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Undergraduate Internships

The Office of the Attorney General values the contributions made by interns and works hard to give interns the best experience possible.  The office benefits substantially from the work done by interns and from the contributions they make to the vitality of the workplace.

A number of positions for undergraduate student interns are available during the school year and over the summer months.  These positions are traditionally unpaid, but they do offer important experience.  Colleges often offer academic credit for this kind of work and our office will cooperate with colleges to arrange for appropriate academic credit.

The internship program provides many benefits and opportunities.  Past interns say the experience has helped them judge whether their planned career path is a good fit for their interests. Interns can:

  • Learn about careers in law, public service, law enforcement and public policy.  
  • Experience a professional work environment.
  • Develop a professional relationship with staff of the Office of the Attorney General.
  • Develop skills outside of an academic setting.

Interns are expected to:

  • Fulfill all work commitments made.
  • Respect confidentiality.
  • Project professional conduct, attitude and dress.

Interns can expect to:

  • Work in a supportive, friendly environment.
  • Be treated with respect by office employees.
  • Have adequate supervision.

Available Internships

  • Consumer Protection Division

(This is an unpaid position but may be used for college credit, depending upon the requirements of your school.)

Description: The intern in this position may handle individual consumer complaints and assist attorneys and investigators on projects of broader application. Projects include assisting with investigations, litigation support such as witness interviews, document organization and review, and other tasks as assigned. Interns can expect to work with division staff in a team-oriented office dedicated to serving the people of Iowa. To the greatest extent possible, interns will learn of opportunities to attend trials, court hearings, or oral arguments involving Attorney General legal staff. The internship is located in Des Moines and involves from 10-20 hours per week for fall and spring internships and 20-30 hours per week for summer internships, with work hours occurring during the 8 a.m. - 4:30 p.m. Monday-Friday work week.

Duties include: collecting, reviewing, analyzing and summarizing materials obtained from various information sources; assembling investigative files; reproducing documents; and drafting case summaries under staff supervision.

Requirements: The intern holding this position must: be able to take and accurately apply general instructions; be well organized; be detail oriented; be self motivating and successful in following assignments to completion; be proficient in computer skills; be able to efficiently and accurately review and organize documentation; and be capable of working independently and meeting established deadlines. The selected person must have excellent writing, speaking and interpersonal skills, convey a professional presence, and have good analytical abilities. This position requires confidentiality and discretion. The Department of Justice will require the selected person to sign a confidentiality agreement. Interested persons may be in an associated undergraduate program or graduate level program of study, i.e., pre-law, political science, criminology, communications, or consumer and family sciences programs.

"I really appreciated the level of responsibility that was entrusted in us.....(Going to trials) was probably my favorite experience to see how the process works in the court system. We got to do such a wide variety of things that I felt the internship was really well-rounded."
~ Kim Opatz, former intern from Simpson College

"This internship has been very rewarding to me because there is a good feeling when one is able to help get back money in any amount for consumers. The cases that I worked on really opened my eyes to how to be ‘consumer savvy’ and I learned a lot about different scams and problems consumers can have and will have with businesses. Another thing I enjoyed was the people that I met and worked with. Everyone was eager to help one another and it seems that everyone wants the same thing, to be able to help out the consumers and businesses, to find the truth in the matters at hand.”
~ Melinda Kuehl, former intern from Grand View University

Application Deadlines: Spring Internship - November 15; Summer Internship - February 1; Fall Internship - June 1.

To apply, email a resume and cover letter explaining when and why you want to do this internship to:

Kathi Gosnell, Investigator
Office of the Attorney General of Iowa
1305 East Walnut St.
Des Moines, Iowa 50319
(515) 281-8206
kathi.gosnell@ag.iowa.gov

  • Statewide Prosecutions Division Internships

(This is an position but may be used for college credit, depending upon the requirements of your school.)

Sexually Violent Predator Unit Program Intern

Description: The intern holding this position assists staff in compiling information for use in civil commitment proceedings under Chapter 229A, the Sexually Violent Predator (SVP) Act. The intern works under the supervision of the SVP paralegal or investigator and interacts with other staff members and other professionals to obtain and report information used in these proceedings. The internship is located in Des Moines and involves up to 20 hours per week, Monday through Friday, during normal business hours.

Duties: Assisting the SVP paralegal in collecting, reviewing and summarizing large amounts of materials obtained from various information sources; assembling investigative files; reproducing documents, interviews and drafting case reports and documents under staff supervision.

Requirements: The intern holding this position must: be able to take and accurately apply general instructions; be highly organized; be highly detail-oriented; be self-motivating and successful in following assignments to completion; be proficient in a Microsoft Windows environment; be able to efficiently and accurately review and organize large volumes of documentation and prepare reports according to an established format; and be capable of working independently and meeting established deadlines.

The selected person must have excellent writing, speaking and interpersonal skills, convey a professional presence, and have superior analytical abilities. This position requires absolute confidentiality and discretion. The Office of the Attorney General will require the selected person to sign a confidentiality agreement.  Interested candidates should be enrolled in an associated undergraduate program or graduate level program of study, i.e., sociology, psychology, criminology, or pre-law programs.

Application Deadlines: Spring Internship - November 15; Summer Internship - February 1; Fall Internship - June 1.

To apply, email a resume and cover letter explaining when and why you want to do this internship to:

Olivia McAtee, Investigator
Office of the Attorney General of Iowa
1305 E Walnut Street
Des Moines, IA 50319
(515) 281-6566
olivia.mcatee@ag.iowa.gov

 

  • Communications internship

               (This is an unpaid position but may be used for college credit, depending upon the requirements of your school.)

 Description: The intern in this position will work with the Press Secretary on the office’s external and internal communications channels, including social media, the office website, and intranet site. Interns can expect to work with division staff in a team-oriented office dedicated to serving the people of Iowa. The internship is located in Des Moines and involves from 10-20 hours per week for fall and spring internships, with work hours occurring during the 8 a.m. - 4:30 p.m. Monday-Friday work week.

Duties include: shooting and editing video and photography; working with the Communications Director and other  Attorney General staff in researching and writing press releases,  newsletters and other content to distribute to the   news media and the public; creating content for social media, including graphics and video; creating and gathering     content for the office intranet page; interviewing attorneys, staffers and the public in researching articles; assist         Attorney General staff in planning events; and other duties as assigned.

Requirements: The intern holding this position must: be able to take and accurately apply general instructions; be well organized; be detail oriented; be self-motivating and successful in following assignments to completion; be proficient in social media; have experience in photography and videography and photo and video editing software; be able to efficiently and accurately review and organize documentation; and be capable of working independently and meeting established deadlines. The selected person must have excellent writing, speaking and interpersonal skills, convey a professional presence, and have good analytical abilities. This position requires confidentiality and discretion. The Department of Justice will require the selected person to sign a confidentiality agreement. Interested persons may be in an associated undergraduate program or graduate level program of study, i.e., journalism, communications, public relations, pre-law or political science.

Application Deadlines:

To apply, email a resume and cover letter explaining when and why you want to do this internship to:

Alyssa Brouillet, Press Secretary
Office of the Attorney General of Iowa
1305 E Walnut Street
Des Moines, IA 50319
(515) 823-9112
alyssa.brouillet@ag.iowa.gov

 

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