SCPD Celebrates 2026 Summer Intern Cohort

Twenty-eight law students joined SCPD this summer for ten weeks of hands-on public defense experience across our trial divisions, working alongside our attorneys, investigators, and other staff members.

Our interns not passive observers. Interns attend hearings, assist with investigation, conduct research, and draft motions on real cases with real clients — and they leave understanding exactly what this work demands and what it means.

Who was here

The cohort came from law schools across the country: Columbia, Cornell, Georgetown, NYU, Notre Dame, Boston University, William & Mary, Ohio State, Minnesota, Connecticut, Texas A&M, Wyoming, Penn State Dickinson, North Carolina Central, Ole Miss, and — the largest single group, roughly a third of the class — the University of Memphis.

A number of them came home to do it. Interns from Memphis returned from schools in New York, Ohio, Virginia, and Wyoming to spend the summer in the courthouse at 201 Poplar. Others arrived from Miami, Milwaukee, Brooklyn, and the Mississippi Delta, and from earlier work in international human rights, criminal justice policy, higher education, and AmeriCorps service. Three came back for a second summer with the office.

You can meet the full cohort here.

Why it matters

Many of the people in this building started the same way. A summer here is how a lot of our lawyers first learned what client-centered representation actually looks like in practice — and this cohort represents the next generation of the office.

Applications for next summer

We accept intern applications beginning September 1 each year. If you are a law student who wants to spend a summer doing the work rather than watching it, visit our internship program page.