Federal Defenders is the Federal Community Defender Organization for the Southern District of California. Our office is appointed to represent indigent people accused of federal crimes which are prosecuted by the U.S Attorney’s Office. Our office is located in downtown San Diego with a satellite office in El Centro. Our office is within walking distance of the federal courthouse and detention centers.

We represent clients facing a wide variety of charges including drug and immigration related offenses, fraud, bank robbery, terrorism, counterfeiting, assault, firearms, and child pornography. We are one of the busiest offices in the nation, mainly because of our proximity to the Mexican border. Our office has approximately 65 attorneys, 17 investigators, 5 Mitigation Specialists and 5 Assistant Investigators.

Intern Investigators that assist our office must be fluently bilingual in speaking and understanding (English/Spanish). Work hours are Monday – Friday, 9:00 am to 5:00 pm. Our office asks interns to complete a minimum of 160-hours.

Investigator interns will have the opportunity to work closely with our team of investigators and assistant investigators to complete the following tasks –

• Review case discovery, to include law enforcement reports, videos, and audio recordings.
• Analyze and summarize portions of the case discovery.
• Create calendars, charts, timelines, and maps to assist with investigations.
• Assist with preparing attorneys for daily court activities.
• Assist with obtaining court, medical, and education records.
• Observe court hearings and jury trials.
• Provide additional support, as needed, to the investigation team.

If interested in applying for the internship please send your resume and cover letter in .pdf format to Assistant Chief Investigator Jack Alcantara, J.D. [email protected]