Tennessee Legal Diversity Coalition
We are here to connect legal employers and candidates with a demonstrated commitment to DEIB principles with meaningful opportunities in the Tennessee legal market.
Important Dates for Employers and Students
2024 Now Open
Program registration for employers
February 1, 2024
Job postings available on the TLDC website for law students
March 30, 2024
Registration closes for employers
Job Postings for Summer 2024
Chattanooga
Learn More
Deadline to Apply: January 22, 2024
Knoxville
Memphis
Nashville
Deadline to Apply: January 5, 2024
Other Geographic Areas
In-House and Law Firm Employer Information
Who is eligible to post an internship through TLDC?
Law firms seeking to post a 1L clerkship through the TLDC program must be an equal opportunity employer and must be a current sponsor of ACC Tennessee or ACC Global. Corporate partners participating in a 1L clerkship program through TLDC must be an employee of one or more ACC members. Each law firm hires a clerk who will also work with a partnering corporate legal department during the summer.
What is the process for participating in the TLDC Program?
Submissions to participate in the TLDC program are now open. Your firm must be a committed sponsor of ACC Tennessee or ACC Global for 2024 prior to registration, and your partnering corporate legal department must have at least one employee who is an active ACC member at the time of registration.
- Determine the number of TLDC Clerks your organization would like to host.
- Identify a partnering corporate legal department and negotiate the terms of the clerkship with your corporate partner. Pleaser review the Compensation Guidelines below.
- Prepare a draft job posting. Click here for an example job posting.
- Register with TLDC by sending an e-mail to ACC Tennessee with the subject line “TLDC Internship 2024.” Please provide the name of the firm, the name of the corporate legal department, the primary contacts for each and your draft job posting.
Upon submission, ACC Tennessee will review and confirm your participation for 2024.
What are the compensation guidelines for TLDC 1L Clerks?
We ask that law firms offer a minimum of five weeks paid summer work experience within the firm environment for their TLDC 1L clerk. We ask that corporate partners offer at least three weeks of summer work experience within the corporate legal department. Law firm members may agree to pay a salary to the summer clerkship for the entire period, including the time clerks are working with the corporate member. The entire period of the internship must be paid summer work. TLDC does not provide specific compensation guidelines but asks that interns receive market rate for working at their organization.
Law Student and Law School Career Office Information
Who is eligible to apply for an internship through TLDC?
Candidates must have a good academic record, strong writing ability, analytical and interpersonal skills, demonstrated self-confidence, and a commitment to contribute to DEIB efforts within the legal community.
What will the summer look like as a TLDC Clerk?
Because each of the TLDC clerkships are crafted through a partnership between a law firm and a corporate partner, each clerkship looks a little different. As a minimum requirement, a TLDC clerkship must offer 8 weeks of paid summer work experience within the law firm or the corporate legal department. Please read each job posting carefully to understand the internship being offered by those partners.
How are TLDC applicants recruited and selected?
TLDC promotes the program to Tennessee law schools, HBCU law schools in the Southeast, law schools with previous applications and other law schools in the Southeast. In Chattanooga, applicants apply and are selected through the Chattanooga Legal Diversity Consortium Program. In Nashville, applicants may apply through the Damali Booker 1L Minority Job Fair program. In Nashville and other areas of Tennessee, law students may apply directly to the participating law firms based on the job posting on the TLDC website; each law firm and its corporate partner are responsible for screening, selecting, and hiring the TLDC clerk for their position.
What should I prepare for applying for a TLDC clerkship?
Law students applying for a TLDC clerkship position should prepare a cover letter, resume, current law school transcript, and a brief personal statement concerning their commitment to DEIB principles and/or why they believe DEIB principles are important in the legal profession.
About the Tennessee Legal Diversity Coalition
The Tennessee Legal Diversity Coalition (“TLDC”) is facilitated by the Tennessee Chapter of the Association of Corporate Counsel’s Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Belonging (“DEIB”) Committee. The TLDC is a forum for corporate legal departments and law firms to connect with law students seeking clerkships in Tennessee designed to provide meaningful private law firm and corporate legal department summer work experience.. The goal of TLDC is to connect employers with aspiring attorneys who have demonstrated a commitment to DEIB principles. In addition to providing information on 1L clerkships available directly through ACC Tennessee member companies and sponsors, the TLDC provides information on regional 1L Clerkship programs facilitated by the Nashville Bar Association and the Chattanooga Legal Diversity Consortium.
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