Legal Affairs Intern

Organizational Context

The Office of Legal Affairs (OLA) within the UN Secretariat in New York is seeking motivated interns to gain professional experience in international law. This internship offers practical exposure across OLA's six divisions: OUSG, OLC, DOALOS, Treaty Section, Codification, and General Legal. Interns will work under supervision, contributing to various legal affairs tasks within a multicultural intergovernmental setting.

Job Purpose

This internship aims to provide interns with practical experience in legal affairs within the United Nations Office of Legal Affairs (OLA). It serves to supplement interns' academic knowledge and skills by assigning them to projects and tasks within OLA's six divisions. The role is designed to offer hands-on experience in international law, ocean affairs, law of the sea, and other specialized legal areas. Interns will contribute to legal research, document review, drafting, and meeting support, thereby developing their professional capabilities in a multicultural, intergovernmental environment. The internship duration is a minimum of two months, extendable up to six months, with a desired start date between September 2026 and February 2027.

Responsibilities

Interns will provide assistance in conducting legal research on international law, ocean affairs, and law of the sea, utilizing various research resources. They will support the review of legal documents, instruments, and other materials. Responsibilities also include assisting in the drafting and preparation of official and legal documents. Interns will attend and take notes at conferences and meetings, and assist in servicing these events. Additionally, they may be involved in website content management and presentation development, and perform other assigned duties as required by the specific division or office.

Work Experience

Professional work experience is not a requirement for this internship program. However, prior training, education, advanced coursework, or specific skills that would benefit the United Nations during the internship are considered advantageous. Applicants are not required to have prior professional experience to be considered for this role.

Skills

Legal research, Document review, Legal document drafting and preparation, Meeting support (attending, note-taking, servicing), Website content management, Presentation development, Fluency in English (spoken and written), Knowledge of French (desirable), Knowledge of other UN official languages (advantageous).

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