Attorney's Office Internship Program

Our diverse and inclusive workforce of more than 7,000 employees play a key role in the success of San José, the heart of the Silicon Valley. All City of San José employees work together as one team to make San José a vibrant, innovative, and desirable place to live and work. Visit here to learn more about our One Team Leadership Values and Expectations, including quality and excellent customer service and here to learn more about San José.

The City of San José is an equal opportunity employer. Applicants for all job openings will be considered without regard to age, race, color, religion, sex, national origin, sexual orientation, disability, veteran status or any other consideration made unlawful under any federal, state or local laws. The City of San José is committed to offering reasonable accommodations to job applicants with disabilities. If you need assistance or an accommodation due to a disability, please contact us at 408-535-1285, 711 (TTY) , or via email at CityCareers@sanjoseca.gov .

About the Department

The City of San José, the Capital of Silicon Valley, is one of the nation's best managed cities and one of the top ten cities in which to live, work, and do business. Moreover, San José is the center of cultural, government and economic activity for the region. The employees of the City of San José have embraced the following values: Integrity, Innovation, Excellence, Collaboration, Respect and Celebration.

The City Attorney's Office is committed to providing excellent legal services to its clients, and supporting their efforts to better serve the citizens of the City of San José. It has a diverse staff of highly talented professionals with the expertise to provide comprehensive legal services for a wide range of issues facing a dynamic city. The Office strives to efficiently manage resources to meet the daily operational needs of its clients in a cost-effective and timely manner, while building the internal capacity to flexibly respond to the City’s ever changing legal needs.

Position Duties

The City Attorney’s Office offers internship positions in our litigation and transactional services divisions. Descriptions can be found in the Division pages of the City Attorney's Office website.


Transactional Practice: The Transactional Services Division, works in partnership with our clients to achieve organizational goals in a legal, cost-effective and efficient manner. Attorneys in the Transactional Division attend and provide legal advice at meetings of the City Council, City Boards and Commissions; draft and review ordinances, resolutions, contracts, permits, memoranda, and other legal documents to implement official City actions; educate staff in relevant areas of the law, and keep the clients informed on recent changes or developments in the law; provide oral and written legal counsel and advice; and conduct legal research, legislative review, and analysis.

Transactional practice may include the following areas:

• Aviation
• Code enforcement
• Economic development
• Employment and labor relations
• Environmental
• Ethics
• Finance
• Housing
• Information technology
• Land use
• Public safety
• Public works
• Real estate
• Transportation

Transactional interns perform legal research on a wide variety of issues; draft ordinances, resolutions, and research memoranda; analyze pending State legislation; participate in meetings with client departments; and attend internal meetings to review the City Council agenda.

Litigation Practice: The Litigation Services Division is responsible for advocating, defending, and prosecuting actions on behalf of the City. This includes a wide variety of activities that collectively attempt to protect the City's rights, minimize civil and financial liability, and advance community welfare.

Litigation practice may include the following areas:

• Civil rights
• Eminent domain
• Inverse condemnation
• Labor and employment
• Prosecution of San José Municipal Code violations
• Torts
• Wrongful death
• Gun Violence Restraining Orders
• Administrative hearings and appeals

Litigation interns have the opportunity to perform legal research; draft pleadings, motions and research memoranda; assist with discovery; participate in office litigation meetings; and attend mediations, depositions, arbitrations and trials. Certified law students are provided with a variety of opportunities to appear with attorneys at administrative hearings and in court on pretrial calendars (San Jose Municipal Code violations), Pitchess hearings, criminal trials and various civil proceedings.

Minimum Qualifications

Applicants must be enrolled in an accredited law school to participate in the City Attorney’s Law Student Intern Program. For those applying for a litigation or transactional position, it is preferred that candidates are in their second or third year. For litigation internship positions, it is preferred that candidates have completed Evidence and Civil Procedure and are eligible for certification with the State Bar under its “Practical Training of Law Students” program. For transactional positions, completion of Constitutional Law coursework is preferred.

Interns must be willing to work a minimum of 20 hours per week during the school term, 40 hours per week for summer interns. Office hours are from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., Monday through Friday. Work schedules are flexible based on the intern’s class schedule as well as the operational needs of the office. Once a schedule has been agreed upon, interns are expected to maintain the schedule on a consistent basis.

Other Qualifications

Please submit a cover letter, resume, and writing sample. Applicants are encouraged to provide copies of their law school transcripts. Please indicate whether you are interested in a transactional or litigation internship .

Additional Information:

Employment Eligibility: Federal law requires all employees to provide verification of their eligibility to work in this country. Please be informed that the City of San Jose will NOT sponsor, represent or sign any documents related to visa applications/transfers for H1-B or any other type of visa which requires an employer application.

You must answer all job-specific questions to be considered for this vacancy or your application will be deemed incomplete and withheld from further consideration. Applicants are expected to write their own essays/responses.

Please note that applications are currently not accepted through CalOpps or any other third party job board application system.

This recruitment may be used to fill multiple positions in this, or other divisions or departments. If you are interested in employment in this classification, you should apply to ensure you are considered for additional opportunities that may utilize the applicants from this recruitment.

Please allow adequate time to complete the application and submit before the deadline or the system may not save your application. If your online application was successfully submitted, you will receive an automatic confirmation email to the email address you provided. IF YOU DO NOT RECEIVE THE CONFIRMATION, please email CityCareers@sanjoseca.gov and we will research the status of your application.

Part-time positions(less than 40 hours per week) are required to participate in the City’s PTC 457 Deferred Compensation Plan per Federal regulations. Employees are required to contribute 3.75% of gross earning and the City contributes a matching amount of 3.75%. The funds contributed by the City are 100% vested upon initial deferral and will be held in a stability of principal investment. This plan is in lieu of social security and does not include any healthcare benefits or contributions.

Part-time employees may elect to contribute additional retirement savings through the City’s Voluntary 457 Deferred Compensation Plan. Additional Information on both plans can be found on the City’s website.

Closing Date/Time: 1/9/2026 11:59 PM Pacific

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• City of San Jose

• 408-535-1285

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