How to hire a legal extern

How to hire a legal extern, step by step

Here's a step-by-step legal extern hiring guide:

• Step 1: Identify your hiring needs
• Step 2: Create an ideal candidate profile
• Step 3: Make a budget
• Step 4: Write a legal extern job description
• Step 5: Post your job
• Step 6: Interview candidates
• Step 7: Send a job offer and onboard your new legal extern
• Step 8: Go through the hiring process checklist

What does a legal extern do?

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1. Identify your hiring needs

   Before you start hiring a legal extern, identify what type of worker you actually need. Certain positions might call for a full-time employee, while others can be done by a part-time worker or contractor.

   Determine employee vs contractor status

   Is the person you're thinking of hiring a US citizen or green card holder?

   Yes

   No

   A legal extern's background is also an important factor in determining whether they'll be a good fit for the position. For example, legal externs from different industries or fields will have radically different experiences and will bring different viewpoints to the role. You also need to consider the candidate's previous level of experience to make sure they'll be comfortable with the job's level of seniority.

   This list shows salaries for various types of legal externs.

   Type of Legal Extern	Description	Hourly rate
   Legal Extern	Lawyers advise and represent individuals, businesses, and government agencies on legal issues and disputes.	$11-44
   Housing Counselor	A Housing Counselor works directly with clients and organizations to support moderate and low-income clients in overcoming barriers to housing and financial stability. They represent the homeowner in interventions and/or mediation proceedings with the mortgage servicer, lender, and/or other stakeholders.	$20-69
   Attorney At Law	An Attorney at Law is responsible for preparing and examining contracts involving leases, licenses, purchases, sales, etc. They advise clients concerning business transactions, claim liability, or legal rights and obligations.	$33-79

   Show more

2. Create an ideal candidate profile

   Common skills:

   • Litigation
   • Legal Intern
   • Legal Issues
   • Legal Memos
   • Intellectual Property
   • Pre-Trial Motions
   • Real Estate
   • PowerPoint
   • Subpoenas
   • Court Proceedings
   • Interrogatories
   • Law Firm
   • Employment Law
   • Juris

   Check all skills

   Responsibilities:

   • Create PowerPoint presentation used to train staff on managing copyright and trademark infringement risk.
   • Research various aspects of criminal law; write inter-office memos defining the present juris prudence of issue research.
   • Train attorneys and librarians to use the Lexis-Nexis legal research system.
   • Proofread and edit attorney work product (grammar, usage, and content . )
   • Hire by criminal defense and plaintiff's personal injury attorneys on a case basis.
   • Proofread and edit legal documents for correct spelling, grammar, punctuation, syntax, format, and content.

   More legal extern duties

3. Make a budget

   Including a salary range in your legal extern job description helps attract top candidates to the position. A legal extern salary can be affected by several factors, such as geography, experience, seniority, certifications, and the prestige of the hiring company.

   For example, the average salary for a legal extern in Louisiana may be lower than in New York, and an entry-level legal extern usually earns less than a senior-level legal extern. Additionally, a legal extern with certifications may command a higher salary, and working for a well-known company or start-up may also impact an employee's pay.

   Average legal extern salary

   $47,238yearly

   $22.71 hourly rate

   ---

   Entry-level legal extern salary

   $23,000 yearly salary

   Updated December 28, 2025

   Average legal extern salary by state

   Rank	State	Avg. salary	Hourly rate
   1	District of Columbia	$105,799	$51
   2	California	$93,235	$45
   3	New York	$91,972	$44
   4	New Jersey	$81,806	$39
   5	Connecticut	$81,732	$39
   6	Virginia	$78,784	$38
   7	Pennsylvania	$77,258	$37
   8	New Hampshire	$76,186	$37
   9	Maryland	$75,052	$36
   10	Illinois	$74,422	$36
   11	Oregon	$60,705	$29
   12	Washington	$58,625	$28
   13	Arizona	$51,995	$25
   14	Texas	$50,988	$25
   15	North Carolina	$50,473	$24
   16	Georgia	$49,649	$24
   17	Colorado	$49,647	$24
   18	Ohio	$49,309	$24
   19	Hawaii	$44,066	$21
   20	Kansas	$43,420	$21

   Average legal extern salary by company

   Company

   Rank	Company	Average salary	Hourly rate	Job openings
   1	Jones Day	$184,968	$88.93
   2	eBay	$143,061	$68.78
   3	AbbVie	$142,767	$68.64
   4	Dolby Laboratories	$134,727	$64.77
   5	JPMorgan Chase & Co.	$132,261	$63.59	3
   6	Qorvo	$125,056	$60.12
   7	Bloom Energy	$124,129	$59.68	4
   8	AARP	$121,310	$58.32	1
   9	Red Hat	$119,758	$57.58
   10	Foxit	$116,431	$55.98
   11	Raymond James Financial	$114,192	$54.90	4
   12	Ball	$111,987	$53.84
   13	Weatherford International	$111,293	$53.51
   14	AssetMark	$107,219	$51.55
   15	Teva Pharmaceuticals	$105,484	$50.71
   16	Exelon	$101,857	$48.97
   17	Formlabs	$97,171	$46.72	1
   18	Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (finra)	$95,849	$46.08
   19	First Cash Financial Services	$92,770	$44.60
   20	ACLU of Illinois	$89,090	$42.83	47

4. Writing a legal extern job description

   A job description for a legal extern role includes a summary of the job's main responsibilities, required skills, and preferred background experience. Including a salary range can also go a long way in attracting more candidates to apply, and showing the first name of the hiring manager can also make applicants more comfortable. As an example, here's a legal extern job description:

   Legal extern job description example

   Ocean Spray's legal and government affairs department is currently seeking an energetic, self-motivated law student to learn about and help handle matters facing the cooperative. The legal intern will work closely with in-house counsel and the broader team across a variety of issues. The Ocean Spray legal and government affairs team has a dynamic practice and handles all legal work for the company, including matters related to intellectual property, employment, contracts, antitrust, privacy, food & beverage labelling and advertising, litigation, and international law matters.
   
   Position location: We're all about flexibility! This will be a hybrid role based out of our corporate headquarters in Lakeville, MA with Mondays and Fridays being remote.
   A Day in the Life of a Legal Intern:
   Conduct legal research Review, draft, and revise business agreements Assist in litigation management for in-house discovery activities Draft legal correspondence across all functions. What We're Looking For:
   Currently enrolled in an ABA accredited Juris Doctor or LLM degree program, preferably in their second or third year of the program, however, will consider outstanding first year students. Minimum cumulative GPA 3.0 Team player with ability to work independently Ability to prioritize and manage multiple projects simultaneously while also managing critical deadlines. Strong verbal and written communication skills
   Compensation/Benefits Competitive hourly wage Direct exposure to Senior Leadership Team Where applicable: one-time relocation stipend to assist with relocation costs for the Summer Fun & Informative events which may include plant tours, bog tour and more! Interact and network with other interns across a variety of job functions Work cross functionally for a purpose-driven, farmer-owned co-operative
   
   Who We Are:
   You might have our iconic cranberry juice in your fridge or have gotten into heated holiday debate about what's better - canned or fresh cranberry sauce. But did you know that the hardworking people growing the superfruit in our products are 700 family farmers that own our cooperative? They entrust us with what is most precious to them to create new and innovative products that will delight consumers and grow this beloved brand today and into the future.Team members, farmers, consumers and communities alike--we value what makes us unique and strive to connect our farms to families for a better life by living our values:
   Grower Mindset - We embrace our grower-owners innovative spirit and heritage through confidence, learning and focus on the future.Sustainable Results - Guided by purpose, we are focused on delivering results for our grower-owners.Integrity Above All - We are ethical, doing the right thing for our grower-owners, customers, consumers and each other Inclusive Teamwork - We build diverse and inclusive teams that strengthen our cooperative.
   
   All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability or veteran status.

   Copy this example

   

5. Post your job

   To find legal externs for your business, try out a few different recruiting strategies:

   • Consider internal talent. One of the most important talent pools for any company is its current employees.
   • Ask for referrals. Reach out to friends, family members, and your current work to ask if they know any legal externs they would recommend.
   • Recruit at local colleges. Attend job fairs at local colleges to recruit entry-level legal externs with the right educational background.
   • Social media platforms. LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter have more than 3.5 billion users, and they're a great place for company branding and reaching potential job candidates.

   Post your job online:

   • Post your legal extern job on Zippia to find and recruit legal extern candidates who meet your exact specifications.
   • Use field-specific websites.
   • Post a job on free websites.

6. Interview candidates

   During your first interview to recruit legal externs, engage with candidates to learn about their interest in the role and experience in the field. During the following interview, you'll be able to go into more detail about the company, the position, and the responsibilities.

   It's also good to ask about candidates' unique skills and talents. You can move on to the technical interview if a candidate is good enough for the next step.

   The right interview questions can help you assess a candidate's hard skills, behavioral intelligence, and soft skills.

7. Send a job offer and onboard your new legal extern

   Once you've selected the best legal extern candidate for the job, it's time to write an offer letter. In addition to salary, this letter should include details about the benefits and perks you offer the candidate. Ensuring that your offer is competitive is essential, as qualified candidates may be considering other job opportunities. The candidate may wish to negotiate the terms of the offer, and you should be open to discussion. After you reach an agreement, the final step is formalizing the agreement with a contract.

   You should also follow up with applicants who don't get the job with an email letting them know that you've filled the position.

   To prepare for the new employee's start date, you can create an onboarding schedule and complete any necessary paperwork, such as employee action forms and onboarding documents like I-9 forms, benefits enrollment, and federal and state tax forms. Human Resources should also ensure that a new employee file is created.

8. Go through the hiring process checklist

   • Determine employee type (full-time, part-time, contractor, etc.)
   • Submit a job requisition form to the HR department
   • Define job responsibilities and requirements
   • Establish budget and timeline
   • Determine hiring decision makers for the role
   • Write job description
   • Post job on job boards, company website, etc.
   • Promote the job internally
   • Process applications through applicant tracking system
   • Review resumes and cover letters
   • Shortlist candidates for screening
   • Hold phone/virtual interview screening with first round of candidates
   • Conduct in-person interviews with top candidates from first round
   • Score candidates based on weighted criteria (e.g., experience, education, background, cultural fit, skill set, etc.)
   • Conduct background checks on top candidates
   • Check references of top candidates
   • Consult with HR and hiring decision makers on job offer specifics
   • Extend offer to top candidate(s)
   • Receive formal job offer acceptance and signed employment contract
   • Inform other candidates that the position has been filled
   • Set and communicate onboarding schedule to new hire(s)
   • Complete new hire paperwork (i9, benefits enrollment, tax forms, etc.)

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