ABA Center for Human Rights – Spring 2024 Paid Legal Intern

The American Bar Association (ABA) Center for Human Rights (CHR) is the ABA’s focal entity for critical human rights concerns in the United States and around the world. The Center mobilizes lawyers to defend threatened advocates, protect vulnerable communities, and hold governments accountable under law.

The Center is seeking experienced legal interns or externs to work closely with our legal advisors, human rights groups, and pro bono attorneys to provide legal assistance to human rights defenders who are the subject of harassment in retaliation for their advocacy efforts. The intern/extern will gain invaluable insight into international human rights law and advocacy.

Paid Interns will gain valuable experience while contributing to the important work of the ABA. The internship program is structured for the primary benefit of the intern and provides the intern with meaningful training/experience and educational benefits.

Depending on the needs of the Center at the time and the interest and experience of the intern/extern, the student may be assigned to any of the following projects and teams. Please indicate your regional and/or project preference in your cover letter.

• Justice Defenders Program: Mobilizing the global legal community to support human rights defenders around the world who face retaliation for their work. Intern/extern would be assigned to one of three regional teams (South and Southeast Asia, Southwest Asia and North Africa, and Sub-Saharan Africa) or to our Labor Rights portfolio.

This may be a fully remote, virtual internship or a hybrid/in-person opportunity, depending upon ABA policy at the start of the internship regarding in-person work, the intern’s location, and the intern’s comfort level with in-person work. To be eligible for a paid internship, intern must be located in one of the following states: California; District of Columbia; Illinois; Indiana; Iowa; Maryland; Michigan; Minnesota; Texas; Virginia; and Wisconsin.

The intern/extern is expected to begin in January 2024 for a 12-to-16-week internship period. Intern/extern is expected to commit a minimum of 10 and a maximum of 29 hours per week.

Essential Job Functions and Responsibilities

• Assist relevant business unit in accomplishing the mission and goals of the ABA.

• Accepts and completes assigned projects during the term of the internship.

Interns/Externs should expect to do several of the following tasks:
• Conduct legal research and draft memos, petitions, and reports
• Conduct supplemental fact-finding and assist during interviews
• Attend press conferences, briefings, meetings with partner organizations, and/or other webinars
• Draft editorials and blogs on key human rights issues
• Monitor ongoing human rights abuses internationally via human rights listservs and other news sources

Required Education, Qualifications, Experience

• Excellent verbal and written communication skills.

• Ability to multitask.

• Proficiency in Microsoft Office.

• Possession of or working towards a bachelor’s or graduate degree, relevant to the area of work, from an accredited college or university.

Desired Program/Area of Study:
• Currently enrolled in a JD or LLM program at an U.S.-based institution or a recent (less than one year) graduate of a JD or LLM at an U.S.-based institution.

Additional Desired Qualifications:
• Excellent oral and written communication skills in a second language is preferred.
• Knowledge of Arabic, French, Spanish, or Serbian is a plus.
• Demonstrated commitment to public interest and knowledge of international law.
• Prior experience working on issues of human rights and/or human rights defenders in one or more of regional and/or thematic programs.

Eligibility: To be eligible for a paid internship, individuals must be 18 years of age or older, and authorized to work in the United States.