Legal Summer Institute

The Legal Summer Institute (LSI) is a unique in-house and law firm experience where underrepresented 2L law school students are invited to spend the first week of the program at Google Headquarters in Silicon Valley immersed in legal knowledge sessions followed by a full summer internship with one of our partner law firms around the country.  LSI aims to improve access to in-house careers at tech companies by expanding opportunities and removing barriers for underrepresented talent in the legal industry.

LSI scholars are a diverse group of students with interests across all legal practice areas. We consider full-time and part-time 2L students who are attending school in the US. Students who identify with a group that is historically underrepresented in the technology industry, including but not limited to Black+, Latinx+, and Native American+ students, students with disabilities, LGBTQ+ students, and veterans are especially encouraged to apply.

Objectives LSI measures success through four objectives:

1. Providing underrepresented scholars with summer internships at prestigious law firms

2. Providing early exposure to the in-house experience at Google for underrepresented students

3. Sharing information across the corporate sector regarding best practices to build a legal internship program that develops underrepresented talent

4. Improving diversity within law firms, especially Google’s outside counsel

We encourage LSI scholars to participate in Google’s learning and development culture through a week of dynamic and skill-based learning opportunities to enhance their legal skillset.

Law Firm Participation

LSI is a paid opportunity and we request that all participating partner firms pay Scholars the same weekly rate as their other summer associates, for one week at Google and the full summer program with the participating law firm.

There are no specific requirements regarding LSI Scholars’ law firm work assignments, however we recommend that assignments provide a good balance of quality and quantity and contain substance and variety.

We expect that LSI Scholars accepted for a summer internship by the firm receive the same consideration for full time employment upon completion of their internship as all other summer interns.

Mentorship

The program enables LSI scholars to develop their networking skills by connecting with and investing in a mentor. A mentor is an unbiased resource, untied to the scholar’s work, who will aid in the scholar’s development by expanding their Googler network, providing legal career advice, sharing insight into outside counsel firms and building an authentic relationship.

Exposure

The LSI team facilitates candid conversations with leaders throughout their week at Google. Past speakers include Kent Walker (Google Chief Legal Officer) and Halimah DeLaine Prado (Google General Counsel).

Community and Diversity

LSI scholars and Google Legal Team members are able to pursue interests and participate in the company’s inclusive culture, in which everyone is a hands-on contributor and encouraged to share ideas and opinions. Scholars, who represent a diverse set of backgrounds and have an array of unique skills, are encouraged to engage with and learn from Googlers through virtual workshops and social events throughout the week.