Legal Intern

About the Role

The ACLU seeks a Summer Legal Intern in the General Legal, Litigation Departmentof the ACLU’s National office in New York City or San Francisco, CA. This position can be remote or hybrid.

Qualifying applicants must currently be matriculated legal students and must be based in the U.S. for the entire duration of the internship.

The Team:

Our team supports the ACLU’s National Legal Director. In addition to overseeing the ACLU’s litigation department, the National Legal Director supervises all of the ACLU’s work before the United States Supreme Court, including merits cases, petitions for certiorari, and amicus work.

What You’ll Do:

We are looking for an intern to support all facets of the ACLU’s work across at the Supreme Court. The intern’s case load will likely span a range of issue areas, including voting rights, LGBTQ rights, immigration, presidential power, and free speech. Specific tasks will include legal research, argument development, brief drafting, and assistance with long-term planning and strategy projects. Additionally, the intern will gain exposure to the ACLU’s advocacy strategy development and coalition management efforts for cases pending before or possibly headed toward the U.S. Supreme Court. You’ll report to the staff attorney who works across the ACLU’s Supreme Court docket.

Your Day to Day:

• Conduct legal research and analysis to support new and active litigation projects 
• Aid in drafting of legal memoranda, motions, and briefs 
• Provide support and assistance to ACLU affiliates and cooperating attorneys 

What You'll Bring:

• This Internship is open to students who are in law school. Interns should possess the following:

  • Completion of 1L year of law school by summer 2026; preference for candidates who will have already completed their 2L year
  • Excellent research skills, including conducting internet and legal database research 
  • Excellent communication skills, both verbal and writing 
  • Attention to detail, excellent organization and time-management skills 
  • Proficiency in Microsoft Office Suite 
  • The initiative to see projects through to completion 
  • Demonstrated commitment to public interest law, civil liberties, and racial justice 
  • Demonstrated ability to conduct complex legal analysis
  • Kindness, generosity, and humility

  Preferred Qualifications

  • Experience drafting briefs before the United States Supreme Court
  • Familiarity with or previous experience working on one or more of the following topics: Section 1983 litigation; immigration law; LGBTQ rights; free speech; administrative law; national security law; structural constitutional law.
    

Future ACLU'ers Will:

• Be committed to advancing the mission of the ACLU
• Center and embed the principles of equity, inclusion and belonging in their work by demonstrating commitment to diversity with an approach that respects and values multiple perspectives
• Be committed to work collaboratively and respectfully toward resolving obstacles and conflicts

Internship Logistics

• Location: Our internship program offers a limited number of remote or hybrid intern positions. This internship can be remote or hybrid and based in our New York City or San Francisco, CA office.
• Time Commitment: Summer internships require a full time (35 hour/week) commitment.
• Internship Duration: Summer internships span 10 consecutive weeks with a start date of May 26 or June 8.
• Stipend: A stipend is available for those students who are lawfully authorized to work. Legal interns receive a stipend amount $24/hour (stipends are taxed)

Priority Application Deadline: December 5th, 2025

While there is a priority deadline, our project is committed to reviewing all applications on a rolling basis until the closing of posting.

Why the ACLU

For over 100 years, the ACLU has worked to defend and preserve the individual rights and liberties guaranteed by the Constitution and laws of the United States. Whether it’s ending mass incarceration, achieving full equality for the LGBTQ+ community, establishing new privacy protections for our digital age, or preserving the right to vote or the right to have an abortion, the ACLU takes up the toughest civil liberties cases and issues to defend all people. 

Our Commitment to Accessibility, Equity, Diversity & Inclusion

Accessibility, equity, diversity, and inclusion are core values of the ACLU and central to our work to advance liberty, equality, and justice for all. For us diversity, equity and inclusion are not just check-the-box activities, but a chance for us to make long-term meaningful change. We are a community committed to learning and growth, humility and grace, transparency and accountability. We believe in a collective responsibility to create a culture of belonging for all people within our organization – one that respects and embraces difference; treats everyone equitably; and empowers our colleagues to do the best work possible. We are as committed to anti-oppression and anti-racism internally as we are externally. Because whether we’re in the courts or in the office, we believe ‘We the People’ means all of us.  

With this commitment in mind, we strongly encourage applications from all qualified individuals without regard to race, color, religion, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, age, national origin, marital status, citizenship, disability, veteran status and record of arrest or conviction, or any other characteristic protected by applicable law.  

The ACLU is committed to providing reasonable accommodation to individuals with disabilities. If you are a qualified individual with a disability and need assistance applying online, please email [email protected]. If you are selected for an interview, you will receive additional information regarding how to request accommodations for the interview process.

In order to be considered for this position, all candidates must formally submit an application. The ACLU does not accept unsolicited calls or emails from candidates regarding their application status.