Fall 2026 Legal Intern, Center for Liberty

The ACLU seeks a Legal Intern in the Center of Liberty of the ACLU’s National office in New York City or Washington D.C. This position may be remote or hybrid. This internship is for course credit only.

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

The Center for Liberty encompasses the ACLU’s work on reproductive freedom, LGBT rights, women’s rights, freedom of religion and belief, and disability rights.

The Center for Liberty intern will work on priority areas for the team, including combatting efforts to use religion to discriminate; family regulation, particularly of parents with disabilities; and emerging issues of gender justice.  

• Conduct legal research and analysis to support new and active litigation projects 
• Aid in drafting of legal memoranda, pleadings, affidavits, motions, and briefs 
• Draft and edit public education and non-litigation advocacy materials 
• Provide support and assistance to ACLU affiliates and cooperating attorneys 
• Potential to work closely with clients and participate in outreach with impacted communities, discovery, and trial practice 
• Center principles of equity, inclusion, and belonging in all work, embedding the values in program development, policy application, and organizational practices and processes

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 or enrollment in an LLM program
• Excellent research skills, including conducting internet and legal database research 
• Excellent communication skills, both verbal and writing 
• Attention to detail, excellent organizing 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 and fact finding

• Demonstrated interest in reproductive freedom, LGBT rights, women’s rights, freedom of religion and belief, or disability rights
• Familiarity with or previous experience working in reproductive freedom, LGBT rights, women’s rights, freedom of religion and belief, or disability rights

• 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

• 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 Washington D.C. office.
• Time Commitment: This internship may be part-time (10,15 or 20 hours/week)
• Internship Duration: Fall internships span 12 consecutive weeks for part-time with a start date of September 08 or September 21.
• Stipend: This internship is for course credit only. This internship must be tied to the intern’s formal education program by integrated coursework or the receipt of academic credit.

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

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.