Rule 9 Internship

Job Description

Rule 9 Licensed Legal Intern | Criminal Division | City of Seattle

The Tone:
This is a legal internship with the City of Seattle, located in a hybrid work environment in Seattle, WA. The City Attorney’s Office is the largest municipal prosecutor’s office in Washington State, dedicated to making Seattle a safe, healthy, empowered, and thriving community. This role provides significant courtroom experience, contributing to the office’s mission of addressing historical injustices and pursuing justice with integrity, creativity, and fairness within the court system.

The TL;DR
• Role: Internship
• Type: Full-time (summer), Part-time (school year)
• Location: Hybrid, Seattle, WA
• Pay: $32.47 hourly
• Team: SCAO Criminal Division (Trial Team Unit, Domestic Violence Unit, or Specialty Courts Unit)
• Mission: Prosecute simple and gross misdemeanors and civil infractions while pursuing justice with integrity, creativity, and fairness.

What You’ll Actually Do
• Represent: Represent the City on infractions, pretrial, and review calendars, often with minimal supervision.
• Conduct: Conduct contested hearings, including testimonial or nontestimonial direct and cross examinations, and manage mitigations and amendments.
• Argue: Research, file, and argue motions on a variety of cases, including Assault and DUI.
• Assist: Assist as second-chair during jury and bench trials.
• Negotiate: Review and evaluate evidence to determine appropriate negotiations or dispositions, engaging in active negotiations with attorneys or pro se defendants.

The Must-Haves
• Background: Must have completed the second year of a full-time J.D. program by the internship start date and be eligible for Rule 9 licensing with the Washington State Bar Association.
• Experience: No specific prior work experience required beyond the academic prerequisite, but implicitly involves foundational legal knowledge from J.D. studies.
• Skills: Courtroom advocacy, legal research, legal writing, negotiation, and evidence review.
• Bonus: Availability for court coverage three to four days weekly for at least one quarter or semester.