About Our Job

Who We Are

The Office of the Municipal Public Defender has been in existence for ten years in the City and County of Denver.  We are excited to invite applications for a Juris Doctorate Internship in Spring and Summer. These are unpaid internships but will come with a $2,500 stipend per semester.

The Denver Office of the Municipal Public Defender's primary focus is to provide comprehensive legal representation to defendants who face jail time for violating municipal ordinances or traffic offenses in the Denver County Court System. The creation of this office ensures that the City and County of Denver is on the same level with other progressive municipalities providing quality in-house Public Defense services for indigent citizens.

What You’ll Gain

The Chief Municipal Public Defender is seeking two 2026 Summer interns (up to 39 hours per week) (see stipend information available for both) – extensions for school credit are also available. There is a place to indicate which terms you are interested in the application questionnaire. Interns will gain experience in the courtrooms and supplement the scope of their legal education. Interns will also gain experience in criminal defense.

As an intern, you will have the opportunity to experience:

• Criminal law and procedure
• Courtroom procedures
• Legal research and writing
• Investigations
• Witness interviews
• Trial preparation
• Courtroom trials
• Motions practice
• Appellate work

What You’ll Bring

Our ideal candidate will have/be: 

• Student Practice Act eligible students are required (2L year completed)
• Interest in public defense
• Previous law clinic work experience
• High attention to detail
• Excellent written and verbal communication
• Excellent organization skills
• Ability to work with diverse populations
• Ability to adapt to changes in work
• Conflict resolution abilities
• Legal research, writing, and oral advocacy experience

Required Minimum Qualifications

We realize your time is valuable so please do not apply if you do not have at least the following required minimum qualifications:

• Education Requirement: Must be currently enrolled in Law School leading to the attainment to a JD
• Education and Experience Equivalency: No substitution of experience for education is permitted

Required Documents

In order to be considered, please include the following on your job application (upload the attachment(s) to the Resume/CV section on the My Experience tab): 

• Resume
• Cover letter
• Official or unofficial school transcript

Application Deadline 

Applications for this position are accepted on a rolling basis. Please submit your application as soon as possible to ensure consideration.

About Everything Else

Job Profile

To view the full job profile including position specifications, physical demands, and probationary period, click here.

Position Type

Position Salary Range

Target Pay

Agency

The City and County of Denver provides equal employment opportunities to all employees and applicants for employment without regard to race, color, religion, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, genetic information, age, or any other status protected under federal, state, and/or local law. 

It is your right to access oral or written language assistance, sign language interpretation, real-time captioning via CART, or disability-related accommodations. To request any of these services at no cost to you, please contact Jobs@Denvergov.org with three business days’ notice.

Applicants for employment with the City and County of Denver must have valid work authorization that does not require sponsorship of a visa for employment authorization in the U.S.

For information about right to work, click here for English or here for Spanish.