INTERNSHIP OPPORTUNITIES
The Missouri Attorney General’s Office Internship Program offers students an exciting opportunity to learn how to practice in many areas of the law, including criminal prosecutions, consumer protection, appellate practice, constitutional law, and litigation defense.
The AGO Advantage
Interning at the Attorney General’s Office gives you the opportunity to work on cases that directly impact policy and people. The Office offers work experience opportunities beyond what may be offered in a private law office, along with mentorship, leadership, and guidance from experienced and well-respected attorneys in various divisions of the Office.
The Attorney General’s Office has three goals in offering internships to students: providing real-world litigation experience, securing future employment, and offering helpful feedback and advice.
1. Providing real-world litigation experience
Internships are designed to give students a preview into what it is like to work as an attorney. Interns are given projects and assignments immediately upon starting the program. These projects are designed to provide real-world work experience and teach skills that can transfer to many areas of practice within the legal field.
Assignments commonly completed by interns in the program include, but are not limited to:
- Writing trial and appellate briefs
- Conducting witness/victim interviews
- Researching questions of law
- Reviewing active case files
- Assisting on high-level assignments, such as opioid litigation
- Attending and taking depositions*
- Appearing and arguing in court proceedings*
*If an intern is certified under Missouri Rule 13, he or she may be able to personally participate in the proceedings under the supervision of a staff attorney.
Internships also regularly provide networking opportunities with various attorneys, state offices, and judges, as well as opportunities to interact with clients. Interning at the Office includes trips to federal and state courts, tours of prison and crime laboratories, and visits to various state offices, such as the State Capitol.
2. Future Employment:
The Office uses the internship program to create a pipeline of new attorney hires. By hiring students as interns, the Office is able to begin the onboarding process earlier and create a stepping stone for hiring students into full-time positions upon graduation from law school.
Students who have previously interned at the Office are often asked to interview in the August before their third-year of law school and may be offered a full-time position starting the following year, contingent upon graduation and admission to the Missouri Bar.
3. Feedback & Evaluation:
The Office views the internship program as a way for students to learn more about the law and grow in their legal experience. Because of this, mentorship is highly valued, and feedback from supervisors is encouraged. Each intern is assigned to a supervising staff attorney, who is the intern’s main point of contact throughout the program. The supervisor assigns projects, answers questions, and provides feedback to the intern. Supervisors provide guidance, advice, and encouragement throughout each project to help the intern become a well-rounded attorney.
Interns receive feedback from their mentor or supervisor after each project they complete. Performance checks are completed by an intern’s supervisor halfway through the internship and at the conclusion of the program. These evaluations are used during the hiring process to determine if and where students would be a good fit at the Attorney General’s Office after the conclusion of their internship.
The Office also values feedback from the interns about their experiences. Since the internship program is focused on students’ development and growth, the Office is continually updating and modifying the program to best fit the needs of students. Interns are encouraged to fill out their own evaluations of the program during the middle and end of their internship.
Locations and Divisions Where You Can Work
The Attorney General’s Office is one of the largest legal employers in the State of Missouri. Interns can be placed at any of the Office’s locations in:
- Jefferson City
- St. Louis
- Kansas City
- Springfield
- Cape Girardeau
Each regional office is broken up into various divisions, and interns may be placed in any of these: Solicitor General’s Office, Special Litigation Team, Consumer Protection Section, Financial Services Section, Governmental Affairs Section, Labor Section, Litigation Section, Criminal Appeals Section, Medicaid Fraud Section, or Public Safety Section.
A breakdown of each section can be found here: https://ago.mo.gov/about-us/about-the-office
How to Apply
The Office’s internship program focuses mostly on law student interns, but certain sections may also host undergraduate interns. The Office accepts approximately 20 interns each summer, but internships are also available during the fall and spring semesters. The internships can either be paid if students are Rule 13 certified or used toward achieving externship credit.
On-campus interviews are conducted at all four Missouri law schools (University of Missouri – Columbia and Kansas City campuses, Washington University, and St. Louis University) and the University of Kansas law school. Please contact your law school’s career development office for more details on upcoming application deadlines and interview dates. The office also collects applications from out-of-state students on its website at: https://ago.mo.gov/about-us/job-opportunities
For other questions about applying for an internship at the Attorney General’s Office, please contact the recruitment team at recruitment@ago.mo.gov. Should you need additional assistance, please call the office’s main line at 573-751-3321 and request to be directed to a recruitment director listed below.
Recruitment Directors
Julia Rives
Anna Connelly
Rachael Houser
Student Testimonials
“I am very glad to have spent a summer with the Missouri Attorney General’s office. I got to work with a number of lawyers, and I can’t speak highly enough of the people both professionally and personally. I was given some incredible opportunities to do real substantive work, such as helping draft several briefs. As I enjoy writing, this was a big highlight for me. I got to work on a variety of cases- everything from property to criminal to tax. My summer with the AGO was rejuvenating for me because it was a chance for me to take what I had learned in my first year of school and apply it to actual cases. I learned so much about being a lawyer and about different areas of the law, and I got to know some incredible people. I would recommend this internship for any law student!”
- John Schutte, University of Virginia School of Law 2022, Jefferson City Office
‘My internship with the Missouri Attorney General’s Office has been the most valuable and educational experience I’ve had in law school. It helped me improve my legal research and writing skills and provided me with meaningful, hands-on experience fast! After two years of reading about the law, I was finally able to apply what I’ve learned by drafting memos and court filings for attorneys and even conducting my first deposition! My intern supervisors assigned me projects and asked me questions that pushed me outside of my comfort zone and made me a better student attorney. After my experience this summer, I would strongly recommend an internship with the AGO to any of my classmates, but especially those interested in public service.”
- Maddie McMillian, Mizzou 2021, Jefferson City Office
“I could not have crafted a better summer experience than I had at the AGO. Not only did I benefit from attending court proceedings almost every week, I was able to draft 7 legal documents during my 9 week internship, including motions, petitions, and memorandums. Everyone I worked with at the AGO was approachable, helpful, and was invested in helping me learn. Rather than being stuck researching at a computer all summer, I worked directly with attorneys and gained hands-on experience. I cannot recommend this internship highly enough!”
- Alyson Englander, UMKC 2021