Fall 2022 Paid Student Mediator Internship for Undergrads, $15+/hour

The New York State Office of the Attorney General (OAG) is seeking an undergraduate student to serve as a student mediator with the Nassau Regional Office during the 2022 fall semester. In addition to its other activities, the Nassau Regional Office's Consumer Frauds and Protection Unit prosecutes businesses and individuals engaged in fraudulent, misleading, deceptive or illegal trade practices, and mediates thousands of complaints each year from individual consumers. A large percentage of these complaints are resolved satisfactorily through an informal mediation process. The student mediator is an integral part of this mediation process.  

               

Student mediators act as consumer advocates in negotiating consumer complaints with merchants. Each student mediator is assigned a docket of consumer complaint files covering a broad range of consumer issues including retail sales, mail order transactions, credit transactions, telemarketing, warranty problems, home repair and automobiles.

 

The student is exposed to the Office’s procedures and philosophy and deals directly with consumers and merchants to resolve the complaints. Students are taught interviewing techniques and will have the opportunity to develop analytical skills as they learn to focus on the underlying issues to reach a resolution of each complaint. While each complaint is reviewed by a member of our professional staff, the students typically exercise significant discretion and independent judgment. Consumer Representatives and attorneys supervise the students.

 

The selected student will also have the opportunity to assist attorneys with their affirmative investigations including but not limited to the following: document review and analysis; responding to discovery requests; interviewing witnesses; preparing spreadsheets; and performing some clerical work.

 

1)     A hybrid placement option, which means students may report to their designated workstation up to two (2) days per week.

-       Since students working in this format will have an in-office presence, confirmation of their vaccination status is required. If students are not fully vaccinated, they may be required to provide regular negative COVID-19 PCR tests at a frequency determined by the agency. The agency will consider religious and reasonable accommodations. For more information, please contact recruitment@ag.ny.gov.

-       On the days students will be working remotely, they will need to have access to a reliable computer, a secure internet connection, a phone and a sufficiently quiet and private workspace to telework.

2)     A remote placement. Students in this placement format must have access to a reliable computer, a secure internet connection, a phone and a sufficiently quiet and private workspace to telework.

·      Applications for paid fall placements are being received online. To apply, please visit our careers website:

http://www.ag.ny.gov/job-postings.

·      Please apply to no more than three (3) bureaus/regional offices. Paid placements will be filled on a rolling basis.

·      Applications are submitted separately for each bureau/regional office, and an applicant’s candidacy for each application is determined separately by each bureau/regional office.

·      The following documents are required for each application that is submitted:

-       Submit only professional (i.e., supervisor or professor) references.

-       Indicate the nature and duration of your relationship to each reference.

-       Include contact information and email addresses for each reference.

-       Please note, your references will not be contacted until after you interview for the placement.

4.      Writing Sample

·    Failure to submit a complete application will delay the consideration of your candidacy.

·    Please submit your application for a fall placement at least three (3) weeks prior to any deadlines that could impact your candidacy and note this in your cover letter.

·    Please allow at least three (3) weeks for your application to be processed and reviewed by the hiring bureau/regional office. You may submit an application status request by clicking here.