Job Description

Job Description

Job Description

Salary: $70,000

CALL FOR LEGAL FELLOWSHIP APPLICANTS ACLU OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA (ACLU-DC) DUNN FELLOWSHIP

The ACLU-DC seeks a law student or recent law graduate for a one- or two-year attorney fellowship (two years preferred) to begin in fall 2026.

Note: This position is distinct from the ACLU-DCs call for candidates to sponsor for externally funded fellowships. That posting has now closed, but timely applicants for the externally funded position who wish to be considered for the Dunn Fellowship also will be given the opportunity to indicate that through their application process; submitting a second application is not necessary.

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 challenge to the D.C. governments practice of warehousing children who have been adjudicated delinquent in a jail-like detention facility instead of promptly transferring them to the rehabilitative placements to which they are entitled by law; a lawsuit seeking to reform the Districts 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 departments practice of retaining arrestees cell phones for months or years after the owners are released or charges are dropped; a hostile work environment case on behalf of a D.C. Jail officer subjected to harassment and abuse based on his sexual orientation; and ten cases against policies and practices of the second Trump administrationfive regarding immigration, two on trans rights, one voting rights, one about family planning funding, and a series of administrative complaints about the purge of federal workers associated with DEI. (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

We seek a law student or recent law graduate who has a passion for defending civil rights and civil liberties. The Dunn Fellow will work full-time as a litigator in the ACLU-DC Legal Department under the supervision of experienced civil rights litigators who are deeply committed to providing comprehensive feedback and mentorship. Primary responsibilities include: conducting legal research in support of ongoing or potential litigation; interviewing witnesses and potential clients; investigating potential cases including through public records requests and interviews with affected community members; taking and responding to discovery; and drafting complaints, motions, and briefs. The Fellow will also support the Policy Department as a part of the ACLU-DCs integrated advocacy, particularly where bills before the D.C. Council relate to current or potential ACLU-DC litigation, and by assisting with Know Your Rights trainings.

Past legal fellows have had the opportunity to develop their own cases and serve as lead counsel, testify before the D.C. Council, take depositions, argue in court, and speak on behalf of the ACLU-DC to national and local media outlets.

Salary: $70,000 / year. Benefits currently provided to all ACLU-DC employees include employer-paid health insurance (including vision and dental coverage); vacation and sick leave; generous paid holidays; 401(k) availability with partial employer match and tuition repayment assistance. The Dunn Fellow is a member of the ACLU-DC staff bargaining unit and is exempt under the Fair Labor Standards Act.

QUALIFICATIONS

-By fall 2026, 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.

TO APPLY

Position open until filled; evaluation of candidates is rolling and will begin immediately. Applications received after July 28, 2025 will not be considered. To apply, complete the application at If you require accommodation(s) to complete the application, please email hr@acludc.org.

Please submit:

1. A copy of your resume that lists relevant experience and education.
2. A cover letter explaining your interest in and qualifications for the position.
3. 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.
4. Either a law school transcript (official or unofficial) or a list of all law school courses that you have taken, are currently taking, or (where applicable) are scheduled to take next semester.
5. A writing sample that is your own work and not edited by others, and which is ideally a memo or brief analyzing a specific legal problem in the context of real or hypothetical litigation (as opposed to a legal complaint or a law review article).

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.

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