Announcing the Nigel Lewis Internship Program

The Shelby County Public Defender is proud to name our internship program in memory of our late colleague Nigel Lewis.

Nigel’s dedication to public service, his commitment to justice, and his lasting impact on this office continue to inspire us. Naming the internship program in his honor ensures that his legacy will live on through future generations of law students and advocates who are called to serve others.

Who Nigel was

Nigel was a lifelong Memphian who gave more than a decade — nearly his entire legal career — to this office, rising to supervising attorney and carrying serious felony cases from arraignment through jury trial. He earned his B.A. from Saint Leo College, his J.D. from Southern University Law Center, and an LL.M. in taxation from Georgetown, and he could have practiced anywhere. But Nigel chose to stand next to people who need a public defender, in his own city, for years.

Anyone who worked a case with Nigel learned something. That is why this program carries his name.

What the program is

Participants in the Nigel Lewis Internship Program gain meaningful experience, learn from our attorneys and staff, and develop a deeper understanding of public defense and client-centered advocacy.

Summer interns spend ten weeks, from late May through early August, embedded in one of four divisions — the Adult Trial Division, the Youth Trial Division, the Major Cases Team, or the Appellate Team. The work is real: client interviews, legal research and writing, motions and memos, discovery review, expungements, and trial preparation. Trainings and workshops cover negotiation, cross-examination, sentencing arguments, and case strategy, and interns sit in on office-wide brainstorming sessions alongside attorneys preparing to try real cases. Eligible 2L and 3L students may appear in court under attorney supervision, handling real arguments and real hearings before graduation.

We do not require prior criminal law experience. We do look for a genuine interest in public defense as a career — not just as a resume line.

How to apply

Applications for our summer internship program open September 1 each year and close at the end of February, with interviews in the fall and spring and offers extended by May 1. Details and the application are here. Applications for academic year legal clerkships are open year-round and accepted on a rolling basis.

We are honored to celebrate Nigel’s life, service, and contributions in a way that will continue to shape and inspire future public defenders.