The ACLU of South Carolina had the privilege of hosting two legal interns this summer. Today on the blog, we’re highlighting their contributions and asking them to share a little bit about what they learned.
Kaleb Phelps participated in the Summer Legal Internship Program (SLIP), an initiative of the ACLU and the National Black Law Students Association. He is a rising 2L student at the University of South Carolina School of Law.
Alex Lingle was the recipient of the ACLU of South Carolina Legal Internship. He is a rising 3L student at the University of South Carolina School of Law.
This summer, under the supervision of Staff Attorney Meredith McPhail, Kaleb and Alex honed their writing and research skills as they contributed to memoranda on a wide range of constitutional issues, drafted Freedom of Information requests, contributed to lawyer letters, and attended meetings with pro hac vice and opposing counsel. And after all that, they still expressed an interest in pursuing public-interest law after graduation.
If you are a law student interested in joining us via one of these two internship programs next summer, check our website and social media for application information early in the fall semester.
How would you describe a typical day in your internship this summer?
ALEX: There was a lot of diversity in what we were doing on a day-to-day basis. So one day might involve an appearance in federal court. The next day might involve a discovery meeting with opposing counsel or meeting with pro hac vice counsel. The next day could be very writing-heavy, focusing on drafting motions or memoranda. It was a wide swath of experience that was really good to have.
KALEB: A lot of different opportunities, and fortunately with the ACLU, because the work that we do encompasses such a broad area, it can be writing-heavy one day, it can be interview-heavy one day, it can be a team call meeting the next day. As a former 1L, now going into my second year, I will say this is a great opportunity for me to just see all the different things that are encompassed in the practice of law. I would say this summer was also very writing-heavy, which again I feel like as a younger law student is especially beneficial, especially when you’re thinking about going into journal your next year, moot court, mock trial, whatnot. The writing skills I gained were especially beneficial.
What has been rewarding about this internship for you?
ALEX: I think the most rewarding aspect has probably been working in a community of people with similar values … but at the same time a community of people with diverse backgrounds and different perspectives and beliefs. That has been really enriching and fulfilling and has definitely shaped my job search as I look for full-time employment post-grad. I want to work in a very similar community where people are there to support each other like this office.
KALEB: Alex really hit on a good point earlier, the diversity of experiences, and as a younger law student I feel like it was very eye-opening for me. One thing I really appreciated was seeing how the ACLU is a very generalist kind of practice and they cover so many different areas. Being able to see them go from focusing on transgender rights one morning to education work in the afternoon, to going over to execution secrecy all in one day, just seeing how you have to become knowledgeable about the different fields of the law, where it currently stands — that is especially beneficial and impactful for me.
What have you found challenging about this internship?
KALEB: When you get your first red-lining of your paper, it can be kind of personal. You’re like, “Oh my goodness, am I not a good writer?” You can kind of have a little bit of impostor syndrome, self doubt, just wondering, “Am I capable? Will I be able to keep up with the work?” So kind of reframing your mindset to realize that it’s not that you’re not a good writer, it’s just that it could be better. You’re learning how to write differently and how to write in a more legal professional tone. Honestly at first that was a challenge, just getting over that barrier, but on the other side of that, I really have appreciated being able to get honest genuine feedback from people. Meredith truly does care about our experience, she cares about our work, and she is coming at it from a point of “I want you to become a better practitioner” and not as just “I want to belittle you.” Having that has been especially beneficial.
ALEX: My challenge has definitely been choosing what I want to work on. I think every day we’re presented with a lot of different potential cases, a lot of potential calls we could join, webinars from really talented and influential attorneys in specific constitutional law spaces that we could listen to. And having to kind of choose what am I going to work on, what am I not going to do today, I think that’s probably particularly true in areas of law like this that are public-interest focused. There’s a lot going on and a lot of people need help, and we don’t always have all the resources to help every single person. So I think learning that lesson more broadly and then also implementing it on a personal individual level of choosing, you know, what do I have the capacity to work on today, has been difficult but really helpful for maintaining long-term commitment to public interest work.
That’s something I’m still working on, too. It never ends. Finally, what advice would you give to a law student who is considering applying for the internship that you did this summer?
ALEX: It’s really easy, especially when you’re an applicant from a marginalized background, to sell yourself short and think there are other people who can do this better than I can, there are other people who have more experience. It’s really important to build confidence in spaces that historically are a little bit elitist like legal fields, but also, again, if you’re an applicant from a marginalized background, getting that confidence to know that not only do you have the experience to do something, but your marginalized identity informs that in a unique way that can actually be a benefit and be helpful in the legal field. So I think building confidence would be my number one piece of advice.
KALEB: I love that, Alex. I’m going to go with: Just be open minded. Again, because of the work we do and it’s evolving so quickly, you truly never know what your day will look like, you never know the area that you’ll work in. Again, I feel like especially talking to the younger law students, you will quickly come to learn that while law school does teach you a lot, it ultimately cannot teach you everything, and so there’s going to have to be a lot of learning that you do on the job, and that’s OK. But just keep an open mind. Be open to learning from those experiences on the fly.
Is there anything else people should know about interning here or what it’s like?
KALEB: Remember to apply early. I appreciated going into the winter break that I already knew about my internship. Remember to apply early, and be on the lookout in early fall for when the internship application does open up. I would also say that I have appreciated the fact that being in the public interest space, I was able to be compensated. A lot of times people think public interest comes with the belief that “I’m not going to be paid well.” The ACLU kind of broke that myth for me this summer, that you can work in public interest and be compensated your worth.
ALEX: In all of the professional responsibilities I’ve had and internship roles I’ve experienced, I would say this office and Meredith specifically are uniquely committed to fostering good mentorship. I absolutely do not mean to downplay the other experiences I’ve had — I’ve had some wonderful legal mentors — but this office in particular I can tell is committed to building a community of public-interest-minded attorneys in South Carolina.
