ACLU Legal Internship – Fall 2025

Job Description

About Company

The ACLU of Illinois is an affiliate office of the American Civil Liberties Union, a national nonprofit organization dedicated to safeguarding civil rights and civil liberties. Its work is primarily conducted through litigation, legislation, and public education. The organization actively fights against mass incarceration and racism within the criminal and juvenile legal systems, champions full equality for LGBTQ individuals, challenges dangerous immigration detention conditions, combats racially biased and abusive policing, advances gender justice and reproductive rights, advocates for children in the foster system and people with disabilities, and defends individuals from government abuse and overreach. The team comprises passionate and highly motivated professionals including lawyers, public policy experts, lobbyists, fundraisers, engagement and communication specialists, and administrative staff. The Legal Department specifically advances civil rights and civil liberties through an active docket of cases in federal and state courts and administrative entities, complemented by advocacy and public education in partnership with other departments within the organization.

Job Description, Detailed

The Legal Department of the ACLU of Illinois is offering two (2) part-time Fall 2025 legal internships for second- and third-year law students. This position is unpaid and is available for course credit only, requiring interns to ensure their law school can provide credit for this experience. The internship program for this term will operate on a hybrid model, combining remote and in-office work each week. Interns must be located in Illinois and be able to work from the Chicago office (150 N. Michigan Ave., Chicago, IL 60601) at least one day per week during their internship.

Duties of the legal interns involve exposure to and participation in the process of developing and pursuing impact cases and non-litigation advocacy aimed at advancing civil rights and civil liberties. Specific responsibilities may include:
• Conducting legal, policy, and factual research for both current and potential cases, as well as non-litigation advocacy projects.
• Drafting various legal documents such as memoranda, affidavits, and sections of briefs.
• Performing cite-checking on legal documents.
• Interviewing potential clients and class members.
• Investigating the facts pertaining to specific cases.
Supervising attorneys are committed to providing mentorship and timely, thorough feedback on all work product.

Qualifications for the internship include:
• Being a law student who will have completed at least one year of law school before the internship commences.
• Being located in Illinois and capable of working from the Chicago office at least one day per week.
• Possessing self-motivation, initiative, and the ability to manage multiple tasks and complete projects in a fast-paced, collaborative environment.
• Being receptive to feedback, enthusiastic about learning and self-improvement, and eager to incorporate feedback into future work.
• Having an excellent foundation in legal research, including good judgment in discerning relevant cases and thoroughness in covering research questions.
• Being well-along in developing thoughtful and perceptive legal analysis capacity, including building logical arguments, understanding legal decisions and statutes, and applying legal authorities to new facts.
• Being well-along in developing excellent legal writing skills, including clear and organized presentation of ideas and the ability to write informative memoranda based on legal research.
• Ability to work collaboratively and respectfully to resolve obstacles and conflicts.
• Commitment to recognizing and valuing all individuals in the workplace, respecting differences in race, ethnicity, age, gender identity and expression, sexual orientation, religion, ability, socio-economic circumstances, and other factors.
• Possessing empathy and people skills necessary to connect with, listen to, learn from, and ask questions of clients and other community members.
• A strong commitment to civil rights, civil liberties, social justice, and the mission of the ACLU of Illinois.