Intern Civil Rights Activist Jobs in Philadelphia, PA

The ACLU of Pennsylvania invites law students to apply to intern with our Legal Department. We seek inquisitive, engaged students with an interest in civil rights litigation. We do not require applicants to include transcripts with their application, nor should applicants include their GPA on their resume. At the interview stage, we may ask for a transcript to confirm applicants are in good standing at their law school. We offer full-time internships during the summer and have funding to ensure that all students can share in this opportunity regardless of funding available from their law schools. Our current priority areas are decarceration, police reform, and voting rights, and we also offer a specific immigrants' rights internship track for interested students. Our summer internship program operates on a hybrid work schedule, with two days of in-person work in either per week on a consistent schedule. Interns choose between our Pittsburgh and Philadelphia offices for in-person work days.
For 100 years, the ACLU has worked in courts, legislatures, and communities to help ensure that all people have access to the individual rights and liberties guaranteed by the Constitution and laws of the United States. As an affiliate of the ACLU, the ACLU of Pennsylvania focuses its work on issues that directly impact people who live in, work in, or travel to/from Pennsylvania. We also work with the National ACLU on litigation and advocacy. Our current work includes: seeking to protect the right to vote; decreasing the number of people in jails, prisons, and ICE detention centers; challenging racial profiling by law enforcement in Black and brown communities; opposing discrimination against LGBTQIA+ students; protecting individuals' right to protest; challenging unlawful immigration enforcement tactics; and working to reduce pretrial and probation related detention.
What we expect from interns
Interns will draft memoranda, affidavits, and motions; conduct legal and policy research; investigate the prospects of new litigation, including both factual and legal claims; and interview clients and witnesses. Interns attend litigation team meetings and, when possible, depositions and court proceedings. Interns may also have an opportunity to support community-led coalition work on a number of criminal legal system and immigrants' rights issues.
What interns can expect from us
The ACLU-PA believes strongly in mentorship and in thorough and timely feedback. Interns will meet weekly with a supervising staff attorney to help ensure that the internship provides a meaningful opportunity for each intern to develop their skills and explore what it means to be a civil rights litigator. Interns will also meet and network with ACLU-PA staff through planned programming. Summer interns will be able to participate in a weekly brown bag lunch series for public interest-minded law students.
We ask that summer interns make a ten-week commitment (although exceptions can be made in certain circumstances). We expect summer interns to work full time (but can be flexible). We also ask summer interns to seek funding from their schools and networks, though we have funds to supplement those efforts up to $10,000 per summer intern for 10 weeks to ensure that lack of funding is not an obstacle to an internship with us. A student's need for funding will not affect their application process. We require proof of COVID-19 vaccination for all employees present in our offices.
Applicants for internships should have an interest in civil liberties and civil rights, the initiative and energy to work in a faced-paced, collaborative environment, openness to growth and feedback, and a commitment to racial justice, diversity, equity, and inclusion in the workplace. The ACLU-PA recognizes that various backgrounds, identities, and past experiences may inform an individual's commitment to this work, and values a diversity of experiences that interns may bring.
Application Instructions and Process
To apply, please complete the application on our career page https://aclupahr.applytojob.com/apply. Applicants will be asked to submit a resume and to complete a written questionnaire in lieu of a cover letter.
The Summer 2027 internship application will be open for current second year law students from September 1st, 2026 to September 29, 2026. Applications will then be reviewed, and interviews will be conducted with second year law students in October 2026.
The ACLU-PA is an equal opportunity/affirmative action employer committed to Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging. We value a diverse and inclusive work environment where employees feel a sense of belonging and strongly encourage women, people of color, people who identify as TLGBTQIA+, people with disabilities, people who have experienced poverty or houselessness, and people who have had prior contact with the criminal legal system to apply.