Gillis Long Poverty Law Center Places 50+ Law Students in Paid Summer Internships

Exterior of Loyola University New Orleans College of Law Stuart H. Smith Law Clinic

By Loyola University on Wed, 08/26/2026 - 13:17 College of Law

For more than 30 years, the College of Law has facilitated representation of low-income people through the Gillis Long Poverty Law Center. Access to civil legal services is transformative for low-income and vulnerable people. The center was founded to give students and graduates the opportunity to engage in lawyering for those who would not otherwise have access to legal services.

Gillis Long gives Loyola law students opportunities to serve the greater good while supplementing their coursework with real-world legal research and practice. Through paid summer internship programs in both civil and criminal law, Gillis Long matches law students with legal services offices in Louisiana and throughout the United States. Interns gain valuable legal experience and skills while assisting the community.

For Summer 2026, Gillis Long received more than 130 applications and placed 49 interns in the civil law program. Combined, these interns earned a total of $350,000. For the criminal justice program, Gillis Long also matched eight students in the criminal justice program, with earnings totalling $58,500.

Mickey Hayes, '20, JD '28, spent his summer at Southeast Louisiana Legal Services in its tenant's rights unit. He wrote memos, pleadings, and demand letters; conducted client interviews and follow-ups; attended trials and court proceedings; and researched various legal topics.

"My courses at Loyola prepared me by teaching me the basics of legal research and writing," Mickey said. "With those tools, I was able to succeed in the role and contribute meaningfully to the work of the attorneys at SLLS. The Gillis Long program has been by far the most impactful experience of my legal career so far."

Stephen Faulk, JD '28, worked at the Orleans Public Defender's Office, gaining experience in the trials division. He credits Loyola's Louisiana criminal law classes and the Lawyering Program for first-year law students in preparing him for his internship.

"The clients I worked with and for are real people dealing with real life-changing issues that, frankly, have little other options left," Stephen said. "The opportunity to be present and to be trusted to work on those issues was especially meaningful and, in no uncertain terms, inspired a passion for using the law as a means for the betterment of people’s lives."