Company: American Civil Liberties Union
Address: 125 Broad Street
Location: New York, NY
Application Deadline: February 13, 2013
Position: Part-time, Unpaid
Timeframe: 03/14/13 — 07/14/13
Connections
Description
OVERVIEW
The mission of the ACLU’s Reproductive Freedom Project (RFP) is to secure a world that respects and supports everyone’s right to form intimate relationships and to decide whether and when to have a child. Through litigation, advocacy, and public education, The Project strives to ensure that the freedoms and opportunities enjoyed by some become the freedoms and opportunities enjoyed by all. In particular, the Project works to ensure access to abortion services, comprehensive sex education, and affordable contraception, and to protect the rights of marginalized women to continue their pregnancies. The ACLU is particularly committed to ensuring that individuals’ reproductive rights are not compromised because of their race, youth, or economic status, and believes that reproductive rights work must be informed by broader racial and social justice considerations.
For more than three decades, RFP has participated in nearly every critical reproductive rights case before the Supreme Court and in significant cases in federal and state courts too numerous to count, including challenges to intrusive counseling laws; laws that defund organizations because they provide or refer for abortion; bans on abortion procedures; laws that restrict teens’ access to abortion; and restrictions on insurance coverage of abortion. The ACLU is also the nation’s leading expert on the intersection between reproductive rights and the religion and free speech clauses of the First Amendment. The Reproductive Freedom Project is part of the ACLU’s Center for Liberty, which is dedicated to the principle that we are all entitled to determine the course of our lives based on who we are and what we believe, free from unreasonable government constraint and baseless stereotypes. The Center for Liberty encompasses the ACLU’s work on reproductive rights, women’s rights, LGBT issues, and freedom of religion and belief.
The Reproductive Freedom Project is unique among reproductive rights organizations in that it works with the ACLU’s nationwide network of affiliates and across the organization with attorneys who specialize in other civil liberties areas, including free speech, race and poverty issues, and lesbian and gay rights.
INTERNSHIP OVERVIEW
The Spring 2013 Legal Internship offers interns the opportunity to work on all aspects of litigation. The Internship requires a 10-12 week commitment and is part-time, with weekly hours that are negotiable. Interns are highly encouraged to seek outside funding, as the internship is unpaid. Arrangements can be made with the interns’ school for work/study or course credit.
Responsibilities
Interns will have the opportunity to gain valuable experience by working alongside the RFP team. They will gain experience by:
Conducting legal and policy research.
Drafting memoranda, affidavits and briefs.
Assisting with researching prospects for new litigation, including both factual and legal claims.
Assisting with researching and drafting materials for public education.
Requirements
This Legal Internship is open to first and second year law students who possess the following:
Excellent research, writing and communication skills.
Proficiency in Microsoft Office Suite, including internet research.
The initiative to see projects through to completion.
Demonstrated interest in social justice and legal issues.
A strong interest and commitment to civil rights and civil liberties issues.
HOW TO APPLY
Applicants should send a cover letter, a resume, the names and telephone numbers of three references, an official or unofficial transcript, and a legal writing sample, no more than 10 pages in length, by email to hrjobsRFP@aclu.org. Reference [RFP Spring 2013 Legal Internship] in the subject line. Please note that this is not the general ACLU applicant email address. This email address is specific to Reproductive Freedom Project postings. In order to ensure your application is received, please make certain it is sent to the correct e-mail address. You can expect to receive an automatic response that acknowledges the submission of materials.
WE WILL ONLY CONSIDER APPLICATIONS THAT PROVIDE ALL OF THE REQUESTED MATERIALS AND THAT ARE SUBMITTED TO THE EMAIL ADDRESS ABOVE OR MAILING ADDRESS BELOW.
Alternatively, applications can be mailed to:
Law Student Intern Program
RE: RFP Spring 2013 Legal Internship
American Civil Liberties Union
125 Broad Street, 18th Floor
New York, NY 10004
Please indicate in your cover letter where you learned of this internship opportunity.
Students are encouraged to submit applications as early as possible, as decisions are made on a rolling basis.
Applications will be accepted until the internship is filled.
This job description provides a general but not comprehensive list of the essential responsibilities and qualifications required. It does not represent a contract of employment. The ACLU reserves the right to change the job description and/or posting at any time without advance notice.
The ACLU is an equal opportunity/affirmative action employer and encourages applications from all qualified individuals including women, people of color, persons with disabilities, and lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender individuals.
The ACLU comprises two separate corporate entities, the American Civil Liberties Union and the ACLU Foundation. Both the American Civil Liberties Union and the ACLU Foundation are national organizations with the same overall mission, and share office space and employees. The ACLU has two separate corporate entities in order to do a broad range of work to protect civil liberties. This job posting refers collectively to the two organizations under the name “ACLU.”
