ABOUT THE OPPORTUNITY
In July 2025, Congress passed the largest expansion of the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act (RECA) in history. Up to 75,000 American families became newly eligible to receive between $25,000 and $100,000+ in federal compensation for cancers and respiratory illnesses caused by nuclear weapons testing, uranium mining, and Manhattan Project waste exposure. As an intern on this team, you will directly help eligible claimants receive up to $100,000 in federal cancer compensation before the filing deadline.
These are families who have waited 50+ years for acknowledgment. Coldwater Creek mothers in suburban St. Louis. Trinity Test downwinders in rural New Mexico. Navajo uranium miners in the Four Corners. St. George downwinders in southern Utah. They have one chance to file: before December 31, 2027.
We are building a federal claims operation to help 20,000 of these families get the compensation they are owed before the deadline closes forever. We are hiring 15 interns to work alongside our founders and legal team on the highest-impact mission work you can do this year.
If you want to spend your internship on something that matters, this is it.
WHAT YOU WILL DO
As a Federal Claims Research Intern, you will work directly with the founding team on real client cases that result in real federal compensation checks to real families. Your work will include:
- Eligibility Research: Review newly-released federal regulations and OBBBA expansion criteria to determine which families qualify under which provisions of RECA
- – Document Discovery: Help families locate residency records, employment records, medical documentation, military records, and tribal records dating back to 1942
- – Medical Records Coordination: Draft HIPAA-compliant authorization forms and coordinate with hospitals, oncology departments, and state cancer registries
- – Genealogy and Survivor Research: Use Ancestry, FamilySearch, obituary databases, and tribal records to locate eligible surviving spouses, children, and grandchildren of deceased claimants
- – Intake Interview Drafting: Prepare interview guides and case summaries for incoming claimants and their families
- – Federal Regulation Research: Read and apply 28 C.F.R. Part 79 and successor regulations to specific case fact patterns
- – Case File Management: Build and maintain organized, audit-ready case files using Clio (industry-standard legal practice management software)
- – Spanish-Language Support (if bilingual): Translate intake conversations, claim documents, and client communications for our New Mexico and Coldwater Creek client base
- – Tribal Records Coordination (if you have tribal community ties): Work with Navajo Nation, Tularosa Basin Downwinders Consortium, Pueblo, and Apache communities under our tribal liaison
You will NOT be providing legal advice, signing claims, or representing claimants before the Department of Justice. All formal legal work is performed by our licensed attorney partners. You are research and operations support for the mission.
WHAT YOU WILL LEARN
This is an unpaid internship structured around your education. You will leave with:
- Working knowledge of federal administrative law (28 C.F.R. Part 79)
- – Hands-on experience with HIPAA-compliant document handling
- – Genealogy and historical records research skills (Ancestry Pro, FamilySearch, NARA)
- – Legal practice management software (Clio Manage and Clio Grow)
- – Client interviewing and intake skills for sensitive populations (elderly cancer survivors and grieving families)
- – A real letter of recommendation from the founding team if you complete 200+ hours
- – Course credit (if your school grants it)
- – Connections to a national network of plaintiff-side federal claims attorneys
- – Direct exposure to how mass tort and federal claims operations are built from zero
- – A portfolio of case work you can show to law firms, public interest employers, and law school admissions
WHO WE ARE LOOKING FOR
We are casting a wide net. You do NOT need to be a pre-law major. We want:
Required:
- Currently enrolled undergraduate or graduate student at a U.S. accredited institution
- – Eligible and willing to receive academic credit from your school (we will work with your registrar)
- – Comfortable working with elderly clients, families of deceased loved ones, and people processing cancer diagnoses. Empathy is the number one skill in this role.
- – Strong written communication. You will draft letters, intake summaries, and case notes.
- – Detail-oriented. Federal claims succeed or fail on documentation precision.
- – Reliable internet, a quiet workspace, and the ability to maintain HIPAA-level confidentiality.
Strongly preferred (any one of these moves you to the top of the stack):
- Spanish fluency (oral and written) for our New Mexico and Trinity downwinder cohort
- – Family or community ties to one of the affected regions (St. George, Cedar City, Tularosa, Albuquerque, Navajo Nation, Coldwater Creek/Florissant MO, Oak Ridge TN, Paducah KY)
- – Background or interest in genealogy, family history work, or oral history
- – Pre-law, history, social work, public health, sociology, anthropology, or political science majors
- – Prior internship in a law firm, hospital records, social services, or veterans services
- – Coursework in administrative law, evidence, public health, or medical sociology
Open to ALL majors. Your degree program does not determine your value to this work. Your character does.
ABOUT LIFE LEGACY STUDIOS
Life Legacy Studios is a Utah-based storytelling and legacy preservation company. We help families capture, preserve, and pass down the stories of their loved ones through professionally produced documentaries, oral histories, and family archives.
The Federal Claims Initiative is our newest mission-driven program. We are bringing the same care, dignity, and storytelling rigor that defines our legacy work to the families of 20,000 cancer survivors who deserve their day of recognition under the federal compensation program before the December 2027 deadline.
We are founder-led, mission-first, and obsessively focused on building a team that treats every claimant family like our own grandmother.
EQUAL OPPORTUNITY AND INCLUSION
We actively encourage applications from students of all backgrounds. We particularly welcome applications from:
- Students from the affected regions (Utah, New Mexico, Arizona, Nevada, Idaho, Colorado, Missouri, Tennessee, Kentucky, Alaska)
- – Native American and Indigenous students
- – Hispanic and Latino/a students
- – First-generation college students
- – Students from working-class families
- – Veterans and military family members
- – Students with disabilities
- – LGBTQIA+ students
Your background is your strength in this work. The families we serve are diverse, rural, working-class, and often suspicious of polished outsiders. Your authentic voice and lived experience matter.
APPLICATION INSTRUCTIONS
To apply, submit through Handshake with:
- Resume (1 page, any format)
- Cover letter (no more than 300 words) answering ONE of these prompts:
- – “Tell me about a time you helped someone older than you with something they could not figure out on their own.”
- – “Why does this work matter to you personally? Be specific.”
- – “What is one thing about your background that would make you exceptional in this role that I would not learn from your resume?”
- 3. One short writing sample (any topic, any length under 2 pages, can be a class paper)
Applications reviewed on a rolling basis. First round of 15 offers extended within 2 weeks of application. We will close applications once positions are filled or by August 1, 2026, whichever comes first.
Questions? Email jaxoncummings4@gmail.com