Why Pursue a Legal Internship in San Antonio
San Antonio’s legal scene is as diverse as its culture, offering a compelling array of opportunities for aspiring legal professionals. Located in South Central Texas, San Antonio is not only steeped in rich history and tradition but is also steadily evolving as a key legal, business, and technology hub. The San Antonio legal community boasts law firms, corporate legal departments, government agencies, and non-profit organizations, allowing those seeking legal internships to find myriad options catering to their specific interests and career goals.
One of the essential advantages of pursuing a legal internship in San Antonio is the city’s robust and diverse legal services. From small boutique firms focused on specialized practice areas to large firms offering a full range of services to businesses and individuals, the San Antonio legal market provides a comprehensive suite of legal expertise. For example, the city hosts several national and regional commercial law firms with robust litigation, corporate, and intellectual property practices. These firms also serve clients in a wide range of industries such as health care, financial services, energy, information technology, and manufacturing. Law internships with such firms can provide a unique opportunity for law students to gain hands-on experience working on high-stakes cases for prestigious local, national, and international clients.
In addition to traditional law firms, a wide variety of government agencies and non-profit organizations also offer legal internships in San Antonio. Opportunities to work within government legal departments – from the Department of Justice to municipal authorities, the Texas Attorney General, F. Lee Bailey Associates Inc . , the Bexar County Attorney’s Office, and the District Attorney for Bexar County – provide interns access to the inner workings of governmental legal proceedings. Government law internships can expose law students not only to the nature of complex regulatory environments but also to the day-to-day challenges faced by public sector legal professionals, offering a unique perspective that can help students hone their career aspirations. Non-profit legal internships – with organizations involved in areas such as civil rights, policy development, humanitarian efforts, and environmental protection – also give law students a chance to gain invaluable experience while helping to effect positive change in critical areas.
The legal community in San Antonio also offers a unique opportunity to build a strong professional network. San Antonio’s Center for Legal and Social Justice is focused on addressing the legal needs of the underserved, and many local legal organizations have programs that encourage pro bono work. Through such programs, students participate in activities such as legal counseling, client interviews, legal writing, and research, building a deep understanding of the client’s needs while developing relationships with attorneys and other legal professionals on and off-site throughout the process. As a result, these internship experiences can lead to strong professional connections that extend far beyond the classroom, the library, or a summer associate position – if any of those actually existed anymore.
Now more than ever, a legal internship can make or break a do-or-die law education. An innovative approach focused on dealing in real time with real law, though, can be a game-changer. That means that given the right attitude and effort, there’s seldom a shortage of opportunities to put your learning to good use.
Law Firms in San Antonio that Offer Internships
San Antonio boasts a number of law firms that not only represent a wide variety of legal specializations but also provide internships to aspiring lawyers-in-training. Take, for example, Becker Law Firm, which caters to a number of different types of clients, including nonprofits and small businesses. Located downtown, Becker employs a staff of attorneys with expertise in areas such as personal injury, commercial litigation and nonprofit formation. Becker’s office in San Antonio is the only Texas location, and the firm seeks interns to contribute to its administrative and legal functions.
Another leading law firm in the San Antonio area is Fuller, Doyle & Sweeney LLP, which has helped clients meet estate planning and real estate needs since 1984. The firm addresses business law and real estate issues, wills and trusts, guardianship needs and probate. Interns with Fuller, Doyle & Sweeney can expect to research statutes and case law, draft memoranda, file pleadings and appearances to support the work of experienced attorneys.
Fitzsimmons & Buchanan is a close-knit team of attorneys who assist clients with their estate planning, business and transactional needs. The firm’s services include wills and guardianships, tax issues, contract formation and partnerships. Fitzsimmons & Buchanan headquarters near downtown San Antonio and accepts interns year-round who can enhance their skills in research, drafting and oral advocacy by working closely with the firm’s attorneys and observing them in the course of their work.
Government and Non-Profit Organizations with Legal Internships
Opportunities to intern with San Antonio government offices may include the City of San Antonio’s Office of the City Attorney or the Office of the Bexar County District Attorney. Interns in these offices usually handle some important assignments, working with Assistant City Attorneys and Assistant District Attorneys who delegate research and writing tasks that can actually make an impact on the overall legal work for the office. Government agencies seek interns who can take meaningful assignments with little supervision and are able to complete them quickly with a high level of professionalism.
Internships with governmental bodies such as these will provide you with a first-hand look at how government agencies function and the inner-workings of the criminal justice system. At this level of practice, you will have the opportunity to impact the lives of community members through the cases handled by government offices. Working at this level gives you access to extensive legal research databases that provide you with an opportunity to take advantage of all resources provided by the government. Many cases that go to trial have significant impacts on the community, and your research and writing may become a part of the record used in court. First-hand experience will help you in examining the importance of alternative measures to resolve disputes through mediation, negotiation, and other means.
Internships with non-profit legal organizations generally provide non-profit legal services to disadvantaged individuals and groups in our community. Unlike other legal employers, nonprofit law organizations hire interns and make significant investments in their legal education. These roles are also vigorous hands-on opportunities to not only build your resumes, but also to become a competent and effective attorney. Interns in these positions do not have a "busy-work" function in the office; through internships with non-profit legal services, you will be viewed as a real asset to the lawyers and other staff. In addition, these organizations provide opportunities to develop strong relationships and networking contacts with other attorneys.
Applying for Legal Internships
The application process to land a legal internship in San Antonio will vary slightly depending on the employer. For example, larger firms may only accept online applications, whereas smaller firms are often willing to work around your schedule and will accept paper or email applications. In general, however, applicants should follow these general guidelines: When applying online for a legal internship in San Antonio, you should be prepared to upload not only your cover letter and references, but also your resume. That’s why it is so important to focus on building up a strong resume that effectively showcases your qualifications and skills for the job you’re applying for. Hiring managers in San Antonio look for resumes which do the following: Crafting a tailored cover letter is just as important as creating a strong resume . You should pay careful attention to how you craft your cover letter, ensuring that every letter you submit is customized for the job you’re applying for. Don’t cut and paste strategies or use generic language: your cover letter should be personal to the hiring firm. For San Antonio legal internships, it’s generally best not to mention your GPA in your cover letter or resume unless your GPA is very strong (that is, 3.8 or above). Also, keep in mind that in addition to asking for the names of your references, you may also be asked to submit your employment and school transcript. Keep your references, work history, and school history conveniently accessible so that you can quickly provide this information and stay at the head of the list to get an interview.
Networking and Professional Development While Interning
As a legal intern in San Antonio, you have numerous opportunities to further your career goals through networking efforts both inside and outside of your internship. From local events to professional organizations, the city’s robust legal community thrives on collaboration and mentorship.
One of the most effective ways to network is by attending continuing legal education (CLE) events held throughout the year. As a legal intern, you may be eligible for special discounts at these events, allowing you to connect with seasoned lawyers for an affordable price. To build relationships with attorneys, you can attend social events and seminars presented by a number of local associations, including the San Antonio Chapter of the Federal Bar Association, the San Antonio Young Lawyers Association, and the San Antonio Bar Association’s Law Week? events. These organizations and their CLE events feature both fun and educational programs that help you make valuable connections with fellow attendees.
Interns can also benefit from joining local professional organizations such as the Legal Pro Bono Society and the San Antonio chapter of the National Association of Administrative Law Judges. Both groups feature educational programming and networking opportunities that not only enhance your knowledge but can also facilitate relationships with local judges and other legal professionals. In addition, the San Antonio Bar Association offers a number of fantastic mentorship programs for students, interns, and recent graduates — you can sign up for programs including Orientation Day, the Bar Coaches Program, and Lunch and Learn Events on the SA Bar website.
You can expand your network by forging strong connections with your co-workers and displaying a willingness to stay involved. For example, some interns in the San Antonio legal community go above and beyond to seek out internships and volunteer positions at local nonprofit legal organizations after their time with the private sector or in-house legal teams is completed. Using the connections you’ve made during your initial internship can help you land further opportunities that not only enhance your skill set, but also give you an important edge when seeking full-time employment opportunities after law school.
Legal Internship Testimonials and Success Stories
Interns who have done time in the Alamo City have found themselves doing some of the most challenging and interesting work during their short experience and have appreciated the smallness of the practitioner community. They have expressed that they have made great friends, had transacting opportunities right from the start, and learned valuable lessons along the way. One intern states: I was fortunate to intern at one of the top firms in San Antonio. Many of my classmates were jealous that I had the opportunity to work for such a well respected firm and were surprised when I told them that I was not going to be assigned a new case every week or month. Instead , I had the opportunity to settle on cases which was much more valuable. Being able to settle a large case was an experience that they did not get through their firm, but I did.
Many interns are offered full-time positions at the end of their internships while others move on to bigger cities. Those who stay in San Antonio and intern are typically hired by the same firm. Some students have stated that the real-world experience they received through the externship program would better prepare them upon graduation and add to their competitiveness when applying to legal-aid organizations, nonprofit groups, and clerk positions.