Summer 2025 Paid Legal Intern, National Political and Advocacy Department -Justice Division, Federal Legislative Lobbying

The ACLU seeks a Legal Intern in the National Political and Advocacy Department (Policy and Government Affairs – Justice Division -Federal Legislative Lobbying) of the ACLU’s National office in Washington, DC. This position is remote.

The Team:

The Justice Division, Policy and Government Affairs Federal Legislative Team develops and implements federal legislative, executive, administrative and national coalition advocacy strategies.  The ACLU Justice Division advances civil liberties through transformative policy solutions to fight mass incarceration. Our goals include advancing policies that dismantle the historic roots and impact of white supremacy in the criminal legal system, substantially reducing the number of people surveilled, controlled, criminalized, and incarcerated by the criminal legal system, and substantially reducing the reliance, resources, role, and power of the criminal legal system. Our priorities include racial justice, federal sentencing, federal prison decarceration, policing, and re-entry.

What You’ll Do:

The interns will have the opportunity to gain valuable experience by working with the Justice Division Policy and Government Affairs team. They will learn about creating change through federal legislative lobbying and advocacy work.

Your Day to Day

• Assist with developing strategic federal criminal justice reform legislative and administrative policy options. 
• Assist with preparing and drafting testimony on pending legislation or before Congressional committees or federal regulatory agencies and other legislative or regulatory bodies at the federal level. 
• Assist with coordinating in-depth civil liberties briefings for federal government officials as pertinent to advancing priority ACLU positions. 
• Help coordinate strategy designed to reach policy outcomes at the federal level and across ACLU departments, ACLU affiliates, and coalition partners.
• Conduct legal research and analysis to create policy materials related to state and federal drug sentencing, debt-based driver’s license suspensions, racial disparities in fatal police encounters, and best practices and case studies for policing alternatives.

What You’ll Bring:

• Please note: This opportunity is available for current law students who will have completed one year of law school before the internship commences.
• Second and third year law school students pursuing a J.D. degree from an ABA-accredited law school 
• A demonstrated / strong interest in the rights of incarcerated people and a commitment to civil rights
• Strong organizational skills and the ability to work independently as well as in a team.
• Excellent legal research, writing, and communication skills
• Strong computer skills, particularly web-based research including proficiency with Microsoft Office Suite (i.e. Word, Excel)

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 conflict

Internship Logistics:

• Location: Our internship program offers a limited number of remote or hybrid intern positions. This internship is remote.
• Time Commitment: Term-time internships may be completed on a part-time basis (10, 15, or 20 hours/week) or full-time (35 hours/week). Summer internships require a full-time commitment.
• Internship Duration: Full-time internships span 10 consecutive weeks and part-time 12 weeks. This internship has a start date of May 27th or June 9th 2025.
• Stipend: A stipend is available for students who are lawfully authorized to work. Arrangements can be made with educational institutions for work/study or course credit. Below are the stipend rates:
• $20/hour for undergraduate students or equivalent experience
• $24/hour for graduate and law students or equivalent experience

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 and 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 benefits.hrdept@aclu.org. If you are selected for an interview, you will receive additional information regarding how to request accommodations for the interview process.

The ACLU does not accept unsolicited calls or emails from candidates regarding their application status.