Fall 2026 Legal Intern, Disability Rights Program

About the Role

The ACLU seeks a Legal Intern in the Disability Rights Program of the ACLU’s National office in Washington D.C. or San Francisco, CA. This position is part-time, course credit only and may be remote or hybrid.

Qualifying applicants must currently be matriculated legal students and must be based in the U.S. for the entire duration of the internship.

The Team:

The Disability Rights Program’s mission is to achieve an America free of discrimination against people with disabilities; where people with disabilities are valued, integrated members of society who have full access to education, homes, health care, jobs, families, voting and civic engagement. We fight to ensure that people with disabilities are no longer segregated into, and over-represented in, civil and criminal institutions such as nursing homes, psychiatric hospitals, jails, and prisons.

The ACLU has fought for decades for the rights of people with disabilities - achieving key wins to stop coerced mental health treatment and unnecessary institutionalization, as well as playing a role in the drafting of the ADA. DRP litigates and advocates to use disability rights laws to end the overrepresentation of people with disabilities in the criminal legal system, including pursuing first of its kind litigation to ensure that municipalities provide trained, non-police responders to people experiencing mental health crises. We also litigate and advocate to promote alternatives to guardianship and to secure equal access to the ballot. We also provide support to affiliates and the National office on disability rights issues that intersect with core civil liberties.

What You’ll Do:

The intern will have the opportunity to gain valuable experience by working alongside the team and assisting in legal research and writing, factual investigation, and strategic advocacy to advance our litigation and integrated advocacy. The intern will have the opportunity to participate in litigation, advocacy, and internal meetings and discussions.

Your Day to Day:

Interns will support DRP litigation work and integrated advocacy across our priority areas. Responsibilities include:

• Legal research
• Legal writing, such as memos and portions of court submissions
• Fact investigation
• Support in preparation for and during court cases, such as depositions, oral argument, hearings, or trial

What You'll Bring:

The internship is open only to students enrolled at U.S. law schools who will have completed at least one year of law school before the internship commences.

Additionally, interns should possess the following:

• Excellent research skills, including conducting internet and legal database research
• Excellent communication skills, both verbal and writing
• Attention to detail, excellent organizing and time-management skills
• Proficiency in Microsoft Office Suite
• The initiative to see projects through to completion

We invite applications from candidates who have personal, professional, and/or academic experience with disability and disability rights, including candidates with disabilities.

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 conflicts

Internship Logistics

• Location: Our internship program offers a limited number of remote or hybrid intern positions. This internship can be remote or hybrid and based in our Washington DC or San Francisco, CA office.
• Time Commitment: This internship is part-time (10,15 or 20 hours/week).
• Internship Duration: Fall internships span 12 consecutive weeks for part-time with a start date of September 8 or September 21.
• Stipend: This position is course credit only. This internship must be tied to the intern’s formal education program by integrated coursework or the receipt of academic credit.

Priority Application Deadline: July 10, 2026

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 & 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 accommodations for the interview process.

In order to be considered for this position, all candidates must formally submit an application. The ACLU does not accept unsolicited calls or emails from candidates regarding their application status.