Global Summer Internships
Some internships build your resume. Others shape the kind of lawyer you become.
The nine-week Global Summer Internship with the Sudreau Global Justice Institute places students inside national court systems, working alongside judges and judicial officers engaged in real-time justice reform. Students clerk, conduct legal research, observe high-level proceedings, and engage directly in alternative dispute resolution initiatives.
For students seeking a summer that will challenge them professionally and broaden their perspective, this experience offers both. Participants return with sharper legal skills, greater confidence, and a deeper understanding of how the law operates in practice across different cultures and systems.
Location & Placements
Judicial placements are offered in partnership with courts in Uganda, Rwanda, Ghana, Zambia, and Malawi. Not all locations are available each year, and students are informed during the interview process which placements are open for the summer.
Each placement offers unique exposure to local judicial processes, cultural context, and reform efforts. Across all locations, students gain hands-on experience working within justice systems, serving and directly learning from some of these countries' top judicial leaders.
Program Timeline
The internship typically begins the last week of May and concludes near the end of July. Students spend:
- Four weeks clerking in their assigned courts
- One week convening in Uganda for a collaborative Prison Project
- Four additional weeks returning to their original court placement
This structure allows interns to build continuity and trust within their host courts, pause mid-summer for an intensive, team-based prison initiative, and then return with expanded perspective and sharpened skills for their final weeks of service.
By the end of nine weeks, students have lived abroad, navigated cross-cultural professional environments, collaborated with national judicial leaders, and participated in tangible justice reform.
Application Process
The application cycle typically begins in October of your 1L year. Interviews are conducted in November, and preliminary decisions are released in December or mid-January, once fall grades are available. Throughout the application and interview process, we discuss placement preferences with each student, seeking alignment between student interest, available locations, and host court needs.
This is a selective program designed to prepare students for meaningful contribution from day one. Early engagement and thoughtful preparation are encouraged.
We regularly welcome law students from other institutions to participate in our Global Summer Internship program. However, given strong interest from students at Pepperdine Caruso School of Law, priority consideration is given to Pepperdine applicants. Interested students from other universities are encouraged to reach out early to learn more about eligibility, availability, and the application process.
Learn more about a Prison Project
