Updated October 2026
TL;DR
The best law extracurriculars for high school students include mock trials (North Dakota’s statewide competition is free for grades 9 to 12), paid court internships (Boston’s Judicial Youth Corps paid $15 an hour in its last cohort), prosecutor-office internships (Manhattan DA and Miami-Dade State Attorney), bar association summer internships (Atlanta’s SLIP pays a $2,000 stipend), the U.S. Senate Page Program, and the ACLU National Advocacy Institute, a 10-day residential program in Washington, D.C. that costs $3,500. Most programs are local, so eligibility usually depends on your city, school district, or grade. If you want to research a legal question of your own with a mentor, you can apply to the Horizon Academic Research Program.
Law is a constantly changing field, and you get better at it by doing it. So if you are a high schooler considering a legal career, or a pre-law or legal studies major down the road, a law extracurricular is worth looking into now. You might take on a witness in mock trial, shadow a judge, spend a summer in a legal office, or try lobbying at an advocacy institute. This list has 14 programs, and for each one you will find the location, pay, dates, and eligibility rules. If you also like the idea of paid work, see our guide to paid law programs for high school students.
Who is allowed to apply? A quick residency and grade check
Most of these are limited by where you live or go to school. The table shows what each program asks for, based on the most recent rules posted.
| Program | Where you live or go to school | Grade or age |
| ACLU National Advocacy Institute | Anywhere; you travel to D.C. | Ages 15 to 18 |
| U.S. Senate Page Program | Any state with a sponsoring senator | Junior standing (semester) or rising junior or senior (summer), age 16 or 17 |
| Himes District Office Internship | Bridgeport or Stamford, CT offices | Any high school student |
| DC Courts Passport to Work | D.C. | High school students |
| North Dakota High School Mock Trial | North Dakota, through a school team | Grades 9 to 12 |
| Atlanta SLIP | Atlanta area; long commutes accepted | Classes of 2027 and 2028 |
| Manhattan DA HSIP | Manhattan | Current juniors and seniors |
| Miami-Dade State Attorney program | Miami area | High school students |
| Nashville Bar program | Metro Nashville area | Graduating seniors and rising seniors (2026 cycle) |
| Dallas SLIP | Dallas ISD | Juniors |
| Suit Up for the Future | New Orleans; you arrange housing | Incoming juniors and seniors, recent graduates |
| Law Links | Baltimore City public school and city resident | Rising juniors and seniors |
| Judicial Youth Corps | Boston Public Schools, or a high school in Worcester or Springfield | Grades 10 to 12 (Boston) |
| TMSLIP | NYC public high schools | High school students |
If you live in New York City, you could apply to TMSLIP in winter and the Manhattan DA program in late winter, since their 2026 windows closed January 12 and February 27.
What counts as a law extracurricular for a high schooler?
A law extracurricular is an activity that gives you hands-on experience with the legal system, whether through mock trials, court visits, law firms, prosecutor’s offices, legislative offices, or advocacy training. These activities help you understand how the law works and how legal professionals do their jobs.
You might argue a fictional case in the North Dakota mock trial competition, where teams present to a panel of judges and jurors. You might sit in a prosecutor’s office through the Manhattan DA’s High School Internship Program or the Miami-Dade State Attorney’s volunteer program. You might work inside a courthouse with the Massachusetts Judicial Youth Corps, or in a law office through a bar association program like Atlanta’s SLIP. You might handle constituent concerns in a Connecticut district office. You might also train as an advocate at the ACLU institute.
None of these formats is better than the others. But they ask for different things from you: a school team, a clean attendance record, a senator’s sponsorship, or a long commute. The table matches what you might want to do with the programs that fit it. For more no-cost options, see our list of free law programs for high school students.
| If you want to | Look at |
| Argue a case in front of judges | North Dakota High School Mock Trial |
| See how a prosecutor’s office works | Manhattan DA HSIP, Miami-Dade State Attorney program |
| Spend time inside a court | Judicial Youth Corps, DC Courts Passport to Work, Suit Up for the Future |
| Work in a law firm or legal department | Atlanta SLIP, Nashville Bar program, Dallas SLIP, Law Links, TMSLIP |
| Watch lawmaking up close | Senate Page Program, Himes district office internship |
| Learn lobbying and advocacy | ACLU National Advocacy Institute |
14 Law Extracurricular Activities for High School Students
1. ACLU National Advocacy Institute High School Program
Location: American University, Washington, D.C.; residential
Cost: $3,500, covering lodging, food, learning activities, and social events
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Not published. In 2026, the ACLU said it hosted more than 900 students from all 50 states, D.C., and Puerto Rico.
Program Dates: TBA (previous cohort: July 20 to 29)
Application Deadline: TBA (previous cohort: Early Decision March 2, Regular Decision April 13, and Final Deadline May 11)
Eligibility: You can apply if you are a high school student aged 15 to 18. You submit an application and an adult recommendation, and no advocacy experience is required.
The ACLU National Advocacy Institute is a 10-day residential program where you learn from ACLU lawyers, lobbyists, and organizers. Issue electives and daily homeroom groups cover the ACLU’s areas of work and what young people are facing right now. On the Day of Action, past groups have lobbied members of Congress, rallied at the Capitol, run phone and text banks, and written letters to the editor; some were published in major publications.
Why it stands out: It is the only program here built around lobbying, and the Day of Action is a real advocacy push.
2. U.S. Senate Page Program
Location: Washington, D.C.; school-year pages live in the Daniel Webster Senate Page Residence, and summer pages may live with a parent or relative in the area
Cost: Pages earn an annual salary rate of $38,547, prorated to the length of the session
Acceptance rate/cohort size: 30 page positions for the 100 senators
Program Dates: Fall: September 7 to January 22; Spring: January 24 to June 4
Application Deadline: Set by each senator’s office. You apply through your senator, and the Page Program does not accept application materials.
Eligibility: For semester sessions, you need junior standing and must be 16 or 17 on your appointment date. Summer pages are rising juniors and rising seniors who are 16 or 17. See the apply page for the full list.
As a Senate page, you deliver correspondence and legislative material around the Capitol, get the Chamber ready before each session, and help senators and staff during roll call votes. You also carry bills and amendments to the desk. Semester pages attend the Senate Page School, which starts at 6:00 a.m., and keep their cell phones only on weekends and vacations (the program provides a phone to stay in touch with family).
Why it stands out: It puts you on the Senate floor and pays a salary instead of charging a fee.
3. Congressman Jim Himes District Office Internship
Location: Bridgeport or Stamford, CT
Cost: Need-based stipends are available
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Not published
Program Dates: Spring cohort: January 11 to May 6. Summer and fall cohorts: dates TBA (fall runs September to December)
Application Deadline: Spring cohort: November 18
Eligibility: You can apply if you are a high school or college student, or a recent graduate. High school students who live in the district are encouraged to apply during the school year.
The Himes district office internship teaches you how a congressional office runs from the constituent side. One application covers both the Bridgeport and Stamford offices, and staff place you based on staffing needs and commute time. The office says the summer cohort is competitive and that school-year schedules can be arranged around classes.
Why it stands out: It is a school-year option with need-based stipends and schedules that bend around your classes.
4. DC Courts Passport to Work Youth Employment Services Program
Location: District of Columbia Courts, Washington, D.C.
Cost: Free; the D.C. Government pays you for your work
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Not published
Program Dates: Not listed by the DC Courts
Application Deadline: Not specified
Eligibility: You can apply if you are a D.C. high school student. The DC Courts point to the Department of Employment Services for the qualification details.
In this program, D.C. high schoolers get paid work experience inside the DC Courts, which include the D.C. Court of Appeals and the Superior Court. Alongside your work, you attend seminars on topics that range from effective communication to time management. The courts do not list specific placements for this program, so your day-to-day work depends on where you are placed.
Why it stands out: It pays you through the D.C. Government and places you in a court system with about 120 judges and 24 magistrate judges.
5. State Bar Association of North Dakota High School Mock Trial Competition
Location: North Dakota
Cost: Free
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Teams of 6 to 9 students; statewide numbers are not published
Program Dates: Case release: November 23. State Tournament: March 20
Application Deadline: November 20
Eligibility: Open to grades 9 to 12 through a school team. A teacher or school registers the team.
The North Dakota Mock Trial gives your team a fictional case to try in front of a panel of judges and jurors. Attorneys work in teams of two or three on opening statements, direct and cross-examination, and closing arguments, and each side has three witnesses. You work side by side with attorneys and judges, and SBAND says it will help teams find an attorney coach. Registration goes through a teacher, so the first step is asking whether your school has a team.
Why it stands out: It is free, open to grades 9 to 12, and the only team-based competition on this list.
6. Atlanta Bar Association Summer Law Internship Program (SLIP)
Location: Atlanta metropolitan area, GA
Cost: A stipend of $2,000 is paid
Acceptance rate/cohort size: 36 interns
Program Dates: June 2 to July 23
Application Deadline: Applications available on or before February 5; due Thursday, March 18. In-person interviews are tentatively set for April 15
Eligibility: The Classes of 2027 and 2028 can apply in 2027. You must be free for the entire program with no conflicts.
Atlanta’s SLIP calls itself an all-in program, and the schedule shows it. Besides your placement, you attend mandatory orientations, a weekly All Intern Meeting (usually Wednesday evenings, 5:30 to 7:30 p.m.) with a guest speaker, and Progress Tests. You also write a short weekly enrichment assignment and a 750-word essay on a U.S. Supreme Court decision. Interns who arrive unprepared or break the dress code can be released from the program.
Why it stands out: It has already posted its full 2027 schedule and stipend, so you can plan around it now.
7. Manhattan District Attorney’s High School Internship Program (HSIP)
Location: Manhattan District Attorney’s Office, New York, NY; in person
Cost: Paid internship
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Not published
Program Dates: TBA (previous cohort: June 29 to July 31)
Application Deadline: TBA (previous cohort: February 27)
Eligibility: You must live in Manhattan, be a current junior or senior, and commit to the full five-week session.
The Manhattan DA’s HSIP is a five-week, in-person internship inside the District Attorney’s office. Workshops and discussions cover how the criminal justice system runs, and a mock trial program lets you try courtroom roles. You also build professional habits in an office setting. The office held a virtual info session on February 10, 2026, ahead of the deadline.
Why it stands out: It pairs a paid five-week job with a mock trial.
8. Miami-Dade State Attorney’s Office High School Volunteer Internship Program
Location: Office of the State Attorney, 1350 N.W. 12 Avenue, Miami, FL
Cost: Volunteer program
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Not published
Program Dates: Offered by semester; you commit to 16 to 20 hours per week for at least three months
Application Deadline: None listed
Eligibility: High school students can apply with the office’s high school and undergraduate internship application, and you must pass a criminal background check
The Miami-Dade State Attorney’s volunteer internship gives you hands-on tasks after an initial training period, such as attending bond hearings, researching case law, and running criminal history records. You may also evaluate whether evidence is enough to support prosecution. Placements include the Criminal Intake, Domestic Violence, and Victim/Witness units, and training covers ethics, court procedures, and trial practice. Many interns earn school credit.
Why it stands out: It is the most hands-on prosecutor placement here, with real tasks and school credit.
9. Nashville Bar Association High School Intern Summer Program
Location: Law firms, corporate legal departments, and government law offices in Metro Nashville, TN
Cost: Both paid and unpaid internships are offered
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Not published
Program Dates: TBA (previous cohort: June 1 to July 17, with orientation on Friday, May 29)
Application Deadline: TBA (previous cohort: March 27)
Eligibility: Open to diverse students who graduated in 2026 and rising seniors (graduating in 2027)
The Nashville Bar Association High School Intern Summer Program lets you work about 6 to 8 hours every workday in a Metro Nashville legal office, so it feels like a real job. An orientation introduces you to the law office environment, and Lunch and Learn sessions run alongside your placement. The Bar Association’s Diversity Committee runs the program. Some placements are paid, and some are unpaid.
Why it stands out: The schedule is close to a full workday, which is rare for a high school law program.
10. Dallas Bar Association Summer Law Intern Program (SLIP)
Location: Dallas-area law firms and corporate legal departments
Cost: Not specified
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Not published
Program Dates: TBA (previous cohort: Session 1, June 8 to July 3; Session 2, July 6 to July 31; or the full session, June 8 to July 31)
Application Deadline: TBA (previous cohort: April 1)
Eligibility: Dallas ISD high school juniors only
The Dallas Bar Association’s Summer Law Intern Program places Dallas ISD juniors in law firms and corporate legal departments for up to eight weeks. A committee reviews applications and places you based on your interests and availability. The bar association then emails your internship offer letter and placement details. It is a joint effort with the Dallas Independent School District.
Why it stands out: You can choose a four-week session or the full eight weeks.
11. Suit Up for the Future High School Summer Legal Institute and Intern Program
Location: Louisiana State Bar Association, 601 St. Charles Ave., New Orleans, LA; you arrange your own transportation and housing
Cost: Free
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Not published
Program Dates: TBA (previous cohort: June 8 to 26)
Application Deadline: TBA (previous cohort: May 4)
Eligibility: Incoming high school juniors, incoming seniors, and recent graduates entering their first year of college. You must commit to all three weeks.
Suit Up for the Future is a three-week institute that gives you a taste of law school. You learn criminal law and legal research and writing through the Socratic method, then turn a mock legal problem into a legal memorandum and an oral argument. In the most recent cohort, interns argued before a panel of judges at the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana. In the middle of the program, you shadow at law offices, courts, and agencies.
Why it stands out: It is free and ends with an oral argument before judges in a federal courthouse.
12. Maryland Youth & the Law Law Links Internship
Location: Baltimore, MD
Cost: Paid, full-time internship
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Not published; MYLaw reports 951 interns in 32 years
Program Dates: TBA (seven weeks in the summer)
Application Deadline: TBA (previous cohort: extended to April 3, 2026)
Eligibility: You must be a rising junior or senior at a Baltimore City public high school and live in Baltimore City. No legal or professional experience is required.
Law Links is a seven-week, full-time paid internship in a Baltimore law firm or law-related agency. Alongside your placement, you attend the Law & Leadership Institute, a 50-hour seminar at the University of Maryland Francis King Carey School of Law. Your application needs a transcript with attendance, three letters of recommendation, a typed letter of interest, and a YouthWorks verification form.
Why it stands out: It asks for no legal experience, and 951 interns have come through it in 32 years.
13. Massachusetts Judicial Youth Corps (JYC) Program
Location: Courthouses in Boston, Worcester, and Springfield, MA
Cost: Paid. Boston pays $15 per hour for 25 hours a week, and the Friday education sessions are paid.
Acceptance rate/cohort size: 25 interns in Boston, 10 in Worcester, and 6 in Springfield
Program Dates: TBA (previous cohort: Boston ran July 1 to August 14, 2026)
Application Deadline: TBA (previous cohort: Boston applications were rolling, with interviews beginning February 9; Worcester and Springfield closed April 10)
Eligibility: Boston: you must live in Boston, attend Boston Public Schools, and be in grades 10 to 12 (grades 11 and 12 get priority), with good academic standing, good attendance, and a Social Security number. Worcester and Springfield: you must attend a high school in that city.
The Judicial Youth Corps places you in a courthouse Monday to Thursday and in paid law-related sessions on Fridays. Boston sessions have included a jail visit, a crime lab visit, shadowing a judge, and trial observation, and you can opt into a mock trial in federal court in August. Judges, lawyers, clerks, and probation officers volunteer to teach and supervise you.
Why it stands out: It pays you for both the courthouse work and the Friday learning sessions.
14. Thurgood Marshall Summer Law Internship Program (TMSLIP)
Location: Legal employers in New York City
Cost: Paid; your employer partner pays you, not the NYC Bar Association
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Not published
Program Dates: TBA (six to eight weeks in the summer)
Application Deadline: TBA (previous cohort: applications ran December 15, 2025, to January 12)
Eligibility: You must be a New York City public high school student.
TMSLIP is a six- to eight-week paid summer internship that has placed New York City public high schoolers with legal employers since 1993. The NYC Bar Association’s diversity office runs it, and 2026 was its 32nd year. Your employer partner is your actual employer. The program also adds training before, during, and after the summer.
Why it stands out: It has run since 1993 and adds training before, during, and after the summer.
What can you start before junior year?
A handful of these accept you as a freshman or sophomore. The North Dakota mock trial is open to grades 9 to 12, the ACLU institute accepts ages 15 to 18, and the Himes district office takes any high school student. Law Links is open to rising juniors, so you apply the spring before junior year. Boston’s Judicial Youth Corps accepts grades 10 to 12.
Some close the door early. Atlanta’s SLIP says freshmen and sophomores cannot apply in 2027. Starting in 2028, it will accept current juniors, returning 2027 interns, and seniors who applied in 2027 or finished the Robert Benham Law Camp or the State Bar Mock Trial Academy. If none of these are near you, our guide to online law programs for high school students lists options you can do from home.
Where else can you look for law programs?
If you live in New York, Maryland, or Massachusetts, our state guides cover more local options: law programs in NYC, law programs in Maryland, and law programs in Massachusetts.
For longer or more intensive options, see our lists of summer law programs and paid law programs.
Thinking about a research paper on a legal question?
The activities above put you inside courts, offices, and campaigns. If you want to spend a full term on one legal question, the Horizon Academic Research Program is a selective online program that pairs you 1:1 with a professor or PhD scholar. You finish with a 20-page research paper written in an academic style, and law-related topics include criminal, civil, corporate, property, tort, and constitutional law.
What you might still be wondering about these law activities
It depends on the program. A few of the court and prosecutor programs have you watching hearings, shadowing judges, or presenting an argument before a panel of judges, while the law firm and legal department placements are mostly office work. The mock trial option gives you a courtroom role on a team.
No. Several of these say outright that you do not need legal or advocacy experience, and none of them list a law class as a requirement. A few do ask for an interest in law, government, or the legal profession.
It varies a lot. Some are small, like a federal program with 30 positions for 100 senators or a bar association internship that picked 36 interns in 2026, while the statewide mock trial competition is free for any school team to register. For a longer, more rigorous option, the Horizon Academic Research Program offers a trimester of 1:1 mentorship that culminates in a 20-page research paper.
No. Several run during the school year, including semester sessions in Washington, a spring office cohort, and a mock trial season that runs from fall to March, while the summer internships last from 10 days to about eight weeks. If you want more options by season, see our guide to summer law programs for high school students.
Image source: Horizon Academic Research Program