Internships

Federal Public Defender for the Northern District of Texas

Internship Program

The Office of the Federal Public Defender for the Northern District of Texas provides indigent clients with high quality, client-centered legal representation at all stages of litigation for offenses ranging from petty misdemeanors to capital murder. FPD attorneys regularly litigate in federal district court and the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals. Our office has also successfully represented multiple clients before the United States Supreme Court. The FPD Northern District of Texas has offices in Dallas, Fort Worth, Lubbock, and Amarillo. We offer both summer and semester internships at each of the four offices.

Traditional Unit: The traditional unit comprises trial and appellate attorneys, investigators, paralegals, and legal assistants in each of the four offices. Each office offers unique opportunities to learn about federal defense, from bank robbery and gun charges in Dallas/Fort Worth to major highway drug interdiction cases in Lubbock and Amarillo. The Assistant Federal Public Defenders in the trial unit handle caseloads consisting of misdemeanors, felonies, and probation revocations. AFPDs in the appellate unit represent clients before the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals and the United States Supreme Court, as well as handling post-conviction and compassionate release cases. For more information on internships with the traditional unit, please email T.W. Brown at Taylor_W_Brown@fd.org.

To apply for the Traditional unit please complete the Internship Application Form on our website. Once you have submitted the form, email your cover letter, resume, unofficial transcript, and a short writing sample (5-10 pages) in a single .pdf document to TXN_Internships@fd.org. Write “Traditional Unit Summer/Semester Internship” in the subject line.

Capital Habeas Unit: The Capital Habeas Unit (CHU) is located in the Dallas office. The CHU represents clients on death row in Texas. Through an interdisciplinary team approach, the CHU provides clients with the highest level of legal representation with respect to their convictions and death sentences. The attorneys, investigators, and paralegals in the CHU identify constitutional violations and new evidence to present in federal court. CHU attorneys regularly litigate in federal district court, the Fifth Circuit, and the United States Supreme Court. For more information on internships with the CHU, please email Claire Davis (Claire_Davis@fd.org) and McKenzie Edwards (McKenzie_Edwards@fd.org).

To apply for the Capital Habeas Unit please complete the Internship Application Form on our website. Once you have submitted the form, email your cover letter, resume, unofficial transcript, and a short writing sample (5-10 pages) in a single .pdf document to TXN_Internships@fd.org. Write “CHU Summer/Semester Internship” in the subject line.