Political Science Summer Internships Jobs in Montclair, NJ

Kostelanetz LLP is a boutique law firm that offers a paid internship (at $38.46 per hour) to a Spelman College rising senior interested in joining the firm as a full-time pre-law paralegal for the summer.  The internship is part of Kostelanetz's broader program to develop ties with Spelman College.  

During the summer, the Spelman intern benefits from a robust, hands-on program including mentorship at the paralegal, associate, and partner levels; 1L and LSAT-prep resources provided by our attorneys, paralegals, and staff; opportunities to write for prestigious legal journals; and more. Internship responsibilities include case management, legal research, document review, legal and litigation support, interfacing with clients, as well as administrative work, under attorney supervision.

Following graduation from Spelman, students who have completed the internship are typically offered a position as a full-time, pre-law paralegal, with the option to spend one or two years with the firm prior to enrolling in law school.

While not all Spelman interns may pursue a path in one of our practice areas, such as tax law, one of our goals is to help pre-law students understand the various paths available to them, including policymaking, government service, private practice, accounting, and teaching, among others.

The internship application opens on November 24th, 2025, and will close on January 9th, 2026. Please direct all questions concerning applications to tdorsey@kostelanetz.com

Applicant requirements* 

• Rising senior (current junior) currently enrolled at Spelman College 
• Minimum 3.6 GPA
• Outstanding academic credentials with strong writing, communication, and organizational skills
• Multi-task oriented, friendly, and capable of working well with others
• Exceptional computer skills - proficiency in Microsoft Office and Excel a plus

*We particularly welcome members of the Morehouse-Spelman Pre-Law Society.

Past interns have typically had Spelman GPAs at or near 3.9, and shown a strong interest in pursuing a career in law. 

We're proud of our Spelman Internship alumni.  Many of them appear in this short video.  Our alumni include:

• Destiny Reese, who joined the firm as its first Spelman intern in the Spring of 2021 and was hired as a full-time Paralegal after graduating summa cum laude from Spelman in May 2021 with a B.A. in English with a concentration in writing. She graduated from Emory University School of Law in 2025, and now serves as an Associate at Kostelanetz.
• Grace Hall, who joined the firm as an intern in the Spring of 2022 and graduated summa cum laude from Spelman in May 2022 with a B.A. in Political Science and a Minor in Writing.  She graduated from University of Virginia Law School in 2025, and now serves as an Associate at Kostelanetz.
• Kennedy Mackey, who joined the firm as an intern in the Summer of 2022 after graduating magna cum laude from Spelman with a B.A. in Political Science and a Minor in Philosophy. She graduated from Harvard Law School in 2025 and now serves as an Associate at Winston & Strawn LLP.
• Nadya Lopez, who joined the firm as a Spring 2023 intern. She joined the firm as a full-time Paralegal in 2023, after graduating summa cum laude from Spelman with a B.A. in Political Science and a Minor in English. She currently works in education consulting for Prodigious Prep.
• Melina Watson, who joined the firm as a Spring 2023 intern.  She joined the firm as a full-time Paralegal in 2023, after graduating summa cum laude from Spelman with a B.A. in Philosophy and a Minor in Political. She left the firm in 2025 to attend Columbia Law School.
• Brittany Mahone, who joined the firm as a Summer 2024 intern, while pursuing a B.A. in Political Science and a Minor in Psychology at Spelman. She currently is a full-time Paralegal at Kostelanetz.
• Tyler Dorsey, who joined the firm as a Summer 2025 intern, while pursuing a B.A. in English at Spelman.  She will be returning to Kostelanetz as a full-time Paralegal after graduating from Spelman.

The firm's Spelman Summer Internship program is administered by Kostelanetz lawyer Daniel Cady Davidson (whose suggestion to the firm in 2020 was the inspiration behind the program), Deputy Operations Director Karen Mowatt, and paralegals Brittany Mahone and Caitlin Lewis.

Kostelanetz has been a sponsor of the Morehouse-Spelman Pre-Law Society (MSPLS) since 2021.  As a sponsor, the firm connects directly with the student leaders of MSPLS to co-create events and panels that align with our goals as well as students' interests. Past programs include "LSAT 101," "Tax Law and Racial Justice," and "Exploring Careers in Tax Law."  In 2022, Kostelanetz hosted a panel for MSPLS students entitled "From Spelman to Law School: A Conversation with Kennedy Mackey, Destiny Reese, and Grace Hall."  Our lawyers also assisted MSPLS students by conducting mock interviews to help them prepare them for employment and law school applications.

Kostelanetz's roughly 50 lawyers focus on tax litigation, white collar criminal defense, complex commercial civil litigation, tax planning, trusts and estates, securities law, and government procurement. The firm is highly ranked and has offices in New York City, Washington, D.C., Atlanta, and Hackensack, N.J.  We currently have 12 pre-law paralegals. They recently graduated from Brown, UChicago, Cornell, Harvard, Johns Hopkins, UPenn, Spelman, Vanderbilt, and UVA.

Kostelanetz LLP is an equal opportunity employer. Kostelanetz LLP's hiring practices are designed comply with, among other things, the New York City Human Rights Law, which, among other things, prohibits discrimination in employment on the basis of race, color, religion/creed, age, national origin, immigration or citizenship status, gender (including sexual harassment), gender identity, sexual orientation, disability, pregnancy, military service, marital status, partnership status, height, weight, unemployment status, arrest or conviction record, credit history, caregiver status, and status as a victim of domestic violence, stalking, and sex offenses.

We welcome applications from all qualified persons including, without limitation, women, people of color, LGBTQ+ people, persons with disabilities, people from low-income backgrounds, and veterans. Applications from people who are members of underrepresented and/or marginalized communities are highly encouraged.

Qualified candidates should submit PDF copies of their cover letter, resume, transcript (unofficial is acceptable), and writing sample.