Democracy, Speech & Technology Project Extern

Spring 2026 Democracy, Speech & Technology Project Extern

Location:

For Spring 2026, students located near Fresno, Sacramento, or San Francisco may work in-person, remotely, or in a hybrid model. Students not located near these offices may work remotely.

The ACLU of Northern California’s Legal Advocacy Department invites law and graduate students to apply for its Democracy, Speech & Technology Externship. 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 impact litigation to defend and expand civil liberties and civil rights. The Department’s work focuses on three broad issue areas:
Criminal Law & Immigration;
Democracy, Speech & Technology; and Appeals & Special Litigation. The Department’s staff is based in San Francisco, Sacramento, and Fresno. Department staff work closely with other departments within ACLU Nor Cal, including Organizing, Communications, Development, as well as with ACLU National and California Action.

Democracy, Speech & Technology Externship

Externs work directly with one or more attorneys in support of the project’s litigation and policy work, focusing on safeguarding free speech, privacy, and open government, in the digital world and beyond.

Externs will be tasked with legal and policy research and analysis; helping to author reports, advocacy materials, portions of court documents, and pre-litigation demand letters; and/or assisting with legislative or other local campaigns. Externs may attend public hearings at state and county levels and participate in meetings with policy-makers and advocates as opportunities arise. When possible, 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 Criminal Law & Immigration and Appeals & Special Litigation.

Qualifications

Applicants must currently be enrolled in law school or a graduate program in Computer Science, Engineering, Information Science, Public Policy, Political Science, Journalism, or a related field, and must demonstrate a strong interest in the intersection of civil liberties and free speech, technology, and privacy. The Legal Advocacy Department accepts two to three Democracy, Speech & Technology Externs per term.

Application Process

School year externships (Spring and Fall Terms) are full- or part-time, generally requiring a 16 hours per week minimum commitment. Students on the semester system must commit to 12–14 weeks; quarter-system externships may be shorter. Part-time externs are preferred to work full days (two eight-hour days) rather than four four-hour days, and it is recommended that students commit as many days per week as possible for the best experience.

Please note:

School year externs must earn academic credit for participation in our Spring/Fall externship programs. Applications are typically accepted beginning in mid-August for the following spring term.

How to apply

Applications from all interested law and graduate students are welcome. ACLU Nor Cal does not consider applications from undergraduate students. Applications must include in PDF format: (1) Cover Letter outlining: (a) why you want to work on the particular Project/Issue Area, (b) whether you are interested in in-person or remote work, and (c) how you encountered the opening; (2) Resume; and (3) Writing Sample.

Equal Employment Opportunity

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,…