Summer Intern – Court Service Center (Southern Circuit)

Title: Summer Intern – Court Service Center (Southern Circuit)

Starting Pay: High School - $17; Undergraduate rate - $20 per hour; Graduate rate - $24 per hour 

Departmental Mission Statement:

The Court Services and Law Libraries Department is responsible for providing key court services to
support the administration of justice and advance access to justice in the Trial Court. These services
include the Court Service Centers, and the Trial Court Law Libraries.

Notes:

• This is a circuit internship for the Southern Circuit. 
• Bi-lingual candidates encouraged to apply

Position Summary:  

The Court Service Centers are committed to providing access to justice to court users with cases pending in Massachusetts. We seek to provide comprehensive legal information and access to resources to court users without attorneys, who have cases in Family Court, Housing Court, Boston Municipal and District Courts.

We are looking for an intern who is interested in working with the Circuit CSC Manager and Staff Attorney team.  In this position you will gain experience working directly in our Court Service Centers, pop-up locations at other courthouses and at community events.  Within this position you will gain hands-on experience helping underserved populations gain access to the court system in multiple settings.

You will learn about: 

• Access to Justice issues; 
• Trial Court departments and their jurisdictions; 
• Interviewing and triage skills; 
• Court forms available to the public and how to complete them; and 
• Social service resources. 

Duties may include the following: 

• Assisting in the creation of self-help resources for self-represented court users; 
• Assisting in the creation of best practice guides for Court Service Center staff and volunteers; 
• Greeting court users, assessing needs, and explaining available services; 
• Interviewing court users about their needs; 
• Assisting court users complete court forms; 
• Researching community resources; and 
• Working on important individual and group projects. 

Minimum Requirements:

• Working towards a bachelor’s or graduate degree from an accredited college or university; 
• Knowledge of and ability to use personal computers and related business software such as Microsoft Office, Adobe Acrobat, and other project-based tools; 
• Exceptional writing ability and attention to detail;  
• Exceptional skills in using multi-media techniques; social media; web-based initiatives, and digital resources to access and use local resources for referrals;  
• Demonstrated ability to independently initiate action, complete assignments, and to handle multiple assignments simultaneously; 
• Experience or interest in working with people of diverse backgrounds; 
• Ability to work independently as well as part of a team; 
• Ability to remain calm under pressure; 
• Committed to public service and to learning about legal processes, the court system, and available resources; 
• Experience or interest in customer service;
• Ability to exercise judgment and to work without close supervision; and  
• Reliable transportation to travel within a geographic region.