ACLU Foundation of Texas
Summer 2009 Internship Opportunities

The American Civil Liberties Union Foundation of Texas is accepting applications for summer 2009 law internships. The ACLU is one of the nation's foremost defenders of civil liberties and civil rights. We are a nonpartisan organization dedicated to defending the Bill of Rights through litigation, legislation, and public education. The Texas affiliate of the ACLU, founded in 1938, is headquartered in Austin, and includes a regional office in Houston and thirteen chapters with over 17,000 members statewide.

Description:
We are seeking nine (9) highly motivated students from law schools across Texas and the nation, with a demonstrated commitment to civil rights and civil liberties, and the initiative and energy to see projects to completion. Five (5) internships are available in our Legal Program and four (4) in our Policy Development Program.

Legal Program Interns (5 interns)

Legal Program interns will be supervised by the ACLU Foundation of Texas’ Legal Director and/or Staff Attorney. Assignments will include, but not be limited to, assisting in litigation, investigating complaints, completing fact research and legal analysis, and drafting memoranda in preparation for litigation of civil rights cases. Other duties may be assigned as necessary. All legal program interns will have the opportunity to work on active litigation to the extent possible.

Each intern will be assigned primary responsibility for one of the areas below and efforts will be made to accommodate the particular interests of each intern. However, work may crossover depending on the needs of the program and the cases in active litigation.

Racial Justice (3 interns). The interns working on the Racial Justice side of the docket will be assigned to cases and investigations in one or more of the following areas: Police Practices, including racial profiling and excessive force; Immigrants’ Rights; Conditions of Confinement in Texas prisons and jails; and/or Juvenile Justice.

Individual Liberties (2 interns). The interns working on the Individual Liberties side of the docket will be assigned to cases and investigations in one or more of the following areas: Freedom of Speech, Expression and Association; Freedom of Religion and Belief; and/or LGBT Rights and Reproductive Rights.

Policy Development Program Interns (4 interns)

The Policy Development Program Interns will be supervised by the ACLU Foundation of Texas’ Policy Development Director. We seek four interns to complete fact research, legal and public policy analysis and draft memoranda, model legislation, public education and public policy materials in one or more of the areas below.

Immigration Policy (1 intern). The intern working on Immigration Policy issues will focus on one or more of the following areas: local law enforcement; human trafficking, screening in local jails through the Criminal Alien Program, and impediments to educational access.

Criminal Justice Policy (2 interns). The interns working on Criminal Justice Policy issues will focus on one or more of the following: improved medical access and grievance process for Texas prisoners; police accountability; and privacy and justice issues related to law enforcement intelligence gathering and use of technologies.

Individual Rights Policy (1 intern). The intern working on Individual Rights Policy issues will focus on one or more of the following: freedom of speech, voting rights, LGBT rights, privacy and technology, and religious liberty.

Logistics:

Dates: The Summer Internship Program will begin with an all-day orientation and a kickoff event in the evening of Friday, May 29 and conclude on Friday, August 7, 2009.

Funding: Unfortunately, the ACLU Foundation of Texas is unable to fund summer internships; however, we will assist students to obtain their own funding in any way we can. We have had significant success working with students to secure grants and fellowship funding. We will also assist students who wish to obtain clinical or academic credit for their internship.

Application:
If you are interested, please send a cover letter that includes a statement identifying which program and issue area you are interested in; a resume; a brief (no more than 5 pages) writing sample; and a law school transcript, if available, no later than Friday, January 30, 2009. If you have joined the University of Texas School of Law’s Public Interest Career Day Interview program, please post documents to the ACLU of Texas’ Symplicity account by Thursday, January 8, 2009. We strongly encourage all interested students of Texas law schools to participate in the University of Texas School of Law’s Public Interest Career Day. All other applicants should send documents electronically in PDF or Word format to:

Email: jgeiger@aclutx.org
with "Summer 2009 Legal Internship Application" in the subject line.

No phone calls.