OP here. Thank you all for comments.

To clarify: she is a German citizen at a German law school and she would accept an unpaid internship. She realizes German and U.S. law are different - i believe it is part of the curriculum that they encourage students to study outside the country to get broader perspective.. She is looking at the DC metro area only.

I am unfamiliar with the summer associate/hiring practices. Is there a difference between being a summer associate and other type of "internship"? Does anyone know if these are listed/advertised anywhere, i.e. is there a job search/internship search web site where opportunities would be advertised (that would be appropriate for law students)?

Would it be worthwhile to put together a letter/resume/recommendation and approach department heads (and/or are there other people/positions within a firm more likely to take notice?) of various firms? I should note she attends a top law school (University of Heidelberg) and speaks fluent English and Spanish in addition to native German.

Thank you again for the help!

Is she an American who lives in Germany, or is she a Germsn citizen?

There were German law students every year at my law firm when I was an associate in the 90s, unpaid of course. That was because a particular lawyer had German business and German contacts. I have fond memories of them, they were a lot of fun. They also worked for trade associations.

I wouldn't say this is standard practice. I think it's a matter of the business the law firm is developing, and its contacts.

Anonymous wrote:My niece, who lives in Germany, is in her second year of law school and is looking for a 4-6 week internship (in late summer 2012) at a U.S. law firm.
Does anyone know whether it is a standard practice for U.S. firms to take on foreign student interns, and if so, how she should
go about applying? Any particular firms she should approach? She is willing to work in any type of law, just wants the experience. Any other advice on
how to secure a good internship experience for her would be appreciated. Thanks!!

It is not standard practice. At all. She should undstand that the law that she's learning in Germany bears little resemblance to US law. She should be looking at the German offices of US firms, if she wants to get her foot in the door.

I have no idea if they do internships, but a friend of mine used to work for this law firm. I met many attorneys there and liked them very much. One is German-American and very involved in international law. It might be worth inquiring.

http://bcr.us/2006/en/areas-of-practice.shtml

If she's looking to be a summer associate and later a permanent hire, she needs to investigate whether she will be able to sit for the bar in a U.S. state.

I have a friend who went to law school in our country and could not get anything here. The firms claimed that they needed someone familiar with the law system in the US and not in a foreign country.

pp here, I suspect they offered her the internship mostly because it was unpaid.

The one intern we had in our practice group wrote a letter to the chair of our department asking for an internship, unpaid ofcourse. She sent in her resume along with letters of recommendation. The department chair called her in for an interview and she was with us for about a month.

Well, is she looking for a paid internship? Is she trying to get biglaw? Getting a summer associate position at a large law firm is extremely, extremely difficult in this economy (and OCI has already passed, so I assume the hiring is pretty much finalized by now). Or is she just looking for any internship at any law firm, paid/unpaid?

Are you only looking for law firms in the DC area? My brother is working for a mediocre law firm in Dallas, and they're always hiring people, but they pay like $15/hr (not sure if that's what she's looking for).

My niece, who lives in Germany, is in her second year of law school and is looking for a 4-6 week internship (in late summer 2012) at a U.S. law firm.
Does anyone know whether it is a standard practice for U.S. firms to take on foreign student interns, and if so, how she should
go about applying? Any particular firms she should approach? She is willing to work in any type of law, just wants the experience. Any other advice on
how to secure a good internship experience for her would be appreciated. Thanks!!