Externally Funded Legal Department Fellowship Opportunity to Advance State Constitutional Protections (Starting Fall 2025)

The Roger Baldwin Foundation of the ACLU of Illinois (ACLU of Illinois) is currently accepting applications from qualified rising third-year law students and recent law graduates with a commitment to civil rights and civil liberties and strong legal research and writing skills, who seek a host organization for an externally funded fellowship (e.g., Equal Justice Works, Justice Catalyst, law school sponsored fellowships, etc.). The focus of this fellowship will be helping to launch a project seeking to advance state constitutional protections in Illinois.

The Legal Department of the ACLU of Illinois works with colleagues across the organization to advance civil rights and civil liberties. Our work protects democracy by advancing federal and state constitutional rights; fights racism in the criminal and civil legal systems and policing; promotes access to reproductive health care, the rights of LGBTQ+ communities, and gender equity; and addresses and prevents the harm experienced by children in the foster system, young people in juvenile detention, and people in prisons and jails.

We are currently accepting fellowship applications to support the development of litigation to enforce and expand state constitutional protections in Illinois.

Federal civil rights litigation remains an indispensable tool for litigants to enforce their rights and achieve justice, particularly on issues of what is now settled law. But recent U.S. Supreme Court decisions have rolled back previously recognized constitutional protections.

In this environment, it has never been more important for the Illinois Constitution to fulfill its considerable promise as a “font of individual liberties,” and to establish our State as a place of refuge for liberty. Illinois has the benefit of a Constitution that features remarkably sweeping and expansive language on civil rights and liberties. And this language carries the unique benefit of recent ratification (in 1970) as compared to most states, a fact that grounds the charter’s protections in a different era than the U.S. Constitution and makes the will of the document’s drafters comparatively easy to discern.

The fellow would help launch a project to help establish the Illinois Constitution as a robust source of rights and protections that may exceed those established by the U.S. Constitution. The fellow would assist in any or all of the following: (1) developing affirmative litigation to enforce state constitutional provisions; (2) writing amicus briefs to advance expansive interpretation of Illinois constitutional provisions; (3) developing internal and external case tracking and other litigation support resources to allow the more efficient identification of opportunities to advance interpretation of the Illinois Constitution; (4) assisting in legislative advocacy to enhance opportunities to give full force to state constitutional provisions; and (5) through outreach, events, and other collaboration, building a community of scholars, experts, and advocates dedicated to helping advance the project’s goals.

The successful fellowship applicant may also have the opportunity to support other Legal Department projects that are ongoing or in development, including without limitation: litigation to reduce racial disparities in traffic stops and searches; litigation to protect young people from abusive and unconstitutional conditions at juvenile detention centers; or the ACLU of Illinois’ representation of community-based organizations that are part of a Coalition advocating for systemic reform of Chicago Police Department practices.

The fellow will be supervised by managers in the ACLU of Illinois Legal Department to support new and ongoing impact litigation and non-litigation advocacy done in collaboration with other Departments. Previous fellows have had the opportunity to develop facts and research for new litigation; work with current and potential ACLU-IL clients; participate in discovery matters in pending litigation; conduct legal and policy research on a variety of issues; participate in settlement negotiations; draft sections of legal briefs and complaints; and collaborate with grassroots and community-based organizations.

Applicants should send the following materials to fellowshipcommittee@aclu-il.org:

A current resume
A cover letter
- clearly stating the academic year or other timeframe for which you seek a fellowship;
- specifying the name(s) and deadline(s) of the fellowship(s) for which you are applying (e.g., EJW, Justice Catalyst, Law-school funded, etc.); and
- describing your commitment to civil rights and civil liberties generally, and to protecting constitutional rights at the state level, especially on behalf of members of the LGBTQ+ community, racial and religious minorities, and other marginalized groups.

Priority consideration will be given to those who contact us before August 1, 2024. Later applications will also be considered.

We review submissions on a rolling basis. Any decision to support a candidate will be made considering the ACLU-IL Legal Department’s programmatic needs and supervision resources, and the applicant’s skills and qualifications.

Supervisors in the ACLU of Illinois Legal Department will work closely with the selected applicant to develop proposals for external funding. Our team is committed to supervising and mentoring up-and-coming public interest lawyers who are excited to work collaboratively in a multi-issue organization that advances civil rights and civil liberties.

The ACLU of Illinois is an equal-opportunity employer. We value a diverse workforce and encourage applications from all qualified individuals without regard to race, color, religion, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, age, national origin, marital status, citizenship, disability, criminal record, or veteran status.

The ACLU makes every effort to ensure that its recruitment and employment provide all qualified persons, including persons with disabilities, with full opportunities for employment in all positions. 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.

ACLU of Illinois staff are based in Chicago, IL. Currently, we are working on a hybrid basis with a minimum of three days per week in the office, and the number of required days in the office may increase. Fellows will be expected to work out of our Chicago office, likely on a hybrid schedule, to be determined in 2024.

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