Intern - Legal

Job Description:

Rakuten International oversees 7 businesses with over 4,000 employees globally. The brand is recognized for its leadership and innovation in e-commerce, digital content, advertising, entertainment and communications, bringing the joy of discovery and access to more than 1 billion members across the world. Our teams deliver on the company’s mission to delight merchants and customers through innovation, optimism, and teamwork.

The Intern Experience: 

At Rakuten, we pride ourselves on giving interns a genuine, immersive experience that has a direct impact on company objectives. You will do meaningful work, and with us, you’ll be a true member of the team. We are also invested in your growth as an individual and professional. That’s why you can expect curated events such as professional development workshops, interactions with Rakuten leadership, and relationship building opportunities with other interns and professionals at the company. 

You can visit rakuten.us and our Muse profile, to learn more about Rakuten’s culture and values, as well as hear from last year’s interns. 

Rakuten’s summer intern program is a 2-month summer experience that will provide you with an opportunity to gain exposure to different areas of law in an in-house environment and gain in-depth knowledge about Rakuten’s business and culture. You will enjoy meeting with organizational leaders during lunch and learns, network with your fellow intern colleagues at various social events, and present your hard work to Rakuten’s executives and management. You will be exposed to our culture and values as we develop your basic understanding and foundation for future growth and responsibility. During the summer you will develop an understanding of what it takes to run a medium size legal organization from inside a corporation.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES 

• Support on legal matters with opportunities to work with various other Rakuten business units as well 
• Assisting with employment law matters including policy review, investigations, and employee relations.
• Performing substantive legal research relating to emerging legal and regulatory issues, with a focus on the intersection of AI, privacy, and employment matters. 
• Drafting and negotiating agreements and updating contract templates 
• Reviewing and evaluating company policies
• Assisting with special projects and initiatives

MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS (Knowledge, Skills, Abilities)
To perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to perform each essential duty satisfactorily. The requirements listed below are representative of the knowledge, skill, and/or ability required. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

• Excellent academic credentials 
• Must be looking to expand your knowledge and use skills you are developing in law school
• Ability to research legal and business issues and learn new concepts quickly 
• High degree of professional ethics and integrity, with particular skill in maintaining confidentiality
• Must be a critical thinker who is resourceful and can problem-solve
• Self-starter with the ability to manage multiple projects and prioritize tasks in a fast-paced, deadline-oriented environment 
• Strong interpersonal skills and the ability to communicate (written and verbally) effectively at all levels
• Excellent organizational and analytical skills 
• Must be extremely detail-oriented
• Significant experience using Microsoft Office and Adobe Acrobat
• Technologically savvy and able to learn new technologies easily

QUALIFICATIONS     

• Currently a full-time law student entering their 3L year fall 2025 pursuing a J.D. degree at an ABA accredited U.S. law school
• Bachelor’s degree 
• Able to complete a 6-8 week internship beginning in June 2025
• Strong interest in employment, AI, and general in-house legal matters.
• Possess strong research and writing skills, preferably with knowledge of legal research and writing 
• Based in San Mateo, New York, the DC area, or Ohio.

At the time of posting, Rakuten expects the hourly rate for this role will be between $25.00 - $30.00/hr. Individual compensation will vary based on job-related factors, including the skills, qualifications, and experience of the successful candidate as well as business need and geographic location. 

Five Principles for Success
Our worldwide practices describe specific behaviors that make Rakuten unique and united across the world. We expect Rakuten employees to model these 5 Shugi Principles of Success.

Always improve, Always Advance - Only be satisfied with complete success - Kaizen
Passionately Professional - Take an uncompromising approach to your work and be determined to be the best
Hypothesize - Practice - Validate – Shikumika - Use the Rakuten Cycle to succeed in unknown territory
Maximize Customer Satisfaction - The greatest satisfaction for our teams is seeing their customers smile
Speed!! Speed!! Speed!! - Always be conscious of time - take charge, set clear goals, and engage your team

Rakuten provides equal employment opportunities to all employees and applicants for employment and prohibits discrimination and harassment of any type. Rakuten considers applicants for employment without regard to race, color, religion, age, sex, national origin, disability status, genetic information, protected veteran status, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity or expression, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state, provincial or local laws.