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The Montana Department of Transportation is recruiting for a Summer Legal Internship position. All applicants must be enrolled in a College, University, or Tech School. If applicant is not currently enrolled in a College, University or Tech School the application will not be considered for a position.

  • One intern will be hired from this posting.
  • Interns will work in Legal Services Division in Helena MT.  
  • Interns do not receive benefits such as paid holidays, medical coverage, earned vacation, or sick leave. Work schedule will be 40 hours a week during the summer.

    Please check out the following link to view the 2023 MDT Intern experiences:2023 MDT Interns - YouTube
  • Pay is determined by credit hours earned by the end of Spring semester 2024:
    60-90 credit hours = $18.96
    91+ credit hours = $19.75

Summer duties to be performed:

  • Areas of Law: Transportation Law; Property Law; Construction Law; Constitutional Law; Environmental and Natural Resources Law; Administrative Law; Water Law; MEPA and NEPA; Indian Law; Employment Law; Contracts Law
  • Lawyering Skills: Legal research and writing; Litigation support; Alternative Dispute Resolution; Legislation drafting
  • Sample Projects: Research transportation, property rights and eminent domain/inverse condemnation issues; draft motions and assist with discovery responses; attend scheduling conferences, depositions, trials (jury and non-jury); participate in mediations and right-of-way negotiations; draft contracts, memorandums of understanding, and conservation easements; work with local government officials on maintenance issues. 

MDT's primary responsibilities include highway planning and design, highway construction and maintenance, contract administration, property acquisition, motor fuel collection and enforcement, highway, bridge and rest area maintenance, enforcement of vehicle weight and dimension laws, public transportation, rail programs, and aeronautics, and management of the state motor pool.  MDT is the second largest state government agency, behind DPHHS, with approximately 7,000 employees.  MDT has five (5) district offices in the State, located in Billings, Butte, Glendive, Great Falls, and Missoula. Within the Missoula district is the Kalispell area office.   

MDT’s Legal Services is based in Helena.  There are currently 8 attorneys, one of which is located in the Missoula District, and one is in Bozeman.  The attorneys each specialize in a variety of litigation and general counsel activities for the agency, ranging from construction claims, right-of-way negotiations, outdoor advertising, dyed fuel tax issues, condemnation proceedings, contract claims, tort claims, bankruptcy claims, human resource claims, and environmental law issues, which may include water rights, property law, conservation easements, wetland mitigation, hazardous waste claims, and MEPA-NEPA issues.  MDT attorneys appear in district and federal court prosecuting and defending lawsuits, administrative hearings involving the agency, and Supreme Court appeals.  With regard to general counsel activities, MDT attorneys assist agency directors with contracts, administrative rules, drafting and reviewing proposed legislation, and environmental documents and compliance, and providing day-to-day legal advice to agency personnel and may require periodic updates with the Director’s Office as well as the Governor’s Office.

The legal intern will be asked to provide MDT with assistance in many of these legal services, including legal and factual research, deposition preparation and discovery responses, drafting pleadings and correspondence, legal analysis and problem solving, and will be asked to attend internal and public meetings, scheduling conferences, depositions, jury and non-jury trials with the supervising attorneys.

 

Must be currently enrolled in College, University, or Tech School or can be in graduate school working on a Legal degree at the time of application. Undergraduate applicants need to be at least entering junior year or have completed at least 60 credit hours. If an applicant is enrolled in a Tech School (2-year program) the credit minimum is 30 credits hours.

The Montana Department of Transportation is an equal opportunity employer. Women, racial and ethnic minorities, people with disabilities, and veterans and disabled veterans are encouraged to apply. People with disabilities needing assistance in the application process, or those needing this job announcement in an alternative format may call the Human Resources and Occupational Safety Division, at 406.444.6054.

The Montana Department of Transportation (MDT) is committed to continuous improvement of our employee safety program and our safety and health processes, and to achieving an injury-free workplace.