Legal Internship - Fall 2026

Roger Baldwin Foundation of ACLU • Chicago, IL

7d • Hybrid

About The Position

The Legal Department of the ACLU of Illinois seeks two (2) second- and third-year law students for part-time Fall 2026 legal internships for course credit. Our internship program for this term will be a hybrid of remote and in-office work each week. Interns must be located in Illinois and able to work from our Chicago office at least one day per week during their internships. The ACLU of Illinois is an affiliate office of the American Civil Liberties Union, a national nonprofit organization devoted to the protection of civil rights and civil liberties through litigation, legislation, and public education. We work to fight mass incarceration and racism in the criminal and juvenile legal systems, to promote full equality for LGBTQ people, to challenge dangerous immigration detention conditions, to battle racially biased and abusive policing, to advance gender justice and reproductive rights, to advocate for children in the foster system and people with disabilities, and to defend people from government abuse and overreach. We are a passionate and highly motivated group of lawyers, public policy experts, lobbyists, fundraisers, engagement and communication professionals, and administrative staff. The Legal Department of the ACLU of Illinois advances civil rights and civil liberties through an active docket of cases in federal and state courts and administrative entities, as well as advocacy and public education in partnership with colleagues throughout the organization. Attorneys in the Legal Department provide supervision and mentorship to legal interns.

Requirements

• Law student who will have completed at least one year of law school before the internship commences
• Located in the state of Illinois and able to work from our Chicago office at least one day per week during your internship
• Self-motivated and have the ability to take initiative, manage a variety of tasks, and see projects through to completion in a fast-paced and collaborative environment
• Receptive to feedback, enthusiastic about learning and self-improvement, and eager to incorporate feedback into future work
• Excellent foundation in legal research, including judgment in discerning which cases are relevant to a particular research question and thoroughness in covering the question asked
• Well along in developing the capacity to engage in thoughtful and perceptive legal analysis, including the ability to build a logical and persuasive argument, to read and understand legal decisions and statutes, and to grasp whether and how legal authorities apply to a new set of facts
• Well along in developing excellent legal writing skills, including the ability to present ideas in a clear and organized manner and to write a memorandum that teaches the reader what you have learned through legal research (whether the meaning of a specific case or the state of a body of law in general)
• Can work collaboratively and respectfully toward resolving obstacles and conflicts
• Committed to recognizing and valuing all individuals in the workplace and respecting differences in race, ethnicity, age, gender identity and expression, sexual orientation, religion, ability, socio-economic circumstances, and other factors
• Empathy and people skills necessary to connect with, listen to, learn from, and ask questions of clients and other community members
• Committed to civil rights, civil liberties, social justice, and the mission of the ACLU of Illinois

Responsibilities

• Conducting legal, policy, and factual research for current and potential cases and non-litigation advocacy projects
• Drafting memoranda, affidavits, and sections of briefs
• Cite-checking legal documents
• Interviewing potential clients and class members
• Investigating the facts of specific cases

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Part-time
• Career Level: Intern
• Education Level: Associate degree