Mediate Consumer Fraud Complaints, Externship for Credit

Division of Regional Affairs

Harlem Regional Office

Student Mediator Extern 

Reference No. HRO_EXT_SPR_2025

Spring Externship for Undergraduate Students | Application Deadline is January 31, 2025*

The Harlem Regional Office (HRO) of the Office of the New York State Attorney General has externships for academic credit available for undergraduate students who are interested in working as student mediators. In addition to other consumer mediation work, the HRO 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 successfully resolved through mediation. Student mediators play an integral role in the mediation process. Students serve as consumer advocates in negotiating complaints against merchants. Each mediator is assigned a docket of complaint files covering a broad range of consumer issues including retail sales, mail order transactions, credit transactions, immigration fraud, telemarketing, warranty matters, home repair, and automobile sales, among others. 

As mediators, students are taught interviewing techniques and develop their analytical skills as they learn to focus on the underlying issues for each complaint. While each complaint is reviewed by a member of our professional staff, students typically exercise significant discretion and independent judgment. Professional staff and attorneys are always available to answer questions. The position provides students a high degree of responsibility and requires them to exercise sound judgment. Student mediators also have access to the office’s investigatory and litigation work.  Applicants must be articulate, analytical, and organized. No specific experience is required.

Spring Program Details

• The format of this placement is hybrid. Students report to their designated workstation two or three (2-3)days per week. On the days students work remotely, they need a reliable computer, a secure internet connection, a phone, and a sufficiently quiet and private workspace to telework.
• At the time of students receive and accept an offer, they must provide written documentation from their schools confirming their acceptance into an externship program or an approved independent study. Additionally, this confirmation must include the following information:
• The appropriate externship contact at the school;
• The parameters of the externship, including the employer’s responsibilities;
• The required minimum/maximum work hours to be completed by the student; and
• The number of credits the student will receive upon completion of the placement.
• Students are encouraged to commit to work part-time (15 hours/week) during regular business hours for at least a semester (10-12 weeks) or the minimum stipulated by their externship or independent study.
• Applications are received online until January 31, 2025, and placement offers are made on a rolling basis.*
• Students who are hired for the spring program may begin their placements on January 22, 2025, or after. 
• United States (U.S.) citizenship and New York state residency are not required, but applicants must be eligible to be employed in the U.S.
• Applicants are encouraged to learn more about OAG bureaus and regional offices prior to submitting their applications by reviewing information that is available on the public website.

Candidates from diverse backgrounds are encouraged to apply.     

The OAG is an equal opportunity employer and is committed to workplace diversity.
 

How to Apply

The following section provides detailed information about the application process and application requirements. Please review the complete list of instructions prior to preparing and submitting your application materials online.

• Applications for spring externships must be submitted online. To apply, please visit 

HRO_EXT_SPR_2025

• 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.
• Applications are accepted online until January 31, 2025, and placement offers are made on a rolling basis.*
• The following four (4) documents must be submitted with your application:

Your documents should reflect your own thoughts/work product in text that was written by you. 

1. Cover Letter 

• You may choose to address your letter to the Legal Recruitment Unit.
• Indicate why you are interested in an externship with OAG and what makes you a strong candidate.
• You may wish to include information about what life experiences you will bring to the position that will enhance OAG’s ability to better serve the diverse population of this state. 

1. Resume

• Ensure your resume is complete and current prior to submitting your application.

1. List of three (3) references.

• Submit only professional (i.e., supervisor or professor) references.
• For each reference, indicate the nature and duration of your relationship.
• Include contact information and email addresses for each reference.
• Please note that your references will not be contacted until after you interview for the placement.

1. Writing Sample 

• Submit a paper completed for school or a writing sample that was prepared for a job or during an internship/externship.
• Submit a sample that demonstrates your ability to analyze and organize information into an effective document.
• We recommend submitting a sample that is 3-6 pages in length.
• If needed, please include a cover page providing the reviewer with any relevant background information or context. 
• Failure to submit a complete application will delay the consideration of your candidacy.
• Once submitted, you will not be able to access or edit your application. Therefore, we strongly encourage you to have someone review/proofread your documents ahead of submitting your application online.
• Please submit your application for a spring placement at least three (3) weeks before any deadlines that could impact your candidacy and note this in your cover letter
• If a bureau wishes to schedule an interview, they will contact you directly to arrange this meeting.

If you have questions about a placement with OAG, the application process, or need assistance with submitting your application, please contact Legal Recruitment via email at recruitment@ag.ny.gov.