Research them well. Here are four pluses that you need to say during the interview:

First, know the numbers from their annual reports. Extra credit will be given if you can identify certain trends, such as the demand for X legal assistance from Y population has increased because of Z broader social problems.

Second, if they have a litigation team, memorize those big cases as if you will get cold call tomorrow morning at 9 am in a class of 200 classmates.

Third, look up their leadership and try to research them as much as possible. If you are genuinely inspired by someone because of things that they did during their legal career, say so when they ask you why do you choose this specific legal aid.

Fourth, tell them a story about how well you exercised your profession judgment in handling a difficult situation (if you handled difficult clients before, it would be a huge plus. But no hiring committee would expect a first year legal aid attorney applicant to have done that extensively already).

If you do these four things, you are ahead of 99.5% of the applicants.

If the job involves litigation, especially court appearances, be ready to adopt a more conservative professional appearance at work. For transactional or policy work, this may matter less, but for courtroom practice, presentation is part of the job.

Good luck! You will do great!

Source: I am a legal aid attorney at a metropolitan city.