Legal Fellow

CALL FOR APPLICANTS FOR FELLOW SPONSORSHIP – ACLU OF THE

DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA

• The American Civil Liberties Union of the District of Columbia (ACLU-DC) seeks a law student
• or recent law school graduate to sponsor as an Equal Justice Works, Justice Catalyst, Soros, or
• other externally-funded (including law school funded) public service fellowship candidate for the
• fall 2026 application process. The fellowship itself would begin in fall 2027, so the applicant must
• graduate no later than summer 2027. The ACLU-DC has been successful in the past in hosting
• legal fellows with externally-funded public service fellowships.
• The ACLU-DC is an affiliate office of the American Civil Liberties Union, a national nonprofit
• organization devoted to the protection of civil liberties and civil rights through litigation,
• legislation, organizing, and public education. The ACLU-DC works primarily on issues that
• directly impact people who live in, work in, and visit the District of Columbia, and also on
• challenges to certain federal government policies and practices where they fall within the
• jurisdiction of the D.C. federal courts.
• Among the matters currently on our docket are: representing Black Lives Matter-DC and
• individual activists in challenging the attack by federal and local law enforcement on civil rights
• demonstrators in Lafayette Square on June 1, 2020; a lawsuit seeking to reform the District’s
• practice of sending police and not trained mental health professionals to respond to individuals
• experiencing mental health crises; the representation of two D.C. agency workers who faced
• discrimination based on their family responsibilities (child care) in the application of remote work
• policies; a challenge to the D.C. police department’s practice of retaining arrestees’ cell phones
• for months or years after the owners are released or charges are dropped; and eighteen cases against
• policies and practices of the second Trump administration including on immigration, trans rights,
• voting rights, federal workers’ rights, and freedom of speech. (Please note that our fellows tend to
• focus more on our cases challenging D.C. policies and practices than federal.)
• To learn more about our work, visit acludc.org.

NATURE OF FELLOWSHIP

• The ACLU-DC seeks rising third-year law students, judicial clerks, and law school graduates to
• sponsor for externally-funded one- or two-year legal fellowships. We will work with a successful
• applicant to develop a project proposal to submit to funding organizations. Please note that the
• ACLU-DC does not have independent internal funding for this fellowship position; we seek
• to host an externally-funded fellow only.
• Applicants will be asked to submit ideas for a project proposal relating to civil liberties and civil
• rights in Washington, D.C. Proposed projects often combine impact litigation, policy advocacy,
• and public education.
• Proposals should include a short description of the problem your project seeks to address, concrete
• strategies and tools to address the problem, goals for what you want to accomplish during the
• fellowship, and why you are the best candidate for this fellowship project. We understand that
• project proposals may be broad at this stage.
• Likelihood of obtaining funding will be a consideration (so, for instance, having access to
• additional school-based funding opportunities would be advantageous).
• Past legal fellows have had the opportunity to develop their own cases and serve as lead counsel,
• testify before the D.C. Council, conduct Know Your Rights trainings, take depositions, argue in
• court, and speak on behalf of the ACLU-DC to national and local media outlets.
• We will supplement the amount of the fellowship stipend so that the fellow will receive a salary
• of no less than $87,880 per year, dependent on years since law school graduation. Benefits
• currently provided to all ACLU-DC employees (including externally-funded fellows) include
• employer-paid health insurance, vacation and sick leave, and 401(k) availability with partial
• employer match.
• This position is a member of the ACLU-DC staff bargaining unit represented by the Washington
• Baltimore News Guild and is exempt under the Fair Labor Standards Act.

QUALIFICATIONS

• By fall 2027, you will have obtained a J.D. and either be a D.C. Bar member or will seek

admission during the fellowship.

• You have excellent work ethic, including dependability, diligence, the ability to take ownership

• over projects, and the commitment to see projects through to completion in a fast-paced,
• collaborative environment.

• You are receptive to feedback, enthusiastic about learning and self-improvement, and eager to

incorporate feedback into future work.

• You have excellent legal research skills, including the judgment to discern what cases are relevant

to a particular research question, and thoroughness in covering the question asked.

• You have 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.

• You have excellent legal writing skills, including the ability to present ideas in a clear and

• organized manner and to write a memo that teaches the reader what you have learned through
• research (whether the meaning of a specific case or the state of a body of law in general).

• You have the empathy and interpersonal skills necessary to connect with, listen to, learn from,

advise, and work collaboratively with clients and other community members.

• Your experience includes at least one clinical semester, one externship semester, or one summer

internship working in a U.S. litigation setting involving legal research and writing.

• You meet the eligibility criteria for one or more externally-funded fellowships that would fund a

fellowship at the ACLU-DC.

• You must be legally authorized to work in the United States.

TO APPLY

• The deadline for applying is 11:59pm Eastern time on Sunday, July 12, 2026, but our
• evaluation of candidates is rolling, so earlier submission is advantageous. To apply, complete
• the application at www.acludc.org/careers. If you require accommodation(s) to complete the
• application, please email [email hidden].

Please submit

• A copy of your resume that lists relevant experience.
• A detailed cover letter explaining your interest in this fellowship, the nature of your proposed

• project and the population you seek to serve, and why you are well-suited to carry out this
• particular project.

• A list of three references, including a sentence about each one identifying what information the

person can provide. At least one of your references should be a practicing attorney.

• Your law school transcript (may be official or unofficial).
• A writing sample that is your own work, with a brief explanatory note describing the extent of

• others’ involvement, if any (e.g. “I wrote this draft entirely myself with no input” or “This is a
• second draft based on feedback from a supervisor but it’s all my own writing” or the like). This
• sample should be no more than 10 pages, and may be a section of a larger document (with a
• cover note explaining the context if it’s unclear from the sample alone). The sample must be a
• litigation-related document containing legal analysis or argument, such as a brief, motion, or
• research or strategy memo about potential litigation. Complaints and academic articles do not
• qualify.

• A separate statement indicating whether, if your application for an Equal Justice Works, Justice

• Catalyst or other externally-funded public service fellowship at ACLU-DC is unsuccessful,
• your law school has a program that could fund a fellowship at ACLU-DC, and if so, what rules
• govern the allocation of such school-based fellowships, how many such fellowships are
• awarded each year, and any conditions attached to such funding (such as a requirement to
• continue to apply for jobs during the fellowship year).
• The ACLU-DC is an equal opportunity employer. We value a diverse workforce and an inclusive
• culture. The ACLU-DC encourages applications from all qualified individuals without regard to
• race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity and expression, age, national origin,
• marital status, citizenship, disability, veteran status, or any other classification protected by the
• D.C. Human Rights Act or federal employment law. If you have a disability and need a reasonable
• accommodation regarding any part of the application process, please include your
• accommodation request(s) in your application email. We are responsive to reasonable
• accommodation requests at any point during the application process.