The ACLU-DC seeks first-year law students for full-summer internships in the summer of 2023. (Our posting for second-year law student internships has closed.)

The ACLU-DC is an affiliate office of the American Civil Liberties Union, a national nonprofit organization devoted to the protection of civil liberties and civil rights through litigation, legislation, and public education. The ACLU-DC works primarily on issues that directly impact people who live in, work in, and visit the District of Columbia, and also on challenges to certain federal government policies and practices where they fall within the jurisdiction of the D.C. federal courts.

Among the matters currently on our docket are: representing Black Lives Matter-DC and individual activists in challenging the attack by federal and local law enforcement on civil rights demonstrators in Lafayette Square on June 1, 2020; a lawsuit against the District of Columbia over inadequate protections for patient health at a psychiatric hospital during the COVID-19 pandemic; a challenge to the D.C. Department of Public Works’ failure to provide a reasonable accommodation for an employee who uses medical marijuana off duty to treat a disabling medical condition; a challenge to a D.C. statute that permits police to search anyone found on the premises of a residence that police have a warrant to search; a hostile work environment case on behalf of a D.C. Jail officer subjected to harassment and abuse based on his sexual orientation; and defending on appeal an injunction we won against new rules implemented by the administrative arm of the federal judiciary that would prohibit more than 1,000 federal employees from expressing their views publicly about partisan candidates for office. To learn more about our work, visit acludc.org.

NATURE OF INTERNSHIP

Legal interns will be exposed to and participate in the process of developing and litigating impact cases to advance civil rights and liberties. The legal intern’s primary duties will be conducting legal research for current and potential cases (and some research/analysis regarding proposed legislation in support of our policy advocacy before the D.C. Council), and drafting memoranda, pleadings, motions, and/or discovery requests. Legal interns will also likely interview potential clients and help investigate the facts of potential cases.

Depending on the state of our docket in summer 2023, interns are likely to have additional opportunities to become immersed in the work of the ACLU-DC’s Legal department, including legal strategy sessions; and court proceedings, depositions, and client meetings. ACLU-DC staff believe strongly in mentorship and in thorough and timely feedback on all work product.

Financial stipends may be available for candidates not receiving summer funding from their law schools.

QUALIFICATIONS

-You are currently a first-year law student. (Our posting for second-year law student internships has closed.)

-You have excellent work ethic, including dependability, diligence, the ability to take ownership over projects, and the commitment to see projects through to completion in a fast-paced, collaborative environment.

-You are receptive to feedback, enthusiastic about learning and self-improvement, and eager to incorporate feedback into future work.

-You have (or are well along in developing) excellent legal research skills, including the judgment to discern what cases are relevant to a particular research question, and thoroughness in covering the question asked.

-You have (or are well along in developing) the capacity to engage in thoughtful and perceptive legal analysis, including the ability to build a logical argument, to read and understand legal decisions and statutes, and to grasp whether and how legal authorities apply to a new set of facts.

-You have (or are well along in developing) excellent legal writing skills, including the ability to present ideas in a clear and organized manner and to write a memo that teaches the reader what you have learned through your research by synthesizing (rather than just summarizing) the relevant authorities.

-You have the empathy and interpersonal skills necessary to connect with, listen to, learn from, and ask questions of clients and other community members.

TO APPLY

The deadline for applying is 11:59pm Eastern time on Thursday, December 1, 2022. If you have a disability and need any reasonable accommodations regarding any part of the application process, please contact us at operations at (@) acludc.org.

To complete the application, you will need to upload:

1.     A copy of your resume that lists relevant experience.

2.     A statement of interest of no more than 600 words that addresses the following three topics:

a.      What civil rights/liberties issue do you feel is most pressing right now and why?

b.     Describe why you want this internship and how it fits into your short- or long-term career goals.

c.      Describe a specific example of when you took ownership of (or primary responsibility for) a project or assignment. What did it mean to you to take ownership? What was the end result?

3.     A list of three references, including a sentence about each one identifying what information the person can provide.

4.     A writing sample that is your own work, with a brief explanatory note describing the extent of others’ involvement (e.g. “I wrote this draft entirely myself with no input” or “This is a second draft based on feedback from an instructor but it’s all my own writing” or the like). This sample can be of any length; it’s also fine to send a section of a larger document (with a note explaining the context if it’s unclear from the stand-alone section). The most useful samples are research memos containing legal analysis or argument (including from a legal writing class), but other samples are also fine.

The ACLU-DC is an equal opportunity employer. We value a diverse workforce and an inclusive culture. The ACLU-DC encourages applications from all qualified individuals without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity and expression, age, national origin, marital status, citizenship, disability, veteran status, or any other classification protected by the D.C. Human Rights Act or federal employment law. If you have a disability and need a reasonable accommodation, please email operations at (a) acludc.org.

All your information will be kept confidential according to EEO guidelines.