Summer 2026 Legal Intern, Racial Justice Program

About the Role

The ACLU seeks a Summer Legal Intern in the Racial Justice Program of the ACLU’s National office in New York City. This position can be remote or hybrid.

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

The Team:

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.

What You’ll Do:

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

Your Day to Day:

• 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

What You'll Bring:

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

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 conflicts

Internship Logistics

• Location: Our internship program offers a limited number of remote or hybrid intern positions. This internship may be remote or hybrid and based in our New York City office.

• Time Commitment: Summer internships require a full time (35 hour/week) commitment.

• Internship Duration: Summer internships span 10 consecutive weeks with a start date of May 26 or June 8.

• Stipend: A stipend is available for those students who are lawfully authorized to work. Legal interns receive a stipend amount $24/hour (stipends are taxed)

Priority Application Deadline: by October 10th (first round of review) or January 5th (second round of review)

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

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 & 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 [email protected]. If you are selected for an interview, you will receive additional information regarding how to request accommodations for the interview process.

In order to be considered for this position, all candidates must formally submit an application. The ACLU does not accept unsolicited calls or emails from candidates regarding their application status.