Manhattan Institute’s Law School Associate program is a 10-12-week program that offers law school students the opportunity to work directly with its Constitutional Studies and Legal Policy teams. The Institute is a lean, dynamic, and intellectually driven environment rich with critical thinking and scholarship. Students are put in a position to meaningfully advance the Institute’s mission through research, scholarly writing, journalism, and outreach.

Law School Associates are paired with the Director of Constitutional Studies and Director of Legal Policy to assist with research, drafting, editing, and external outreach. Associates will participate in strategic departmental meetings, events, seminars, and policy discussions that assist in advancing their long-term potential and career goals. Over the course of the program, Associates will have the opportunity to work directly with prominent scholars such as Ilya Shapiro, Jim Copland, Chris Rufo, and Rafael Mangual, among others.

Areas of research include corporate governance, civil rights, constitutional studies, education, identity politics, judicial issues, regulatory reform, shareholder capitalism, and the Supreme Court. Administrative and clerical work is kept to a minimum. Associates can expect to build skills necessary for careers in the private sector, judicial clerkships, public policy, public interest law, and other relevant opportunities.

Law School Associates will:

• Conduct research for a variety of projects, from op-eds to books;


• Draft and edit legal briefs, model legislation, and policy papers;


• Assist with drafting, editing, and citation for research papers, op-ed, model legislation, etc.;


• Provide briefings on congressional hearings, conferences, panels, recent news stories, and judicial decisions;


• Promote research products in concert with Communications and Marketing, with a particular focus on outreach to policymakers and opinion-influencers

Required Skills:

• Strong oral and written communication skills;


• Ability to research and identify relevant cases, statutes, and secondary materials using tools such as Westlaw or Lexis Nexis;


• Ability to efficiently and effectively synthesize large amounts of information;


• Capacity to manage and prioritize multiple projects;


• Attention to detail;


• Candidates must be currently enrolled in law school or a JD/MBA program

Preferred Skills:

• Training in economics and/or understanding of free market principles.


• Knowledge of originalism and other text/structure/history-based methods of constitutional interpretation


• Familiarity with the Bluebook method of legal citation


• Quantitative research background—including spreadsheet analysis, statistics, and econometrics.

Approximate Program Timelines:

• Fall program: Late September through mid-December, 5-20 hours per week


• Spring program: Late January through mid-April, 5-20 hours per week


• Summer program: Late May through early August, 10-20 hours per week

Applications are considered on a rolling basis. Applicants are encouraged to apply before these dates for each term:

• Spring Program: November 15


• Summer Program: April 15


• Fall Program: July 15

Benefits:

Law School Associates are paid $22/hour. MI offers generous benefits, including hybrid and remote work options. 

How to Apply:

Candidates are required to submit a cover letter, a letter of recommendation, and an essay on intellectual influences (300 words or less) in their application. Recommenders can choose to email their letter of recommendation directly to us at [email protected].