Location: For Spring 2027, students located in proximity to one of our three office locations (Fresno, Sacramento, or San Francisco) may work with us in-person, remotely, or in a hybrid model. Students not located in proximity to one of our three office locations may work with us remotely.

Deadline: Open until filled.

The ACLU of Northern California’s Legal Advocacy Department invites law and policy graduate students to apply for its Criminal Law & Immigration Project externship. Students willing to work with intensity and focus will find an externship at ACLU NorCal to be a rewarding learning experience. Qualified applicants are enthusiastic, creative, and detail-oriented; have strong research, writing, and oral communication skills; and can articulate a commitment to work for social justice and the ideals of the ACLU.

About the Legal Advocacy Department

The Legal Advocacy Department promotes policy change and pursues cutting edge impact litigation to defend and expand the civil liberties and civil rights guaranteed by the Bill of Rights. The Department’s work focuses on three broad issue areas: Criminal Law & Immigration; Democracy, Speech & Technology; and Special Litigation & Appeals. The Department’s staff is based in San Francisco, Sacramento, and Fresno. Department staff work closely with other departments within ACLU NorCal, including Organizing, Communications, Development, as well as with ACLU California Action.

Criminal Law & Immigration Project Externship

Criminal Law & Immigration Project externs will participate in one or more of the team’s core streams of work, which includes: Prosecutorial Accountability; Police Accountability; Decarceration; and Immigrants’ Rights. The Prosecutorial Accountability project aims to increase engagement in prosecutorial elections, increase accountability, and draw attention to the immense power and discretion exercised by prosecutors. The Police Accountability project aims to reduce criminalization, police power and abuse of power, implementation of police reform at the state and local level, and effective oversight on police power. The Decarceration project aims to reduce incarceration and includes bail reform work and indigent defense advocacy. The Immigrants’ Rights work focuses on projects that ensure that the civil rights of immigrants, refugees, asylum-seekers are protected under federal, state, and local law.

Externs will be tasked with legal and policy research and analysis; helping to author advocacy materials, portions of court documents, and pre-litigation demand letters; and/or assisting with legislative or other local campaigns. Externs may attend and participate in hearings at the state and county level and meetings with policy-makers and advocates as opportunities arise. Externs may also attend appellate arguments, trial court proceedings, and depositions. Externs are encouraged to attend and participate in departmental meetings, where prospective litigation and policy strategies are discussed. Assignments may arise that provide externs the opportunity to work across the Department’s three broad issue areas, including Democracy, Speech & Technology and Special Litigation & Appeals.

Applicants must currently be enrolled in law school or a graduate program in criminal justice, public policy, or a related field, and applicants must demonstrate a passion for criminal justice and immigrants’ rights and the overarching mission of the ACLU. The Legal Advocacy Department accepts two to three Criminal Law & Immigration externs per term.

Application Process

School Year Externships (Spring and Fall Terms)

School year externships are full- or part-time, generally requiring a 16 hours per week minimum commitment. Students on the semester system must be able to commit to working 12 – 14 weeks. Students on the quarter system can serve shorter quarter-long externships. We greatly prefer that part-time externs commit to work full days (i.e., two eight-hour days rather than four four-hour days) and recommend that students commit as many days a week as possible for the best experience. Please note: School year externs must earn academic credit for their participation in our Spring/Fall externship programs.

Application deadlines

Applicants are encouraged to apply early in the hiring cycle.

• Spring term: Applications will be accepted beginning in mid-August for the following spring term.
• Summer term: Applications will be accepted beginning in early September for the following summer term. ACLU NorCal staff will not begin to review applications from first year law students until December 2026.
• Fall term: Applications will be accepted beginning in mid-March for the following fall term.

How to apply

Applications from all interested law and graduate students are welcome. Please note that ACLU NorCal does not consider applications from undergraduate students. Applications must include the following in PDF format: (1) Cover Letter that includes (a) a brief statement about why you want to work on the particular Project/Issue Area you’ve applied for, (b) whether you are interested in in-person work or remote work, and (c) how you encountered the opening; (2) Resume; and (3) Writing Sample.

The ACLU of Northern California advances equity and inclusion in the workplace by providing equal employment opportunity to support a work environment free from discrimination on the basis of race, religious creed, color, national origin, ancestry, physical disability, mental disability, medical condition, genetic information, marital status, sex, gender, gender identity, gender expression, age (over 40), sexual orientation, military and veteran status, arrest or conviction record, and any other basis prohibited by law. The organization also provides reasonable accommodations for qualified applicants and employees with disabilities. This equal employment opportunity policy applies to all aspects of employment, including recruitment, selection, advancement, training, problem resolution, and separation from employment. Through this policy, ACLU NorCal strives to establish and maintain an equitable and accessible work environment that is supportive and free from discrimination.