Third Court of Appeals
The Third Court of Appeals accepts applications for unpaid judicial internships for the fall school semester, the spring school semester, and the summer. The positions may be volunteer or for credit.
Program
The Third Court’s intern program provides an opportunity to improve research and writing skills, while also providing a behind-the-scenes view of how an intermediate court of appeals works. Interns research factual and legal issues, review appellate records, perform substantive citation checks, write memoranda of law, discuss those memoranda with the judges and the Court’s attorneys, observe the judges’ discussions of issues in cases that are submitted, observe oral argument, and observe post-submission resolution of legal issues raised in oral argument.
Requirements
Applicants must have completed at least one year of law school by the time the internship starts and have a strong academic record. All interns must be current law students and must commit to at least 6 weeks at the Court.
How to Apply
Email a cover letter, application, resume, unofficial law-school transcript, and writing sample (combined in one PDF file) to 3rdcoa-application@txcourts.gov. Indicate in the subject line or body of your email whether you would like your application to be considered by the entire Court or only by a specific justice or justices.
1Ls applying for a summer internship should wait until they receive their first-semester grades to apply.
Timelines and Response
No application deadlines exist, but students should apply early in the semester preceding the summer or semester in which they would like to intern. Each chamber considers applications on its own timeline according to its need. Not all chambers have an intern every semester. Accordingly, the Court cannot give the status of an application or notify an applicant that he or she has not been selected.
The application inbox is monitored by the Court’s administrative staff for purposes of processing applications only.