Spring 2027 Legal Intern, Racial Justice Program
Job Description
<h2><strong>About the Role</strong></h2> <p>The ACLU seeks a <strong>Spring</strong> <strong>Legal</strong> Intern in the <strong>Racial Justice Program</strong><strong> </strong>of the ACLU’s National office in <strong>New York, NY. </strong>This position may be remote or hybrid. This internship is for course credit only.</p> <p><strong>Qualifying applicants must currently be matriculated legal students and must be based in the U.S. for the entire duration of the internship.</strong></p> <h2><strong>The Team:</strong></h2> <p>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 and other Indigenous 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.</p> <h2><strong>What You’ll Do:</strong></h2> <p>The intern will be responsible for conducting legal and factual research and otherwise supporting RJP’s ongoing litigation, investigations, and advocacy efforts.</p> <h2><strong>Your Day to Day:</strong></h2> <ul> <li>Conducting legal and factual research</li> <li>Reviewing and coding discovery productions</li> <li>Producing and editing memos, research reports, drafts of briefing, etc.</li> <li>Participating in team meetings</li> <li>Participating in meetings with clients, as available</li> </ul> <h2><strong>What You'll Bring:</strong></h2> <p>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:</p> <ul> <li>Excellent research, writing, and verbal communication skills</li> <li>Initiative to see projects through to completion</li> <li>Demonstrated commitment to public interest law, civil liberties, and racial justice</li> <li>Centering principles of equity, inclusion, and belonging in all work, embedding the values in program development, policy application, and organizational practices and processes</li> </ul> <h2><strong>Future ACLU'ers Will:</strong></h2> <ul> <li>Be committed to advancing the mission of the ACLU</li> <li>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</li> <li>Be committed to work collaboratively and respectfully toward resolving obstacles and conflicts</li> </ul> <h2><strong>Internship Logistics</strong></h2> <ul> <li><strong>Location</strong>: Our internship program offers a limited number of remote or hybrid intern positions. This internship can be <strong>remote or hybrid and based in our New York City.</strong></li> <li><strong>Time Commitment</strong>: This internship is part-time (10,15 or 20 hours/week) and requires a commitment of 12 consecutive weeks.</li> <li><strong>Internship Duration</strong>: