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Americans United for Separation of Church and State is seeking fall and spring legal interns who are committed to civil rights, impact litigation, and upholding core First Amendment protections. Both part-time and full-time positions are available.

About Americans United. Americans United is a nonpartisan educational and advocacy organization dedicated to advancing the constitutional principle of church-state separation as the only way to ensure freedom of religion, including the right to believe or not believe, for all of us. Founded in 1947, Americans United is a diverse and dynamic organization composed of people from all walks of life: lawyers and lobbyists, students and activists, religious leaders and impassioned Americans. Americans United includes people of faith and people who don’t profess any particular faith.

For nearly 80 years, we have litigated church-state issues in federal and state courts across the country, with a substantial practice before the federal courts of appeals and the U.S. Supreme Court. Most of our cases involve novel, cutting-edge First Amendment and other constitutional issues. In recent years, for example, we have litigated lawsuits and submitted amicus briefs challenging or opposing:

• Coercive religious practices in the public schools. 
• Proselytizing by Trump-Vance Administration officials.
• Public funding of religious education. 
• Religion-based refusals by businesses, foster-care agencies, and government officials to provide services to LGBTQ+ people and religious minorities.  
• Religion-based efforts to deprive people of access to abortion and contraceptives.  
• Race-based and sex-based employment discrimination by religious employers.

For more information about Americans United’s legal program, please visit our website at www.au.org.

Duties and responsibilities. Legal interns receive substantive legal experience with in-depth exposure to some of the most important issues facing the nation. Interns assist with ongoing litigation by conducting legal and factual research and writing, analyze potential new litigation, and draft demand letters to resolve constitutional violations without filing suit. Interns may also draft pleadings, briefs, or discovery.

Our attorneys endeavor to prepare interns for public-interest legal practice, including by providing training and practical experience, in house and in conjunction with partner organizations. Interns are encouraged to take full advantage of the many events that take place in Washington, D.C., or are available virtually.

Eligibility and requirements. Law students (any year) who are committed to advancing the public interest and the separation of religion and government are encouraged to apply. Americans United includes and welcomes people of all genders, races, ethnicities, religions and beliefs, sexual orientations, gender identities, ages, socioeconomic backgrounds, and abilities. Because we work on a wide variety of issues and with many different communities, we value what diversity and diverse perspectives bring to our work.

Research shows candidates from marginalized groups are less likely to apply for positions when they don’t meet 100% of the listed requirements; please consider applying even if you don’t match 100% of these criteria.

Equal opportunity employer. Americans United is an equal opportunity employer. We consider applicants without regard to race, color, religion, gender identity or expression, national origin, age, disability, marital or veteran status, sexual orientation, or any other legally protected status. If you need an accommodation for a disability to apply to this position, please let us know by emailing hr@au.org.  

Compensation: Support in obtaining academic credit or a prorated stipend (based on a rate of $7,360 for ten weeks of full-time work) will be available. For interns who work from our office, a commuter subsidy is also provided.

Work Location: Interns can work remotely from anywhere in the United States. There may also be opportunities to work in person in our Washington, D.C. office.

Working conditions and physical requirements. This position primarily involves working from a home office and/or professional office environment. The position requires routinely using standard office equipment such as computers, phones, and video-conferencing tools. It also requires the ability to remain in a stationary position for extended periods, communicate effectively, and occasionally move about within the workspace. 

How to apply. Please submit a cover letter, resume, law-school transcript, writing sample, and a list of three references through our web-based application portal at bit.ly/AuscsBambooHR. The cover letter should highlight why you want to work with us and what perspectives you would bring to strengthen our practice. The writing sample may be of any length; it should be your best example of comprehensive and detailed legal argument or analysis, should be your own work, and should not be substantially edited by anyone else. First-year law students who apply before receipt of their initial grades may submit a law-school transcript that shows their initial courses and an undergraduate transcript. If you have any questions about an internship position, please do not hesitate to contact us at legaljobs@au.org.

Deadline: Applicants for positions during the fall are encouraged to apply by August 1, 2026; applicants for positions during the spring are encouraged to apply by December 15, 2026.