The Legal Department of the ACLU of Alabama seeks second and third-year law students for full-time Summer 2025 Legal Internships. Exceptional third and fourth-year undergraduate students looking to attend law school and pursue future public interest legal careers may also be considered.
The ACLU of Alabama is an affiliate office of the American Civil Liberties Union, a national nonprofit organization devoted to the protection of civil rights and civil liberties through litigation, legislation, and public education. Formally established in 1965 during the Civil Rights Movement, the ACLU of Alabama was founded to serve as a permanent line of defense against unconstitutional threats and assaults to our freedoms. Today, with a staff of community organizers, public policy experts, lobbyists, fundraisers, engagement and communication professionals, and lawyers, we work to fight mass incarceration and racism in the criminal and juvenile legal systems, to promote full equality for LGBTQ people, to preserve First Amendment Rights, to battle racially biased and abusive policing, to advance gender justice and reproductive rights, and to counter voter suppression while expanding access to the ballot.
The Legal Department of the ACLU of Alabama advances civil rights and civil liberties through an active docket in both federal and state courts, as well as integrated advocacy and public education through partnership with the Affiliate’s departments.
Program Overview
- Time Commitment: Full-time (35 hours/week) for 10 weeks in Summer 2024
- Compensation: $8,000 for currently enrolled law students
- Location: It is expected that summer interns will report for in-person work at the affiliate office in Montgomery, Alabama, alongside ACLU employees.
Job Description
Legal interns will be exposed to, and participate in, the process of developing and pursuing cases and integrated advocacy to advance civil rights and civil liberties. The legal intern’s duties may include:
- Conducting legal, policy, and factual research for current and potential cases and non-litigation advocacy projects;
- Drafting memoranda, affidavits and sections of briefs;
- Cite-checking legal documents;
- Interviewing potential clients; and
- Supporting in preparation for and during court cases, such as depositions, oral argument, hearings, or trial.
Supervising Attorneys are committed to providing mentorship and thorough and timely feedback on all work products.
Qualifications
- You are a law student who will have completed at least one year of law school before the internship commences and graduating no earlier than December 2025.
- You will be located in the state of Alabama and able to work from our Montgomery office during your internship.
- You are self-motivated and can take initiative, manage a variety of tasks, and see projects through to completion in a fast-paced and collaborative environment.
- You are receptive to feedback, enthusiastic about learning and self-improvement, and eager to incorporate feedback into future work.
- You have an excellent foundation in legal research, including judgment in discerning which cases are relevant to a particular research question and thoroughness in covering the question asked.
- You are well along in developing the capacity to engage in thoughtful and perceptive legal analysis, including the ability to build a logical and persuasive argument, to read and understand legal decisions and statutes, and to grasp whether and how legal authorities apply to a new set of facts.
- You are well along in developing excellent legal writing skills, including the ability to present ideas in a clear and organized manner and to write a memorandum that teaches the reader what you have learned through legal research (whether the meaning of a specific case or the state of a body of law in general).
- You are committed to diversity, equity, and inclusion within and outside the office, using an approach that values all individuals and respects differences.
- You have the empathy and interpersonal skills necessary to connect with, listen to, learn from, and ask questions of clients and other community members.
- You are committed to civil rights, civil liberties, social justice, and the mission of the ACLU of Alabama.
Applications
Please submit the following materials:
- A copy of your resume (not to exceed 1 page);
- A cover letter explaining why your skills and experience make you a good fit for this position (not to exceed 1 page); and
- A legal writing sample that is wholly your own unedited work (not to exceed 10 pages).
Please submit the materials listed above to [email protected] with “ACLU AL 2025 Summer Legal Intern” in the subject field.
Priority Application Deadline: January 10, 2025
Applications will be considered on a rolling basis and accepted until the position is filled, but priority review will be given to applications submitted on or before the date above.
Job Application Statement
The ACLU of Alabama is an equal opportunity employer and encourages 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, record of arrest or conviction, or any other characteristic protected by applicable law.
The ACLU of Alabama makes every effort to assure that its recruitment and employment provide all qualified persons, including persons with disabilities, with full opportunities for employment in all positions. The ACLU of Alabama is committed to providing reasonable accommodations to individuals with disabilities.