chevron-down Created with Sketch Beta.

    About the Committee

    Judicial Intern Opportunity Program (JIOP)

    Mission

    The Judicial Intern Opportunity Program Committee is open to all program alums, sponsors, and volunteers. Joining the committee entitles members to a variety of benefits and allows you to become more involved with the Judicial Intern Opportunity Program (JIOP) and the Section’s diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts. The leadership of the JIOP committee is comprised of JIOP alums, program volunteers, sponsors, judges, and others wanting to get more involved in the Section of Litigation Good Works projects.

    Our mission is to work together to provide opportunities to students that are traditionally underrepresented in the profession.  JIOP is a Litigation Section program dedicated to improving diversity, equity, and inclusion in the law.  JIOP interns are placed with judges for summer internships in several locations throughout the country. The program goal is to foster a judiciary that reflects the society it serves to assure fairness and access to justice. One road toward that goal is to provide law students with valuable experience and exposure to practitioners through the JIOP program. The JIOP program would not be possible without our more than 3,400 program alums, volunteers, judges, and sponsors. We encourage you to join JIOP’s committee and Get Involved with JIOP. Litigation Section membership is free for law students—taking advantage of that opportunity is a great way to get started.

    In addition to providing opportunities to students, the JIOP committee continues to provide opportunities and information to young, diverse lawyers as they continue in their legal careers. As a resource to new practitioners and our JIOP alums, the committee provides its members with these benefits:

    • Quarterly newsletters with helpful practice tips, information on career advancement and ways to advance their career by becoming a better lawyer. The newsletter spotlights JIOP alums and is a way for alums to stay connected to the program and each other.
    • Online access to news and developments, career opportunities, and announcements of JIOP social events in our various program locations.
    • Opportunities to write for our committee publications, participate in roundtables and webinars and share your practice tips with other committee members. This is a great way for young lawyers to get published and be viewed as a resource by others.
    • Opportunities for leadership and experience and a great way to become involved in other Litigation Section activities and committees. JIOP committee and alums are often members of the Litigation Section Young Lawyer Leadership program and our Diverse Leaders Academy.
    • Connections to the Section’s Good Works programs provide a way to give back to the profession by assisting and mentoring diverse law students and young lawyers as they advance in their careers.

    Message from the Chairs

    Welcome to the ABA Litigation Section Judicial Intern Opportunity Program (JIOP) Committee and thank you for visiting the JIOP website. JIOP places diverse and economically disadvantaged law students with state and federal judges for summer internships in 12 cities nationwide. The program provides important mentoring and skills to program participants and offers opportunities for program alums and volunteers to become active members and leaders in the ABA Litigation Section. It is also an opportunity to make an impact on the diversity and inclusion pipeline and give back to the legal community through this section good works project.

    More than 3,400 students have interned with judges over the past 23 years through JIOP, including 159 students in 2023. The 2023 program had 774 applicants. Program applicants were granted a screening interview with a practicing attorney. Our screening volunteers are a critical piece of the JIOP program and a great way to get involved. Students were placed with 139 participating judges. 

    JIOP interns are provided with a $2,000 award to help offset some of the costs of their internships. These awards are funded by the Litigation Section, the Antitrust Law Section, and the Intellectual Property Section. Additional funds are provided by national and local sponsors in our 12 locations. In addition to donors, we are looking for committee members to volunteer by getting involved in local programs, writing for our newsletter or website, hosting programs for our students, conducting screening interviews and serving as student mentors.

    Our newsletter updates our members on recent committee activity and provides an opportunity for you to be published. Our website includes articles, news, and developments of interest to our members. Committee membership offers opportunities to network and meet with young, diverse law students, legal professionals and judges committed to diversity and inclusion. 

    We welcome your feedback on what is working, what you would like to see more of, and what additional benefits we can provide to you as part of the JIOP team. As you review our website, be sure to take advantage of some of the important information on career advancement, tips for securing an internship or clerkship, and note our many ways to volunteer or become a program supporter. Be sure to “like” us on Facebook and follow us on X and LinkedIn. Together we can make a difference in diversity and inclusion in the profession. For more information about opportunities to become involved, please contact one of us or the Litigation Section’s JIOP Program Director, Gail Howard.

    Sincerely,