ABOUT SENIOR PARTNERS FOR JUSTICE
Founded in 2002 by Hon. Edward M. Ginsburg, a retired justice of the Massachusetts Probate and Family Court, Senior Partners for Justice (www.spfj.org) includes practitioners of all levels of experience, from retired attorneys and judges to new bar admittees and law students, who handle family law and other matters pro bono for low-income clients who would otherwise go unrepresented.ABOUT THE INTERNSHIP PROGRAM
Interns are placed in the Suffolk, Middlesex, and Norfolk Probate and Family Courts, working directly alongside courthouse staff. This is an unpaid, non-credit internship, but it offers invaluable experience and a flexible schedule that can fit around other commitments.We ask interns to spend at least one full day (9 a.m. to 5 p.m.) or two half days, preferably mornings, at their courthouse each week.
The nature of the internship is a little different at each court:
- At Suffolk (located near North Station and Government Center), interns staff the very busy Register’s office and have the chance to help the Lawyer for the Day and observe court proceedings.
- At Middlesex (located in East Cambridge, at the Lechmere stop of the Green Line), interns rotate between different departments, gaining broad exposure to areas including Divorce and Paternity.
- At Norfolk (located in Canton, accessible only by car), interns work directly with the court staff members who assist unrepresented litigants, and they have a chance for more one-on-one interaction at a less busy court.
Orientation for the Spring 2013 Internship will take place the week of January 27th. The actual program will begin the week of February 3rd and conclude the week of April 7th.
All participants in the internship program will receive support from the Senior Partners staff and invitations to trainings, luncheons, and other events through Senior Partners and VLP. It has been strongly suggested by students in the past that incoming interns take a family law training at our office. This training provides a foundation for the work the interns will be doing in the courts. The list of family law trainings is available on our website at www.vlpnet.org.
