Spring 2025 Graduate Legal Intern, Reproductive Freedom Project

The ACLU seeks Legal Interns for the for Reproductive Freedom Project of the ACLU’s national office in New York, NY. 

 

The Team:

The ACLU’s Reproductive Freedom Project envisions a world that respects and supports each of us in making deeply personal decisions that determine the shape of our lives: with whom to form intimate relationships, and whether, when, and how to have children. In the world we see, we can all get the health care and other resources necessary to have a child, to prevent pregnancy, or to have an abortion—regardless of where we live, our income, race, age, gender identity, or immigration status or whom we love. For nearly five decades, the ACLU has been a leader in the efforts to ensure that every person has access to affordable and stigma-free abortion care. Since the Supreme Court overruled Roe v. Wade, the ACLU has brought dozens of lawsuits seeking to preserve and expand access to abortion. Current cases include challenges to abortion bans in states like Ohio and Georgia, challenges to policies that seek to prevent people from traveling to get an abortion, and lawsuits seeking to significantly expand access to abortion by reducing unnecessary barriers and restoring Medicaid coverage for care.  The ACLU is also a leader on efforts to preserve and expand access to medication abortion, having brought the case that led to the FDA lifting rules that prevented people from receiving their medication through the mail.  Due in part to the ACLU’s efforts, medication abortion now accounts for two-thirds of abortions in this country.  The Reproductive Freedom Project’s work extends beyond abortion. For example, the ACLU is currently litigating a case in Alabama – a state with woefully insufficient maternity care and appallingly high rates of maternal morbidity and mortality – which enabled the first free standing birth center to obtain a license and begin serving patients.

What You’ll Do:

Interns will gain valuable experience working alongside the team assisting in all aspects of litigation, as well as exposure to policy advocacy and communications campaigns. They will do critical work to support our litigation and will gain valuable experience by working with the team on a wide variety of issues. Responsibilities may include, but are not limited to the following: 

• Conducting legal research and analysis 
• Aiding in drafting memoranda, motions, declarations, and legal pleadings 
• Providing general assistance on active litigation, including cite-checking  
• Supporting development of new litigation projects 
• Additional responsibilities could include working on fact development, conducting background research, or tracking and analyzing bills. 

 

What You’ll Bring:

The internship is open to law students who will have completed at least one year of law school at before the internship commences. Interns should possess the following: 

• Excellent legal research and writing skills and the ability to conduct complex legal analysis.
• Strong oral communications skills and the ability to explain to complicated legal issues. 
• The ability to balance multiple assignments, to communicate with colleagues, and to accept and incorporate feedback. 
• A collaborative attitude – be a team player. 
• Demonstrated commitment to public interest law, civil rights and liberties, and social justice; a demonstrated commitment to reproductive health rights and justice is a plus, but is not required 
• Commitment to the mission of the ACLU. 

 

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. In person days are in the national office in New York City.  
• Time Commitment: This internship offers both part-time (10, 15 or 20 hours per week) and full-time (35 hours per week) commitment.
• Internship Duration: Part-time internships span 12 weeks, and full-time internships span 10 consecutive weeks. This internship has a start date of: January 13 or January 27, 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

Priority application deadline: October 25th 2024

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

ABOUT THE ACLU

The ACLU dares to create a more perfect union – beyond one person, party, or side. Our mission is to realize this promise of the United States Constitution for all and expand the reach of its guarantees. 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 from government abuse and overreach. 

Equity, diversity, and inclusion are core values of the ACLU and central to our work to advance liberty, equality, and justice for all. 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.

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 an accommodation for the interview process.