Legal Intern, Education And Labor Cabinet

Job Description

About Company

The Team Kentucky Internship Program is designed to immerse talented and motivated college students in the field of public service. It offers:
• Meaningful and relevant work experience.
• Professional development activities.
• Networking opportunities with other interns and state government leaders.
The program is described as prestigious and competitive, requiring an online application and an interview process for selection. Interns perform valuable work within state agencies.

The internship described is specifically within The Education And Labor Cabinet. This cabinet’s mission revolves around four key pillars:
• Educate: Promoting early childhood through 12th grade, postsecondary education, adult education, and credentialed training to create lifelong opportunities for Kentuckians.
• Encourage: Utilizing resources and data to enhance the prosperity of Kentucky’s workforce.
• Employ: Actively engaging employers to drive Kentucky’s workforce system by creating opportunities and removing employment barriers for Kentuckians.
• Enforce: Fostering a culture of accountability to promote best practices, fairness, and compliance with Kentucky’s wage and hour, employee safety, health, and worker’s compensation requirements.

Job Description, Detailed

This internship position is part of the Team Kentucky Internship Program, focusing on the legal divisions within the Office of Legal Services of The Education And Labor Cabinet.

A Day In The Life (Responsibilities):
Interns will gain practical experience and knowledge by:
• Becoming familiar with the three legal divisions within the Office of Legal Services: the Workers’ Claims Legal Division, the Workplace Standards Legal Division, and the Workplace Development Legal Division, and understanding their respective work.
• Collaborating with cabinet leaders to comprehend the cabinet’s organization and management structures, specifically how they facilitate the provision of excellent legal services to its agencies.
• Engaging in core legal tasks such as researching law, investigating facts, and preparing legal memoranda and other legal documents.
• Gaining experience in the review of briefs, pleadings, and contracts, as well as managing and responding to open records requests.
• Attending various legal proceedings including hearings, mediations, administrative hearings, settlement meetings, and court proceedings.

What You’ll Need to Succeed (Desired Qualities and Skills):
The program emphasizes the development and demonstration of several key attributes:
• Be dependable: This involves adhering to a designated work schedule, meeting assigned deadlines, and proactively communicating with supervisors regarding any schedule adjustments or support needs.
• Take initiative: Interns are encouraged to seek ways to excel in their daily tasks, demonstrating a self-motivated and problem-solving approach.
• Take advantage of learning opportunities: This includes actively seeking knowledge about the state agency and state government, requesting feedback on job performance to facilitate growth, and asking questions when clarity or additional support is needed for tasks.

Minimum Requirements:
The formal minimum requirements for this position are explicitly stated as follows:
• EDUCATION: NONE
• EXPERIENCE, TRAINING, OR SKILLS: NONE
• Substitute EDUCATION for EXPERIENCE: NONE
• Substitute EXPERIENCE for EDUCATION: NONE

Special Requirements (Age, Licensure, Regulation, Etc.):
• Must be 18 years of age at the time of employment.
• Must be enrolled on a full-time basis in either:
• High school as a graduating senior currently enrolled in college-level courses, OR
• A college-level student enrolled at an accredited Kentucky post-secondary school or other educational institution approved by the Kentucky Personnel Cabinet.
• Applicants must furnish proof of enrollment in such a program to the Personnel Cabinet.
• Must maintain any required licensure(s), certification(s), or other credentials for the length of employment. The employing agency is responsible for ensuring the employee possesses and maintains these credentials.

Team Kentucky Internship Program Eligibility (Specific to TKIP):
To be considered for a position within the Team Kentucky Internship Program, applicants must:
• Be enrolled at an accredited Kentucky post-secondary school or other educational institution approved by the Kentucky Personnel Cabinet.
• Be in good standing with the school with at least a 2.5 grade point average at hire.
• *Graduating high school seniors enrolled in college courses with a 2.5 GPA may also qualify and apply.
• Candidates must be 18 years of age by May 15, 2026.
• Interested applicants must upload their unofficial transcript when applying.

Program Requirements (Once selected for the TKIP):
Participants in the Team Kentucky Internship Program are required to:
• Attend TKIP Orientation.
• Attend at least 1 Professional Development Day.
• Attend at least 1 Agency Tour.
• Complete 300 working hours throughout the program.
• Submit the final project.
• Attend TKIP Reception.

Working Conditions:
• Working conditions will vary based on the specific agency and position.