The Legal Department of the ACLU of Oklahoma is looking for qualified and dedicated intake interns. The ACLU Legal Department is responsible for protecting the rights of Oklahomans through impact civil rights litigation. Intake Interns will be responsible for reading, organizing, and responding to all requests for legal assistance that the ACLU of Oklahoma receives. The Intake Internship offers the opportunity to learn about the breadth of the ACLU’s work, to understand the issues facing Oklahomans, and to practice legal skills like issue spotting and client communication.
Internship Opportunities
The intake internship is available to undergraduate university students who reside in Oklahoma or attend a university in Oklahoma.
The internship requires a semester-long or summer-long commitment and can be full time or part time with a minimum commitment of 10 hours per week. Interns will be compensated at $15 an hour for a maximum of 20 hours per week.
All staff and interns are required to have the COVID-19 vaccine unless they have a medical or religious exemption that makes them unable to receive the vaccine. Reasonable accommodations will be made with staff and their direct supervisor with final determination made by the Executive Director.
Roles and Responsibilities
Interns will have the opportunity to gain valuable experience by working alongside the ACLU of Oklahoma team. Responsibilities include:
- Reading all letters and emails and listening to all voicemails from the public to the ACLU of Oklahoma Legal Department,
- Organizing intake by issue and cataloguing it into Sharepoint sheets,
- Notifying the Legal Department staff when receiving intake about issues to be specified by the supervising attorney,
- Responding to intake, including drafting response letters and sharing ACLU legal resources,
- Reporting on intake trends to the Legal Department,
- Creating a quarterly report documenting intake received on given issue areas, and
- As needed, monitoring the Mobile Justice App and ACLU Hotlines.
Experience and Qualifications
The internship is open to university students earning their undergraduate degree(s). Preference will be given to applicants with interest in obtaining a JD. Applicants should possess:
- Emotional maturity sufficient to spend significant time reading about other’s trauma,
- Understanding of the Constitution, civil rights, and social justice issues,
- Commitment to civil rights and the work of the ACLU,
- Excellent organization and writing skills, and
- Proficiency in Sharepoint and Excel.
Summer internship applications are due by March 1.
Fall internship applications are due by June 1.
Spring internship applications are due by November 1.
To be considered for this internship, please submit a resume and cover letter in a combined PDF in that order with your full name and “Intake Internship Application” as the title of the document and with “Intake Internship Application” and the year and season for which you are applying as the subject of the email to Megan Lambert at mlambert@acluok.org.