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TN Dept of Ag - Legal Internship

Tennessee Department of Agriculture
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Tennessee Department of Agriculture

Legal Internship, Office of General Counsel

 

The Tennessee Department of Agriculture, Office of General Counsel, is seeking an intern for the summer of 2026 (May 18, 2026 – August 14, 2026). The chosen candidate will work in the Office of General Counsel alongside staff attorneys in order to gain a deep understanding of state government, agricultural law, and agriculture regulation in the state of Tennessee.

Location: 

   Ellington Agricultural Center

   Moss Administration Building

   440 Hogan Road, Nashville, TN 37220

 

Major Duties:

 

Records Requests and Production:

  • Receive and review approximately 70 – 100 requests for public records of the Department of Agriculture;
  • Review requests with applicable records coordinators and program directors for identification of responsive records;
  • Review and redact as appropriate public records prior to production, for compliance with applicable state and federal laws;
  • Draft and issue all correspondence to requestors necessary to comply with state Public Records Act.

 

Rule Review and Amendment:

  • Review comprehensive regulatory report submitted to legislature for planned amendment or repeal of departmental rules;
  • Draft comprehensive amendment, repeal, reorganization of departmental rules for two rule chapters to be identified with General Counsel;
  • Compose notices to key stakeholders for review/input for review and input regarding planned changes of departmental rules and attend informal meetings with stakeholders for receipt of their feedback;
  • Draft notice of hearing documents for compliance with the Uniform Administrative Procedures Act in amending the identified chapters.

 

 

 

Administrative Duties:

  • Attend various ride-along evaluations with regulatory inspectors for understanding of key functions/programs within department of agriculture;
  • Support multiple staff attorneys in review or composition of planned enforcement actions relative to regulatory programs;
  • Assist with the inventory of form/publication numbers for documents within the Office of General Counsel and their alignment with statutory publication requirements;
  • Assist and attend Assistant Commissioner level staff meetings and briefings.

 

Other duties may be assigned as needed.

 

Education Requirements:

  • Applicants must possess a baccalaureate degree and currently be a candidate for completion of a juris doctorate with an ABA or state accredited law school. 
  • Applicants must be in good academic standing with a GPA of 2.5 or higher. 

 

Essential Knowledge and Required Skills: 

  • Strong interpersonal, communication, and organizational skills.
  • Applicants must be able to plan and execute projects with limited supervision or instruction.
  • Familiarity with Microsoft Office.
  • General knowledge and understanding of agriculture and forestry systems is preferred.

 

Comments: 

  • This is a paid internship.
  • Some travel may be required.
  • All participants in the Tennessee Department of Agriculture’s Internship program are required to present details of their internship experience to executive staff. This presentation will be given to executive leadership during a luncheon at the end of the internship term.

For more information on the Tennessee Department of Agriculture please visit https://www.tn.gov/agriculture.html

 

Working Conditions: 

  • This internship is primarily office-based with the possibility of some travel along with the opportunity to work remotely at times. 

 

How to Apply:

To apply for this internship opportunity, please send the following documents to Jamye.Freeman@tn.gov:

  • Resume
  • Letter of intent
  • Most recent transcript
  • Two professional letters of recommendation
  • DD214 (veteran candidates only)

 

PLEASE NOTE: Once your application has been received, you will receive a confirmation email. If you do not receive a confirmation email, please reach out to Jamye.Freeman@tn.gov.

 

ALL APPLICATIONS MUST BE SUBMITTED BY FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 21, 2025.

 

Other Information:

The State of Tennessee and the Tennessee Department of Agriculture is an Equal Opportunity Employer. Pursuant to the State of Tennessee’s Workplace Discrimination and Harassment policy. The State is firmly committed to the principle of fair and equal employment opportunities for its citizens and strives to protect the rights and opportunities of all people to seek, obtain, and hold employment without being subjected to illegal discrimination and harassment in the workplace. It is the State’s policy to provide an environment free of discrimination and harassment of an individual because of that person’s race, color, national origin, age (40 and over), sex, pregnancy, religion, creed, disability, veterans status, or any other category protected by state of and/or federal civil rights laws.