A Flinders University law student has become the first Australian to be selected as a Judicial Intern at the Supreme Court of the United States.

Mr Robert Cooper, a fourth year student, began his internship at the start of this month and is looking forward to learning what life is like on the other side of the bench.

“From an Australian perspective, this internship is something out of left-field and an opportunity that will put me in good stead, not only from an academic standpoint but in terms of my knowledge of international law,” Mr Cooper said.

“There is no bigger stage in the legal profession than the Supreme Court of the United States, so this is a real opportunity for me to experience something new and different and wonderful, completely removed from everything I have experienced here at home,” he said.

The Judicial Internship Programme is a highly competitive programme, and Mr Cooper is one of only two interns serving in the Autumn Term.

He will be working inside the Office of the Administrative Assistant to the Chief Justice, alongside the Supreme Court Fellow. His duties will include assisting the Fellow with briefings to international visitors to the Court, administrative tasks and correspondence.

“My experiences during this internship won’t include practicing law, instead they will focus on developing my understanding of how the Court operates and how it exercises its power of judicial review,” he said.

Mr Cooper hopes he will have the chance to observe a few court hearings as well as take advantage of outside lectures and conferences and all that Washington, DC has to offer.