The Federal Public Defender’s Office is a friendly and social community with hardworking attorneys from a wide variety of backgrounds.  Paid and volunteer internships for law school students are available during the summer.  The summer program lasts for up to fourteen weeks if paid.  Splitting summers is discouraged.  Fall and spring semester externships are also available during the school year. 

Through these programs, law students gain a vast array of experience in criminal defense law.  Students have the opportunity to write motions and briefs, and to follow up on that work with visits to jail, client interviews, and court appearances throughout North Carolina’s Eastern District.  They also work one-on-one with attorneys and investigators and gain exposure to all stages of criminal cases including initial appearances, plea negotiations with the U.S. Attorneys Office, trials and appellate work.  Interns interested in gaining practical litigation experience may, through the North Carolina Third Year Practice Rule, represent clients in Federal misdemeanor court.  Interns have the chance to learn from and work with Thomas P. McNamara, the second attorney in the nation to be appointed as both a United States Attorney and Federal Public Defender (2000 to present). 

The types of crimes the FPD’s clients are charged with include:

1. firearms offenses - felon in possession of a firearm
2. drug trafficking crimes - cocaine, crack, and marijuana possession, distribution, & multi-state drug conspiracies
3. immigration violations - illegal reentry
4. white collar crimes - fraud and tax evasion
5. child pornography - possession, manufacture, and interstate trafficking

The FPD office represents indigent clients against convictions at trial, or where appropriate, by bargaining for plea agreements, and if a client is convicted, by obtaining a just and fair sentence.  As interns, students work on cases dealing with hot new topics and help shape criminal and sentencing law in the 4th Circuit Court of Appeals.

For more information on summer internships or fall/spring semester externships with the Federal Public Defender’s Office, please contact Vidalia Patterson at 919-856-4236.  Students who wish to apply for an internship or externship with our office should mail a resume, transcript, and cover letter to:

Vidalia V. Patterson
Research and Writing Attorney
Office of the Federal Public Defender
150 Fayetteville St., Suite 450
Raleigh, NC 27601

For an intern's perspective of a summer internship with the FPD, please read FPD Model Intern Program

NOTICE:  Our intern program has currently filled positions through Summer 2010.  We will accept applications for the Summer 2011 program beginning in August 2010.  If you have questions, please contact Vidalia Patterson at vidalia_patterson@fd.org.