their academic or professional journey by working on personal statements, practicing LSAT problems, and building a network of attorneys, judges, and law school faculty. The program accepts no more than 40 students annually.
Ages: 16-18
Location: Chicago, IL
Timeline: Year-round
Deadline: Rolling
The Chicago Youth Service Corps provides high schoolers with community service, project-based learning, and leadership development opportunities. Participants make a meaningful impact in their community, grow personally and professionally, and build a network of service-focused peers.
Ages: Freshmen-Seniors
Location: Chicago, IL
Timeline: Winter/Spring, Summer, and Fall
Deadline:
Winter/Spring: December 1
Summer: April 15
Fall August 1
CAIR-Chicago is a career-oriented program, based in grassroots activism. and focused on fighting bigotry, defending civil rights, and promoting tolerance. Opportunities are available in a number of fields, including law, media, and government relations. Interns can earn academic credit or community service hours while learning, networking, and growing in a friendly, diverse environment.
Ages: Juniors and Seniors
Location: Chicago, IL
Timeline: Summer
Deadline: March 6
Students in this extremely competitive, paid, six-week internship provide support for an experiment or group while connecting with project teams, scientists, engineers, and other personnel. The project culminates with an oral presentation of the participant’s experience.
Ages: Sophomores, Juniors, and Seniors
Location: Chicago, IL
Timeline: Year-round
Deadline: Rolling
The Obama Youth Jobs Corps provides Chicago Public School students with workforce training and paid internships with businesses throughout the city. The program builds as students progress through high school:
Sophomores receive workforce training, building a foundation for future professional development.
Juniors build job skills, develop financial literacy, and plan for life after high school.
Seniors engage in a paid 10-month internship, receive one-on-one mentoring, and job skill training.
Cold Outreach Strategy for High School Legal InternshipsÂ
If the legal internships for high school students in Chicago listed above don’t excite you or don’t feel like the right fit, you’ll want to consider a cold outreach strategy. Cold outreach can feel overwhelming, but the included guide and templates should make the process simpler.
When reaching out to professionals you don’t know, put your safety first by scheduling interviews and meetings online, rather than in person.
How to Find Companies to Reach Out to for a High School Internship
LinkedIn is a great platform for discovering internship opportunities. Use it to find small firms, groups, and nonprofits. Smaller teams are often short-staffed and more likely to welcome a high school intern to help organize files, enter data, track cases, assist with research, and support ongoing initiatives.
When reaching out to professionals, try to find something to connect over—whether it’s a shared experience like volunteering for the same org, a mutual interest like a hobby, or a similar passion, like a sport.
How to Find Professors to Reach Out to for a High School Research Position
You can identify professors to contact about potential research positions by scouting university faculty directories. Understand that remote roles for high schoolers are rare, as most professors rely on high school interns to provide hands-on assistance.
One exception is computational research. These positions generally demand at least a foundational knowledge of programming languages such as Python and R, which you can learn on your own, for free, within a few months, using resources like Coursera’s Python for Everybody or R Programming.
How to Structure and Send Outreach Emails
When emailing professionals to inquire about potential internships, include a Google link to your resume. Links are preferable to attaching PDFs or Docs, which can cause delivery issues. Just remember to ensure the link settings allow anyone with it to view its contents.
The quality of your resume can make or break your cold outreach strategy. Whether you’re writing your first resume or brushing up on an existing one, our resume guide and template can help you craft an attention-grabbing, internship-earning resume. The University of Chicago’s resume toolkit is another helpful resource.
When crafting your resume, make sure to include any work experience and a portfolio of relevant work. For example, volunteering for a legal aid organization or advocacy groups, participation in law-related summer programs or workshops, or general research skills.
We recommended emailing at least 50 potential internship providers as part of your cold outreach plan.
Email Template for Finding a High School InternshipÂ
If you are unsure how to structure your outreach emails to potential internship providers, here are some basic templates you can customize to your needs.Â
Template for Finding an Internship
Subject: Student Reaching Out
Dear Mr./Ms.____,
I hope you are having a great day! My name is [your name], and I am a rising [grade] at [your school]. I read about your company on LinkedIn and found the concept quite interesting. For context, [briefly state how the company relates to your interests or experience].Â
I was wondering if you might be looking for interns. I know I would have a great deal to learn from working with you, and I would love to contribute in any way I can. I have included my resume here. Thanks so much!
Sincerely,Â
[Your name]
Template for Finding a Research Position
Subject: Student Reaching Out
Dear Professor/Dr. ____,
I hope you are having a great day! My name is [your name], and I am a rising [grade] at [your school]. I recently read your paper on [restate the abstract] in [name of publication] and was quite intrigued by [part you found interesting]. I was wondering if I might be able to intern for you over this summer. [Elaborate on your relevant skills and experience and why you are passionate about the field].Â
I have included my resume here. Thanks so much!Â
Sincerely,
[Your name]
Conclusion
Securing a legal internship in Chicago as a high schooler—through either official programs or cold outreach—requires tenacity. While the search can be grueling, the foundation it builds for your future career is second to none.
Found this article useful? Save it as a reference or share it with a friend. Wishing you the best in your internship pursuit!