Fall 2026 Legal Intern, Racial Justice Program

The ACLU seeks a Fall Legal Intern in the Racial Justice Program of the ACLU’s National office in New York City. 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 Racial Justice Program (RJP) is part of the ACLU’s Trone Center for Justice and Equality. RJP challenges racial discrimination and other practices and policies that have a direct or disparate impact on communities of color, including Native American communities and people who reside in U.S. territories. RJP has a particular emphasis on health equity, education, housing, indigenous justice, reentry, and economic justice issues. To advance its work, RJP, working with the ACLU's 53 affiliates nationwide, uses litigation, legislative advocacy, and public education to challenge unequal educational, housing, and employment opportunities, unfair lending practices, attacks on civil rights, and a range of civil and criminal justice system practices that unfairly target communities of color.

The intern will be responsible for conducting legal and factual research and otherwise supporting RJP’s ongoing litigation, investigations, and advocacy efforts.

• Conducting legal and factual research 
• Reviewing and coding discovery productions
• Producing and editing memos, research reports, drafts of briefing, etc. 
• Participating in team meetings
• Centering principles of equity, inclusion, and belonging in all work, embedding the values in program development, policy application, and organizational practices and processes  

Applicants should be current law school students who will have completed their first year of school before the internship commences. Applicants should possess the following: 

• Excellent research, writing, and verbal communication skills 
• Initiative to see projects through to completion 
• Demonstrated commitment to public interest law, civil liberties, and racial justice 
• Commitment to the mission of the ACLU 

• 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.
• 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 8 or September 21.
• Stipend: This position is 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.