AALDEF 2026 SUMMER LEGAL INTERNSHIP PROGRAM

The Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund (AALDEF), founded in 1974, is a New York-based national organization that protects and promotes the civil rights of Asian Americans through litigation, legal advocacy, and community education. For more information about AALDEF and the community lawyering model we use for social change, please visit our website at http://www.aaldef.org/. 

Interns will contribute to impactful legal and advocacy work across key racial and social justice issues, including:

• Anti-Asian Violence & Discrimination – Addresses violence against Asian Americans by connecting lessons learned from post-9/11 increased surveillance and law enforcement policies. Counters racial profiling and criminal legal policies creating prison to deportation pipeline.
• Economic Justice – Advances the rights of workers in low-wage industries, including home health care, massage work, sex work, nail salons, and restaurants.
• Educational Equity – Supports race-conscious admission policies in higher education and fair and equitable education policies for communities of color and English Language Learners in K-12.
• Housing & Environmental Justice – Fights displacement in low-income Asian immigrant communities through zoning and land use policy and litigation.
• Immigrant Justice – Counters impact of heightened immigration enforcement, deportations in the Southeast Asian community, and unconstitutional ICE apprehensions/detentions. Supports deferred action policies for undocumented youth and addresses humanitarian visa issues.
• Voting Rights/Democracy – Challenges voter suppression measures, discriminatory redistricting, denials of language access, and other voting rights and equal protection issues through litigation under the Voting Rights Act and state law. Conducts election protection through exit polling and poll monitoring during primary and general elections.

Summer Internship Program Description: The summer program is ten weeks, from May 26 to July 31, 2026. Interns will work on a full-time schedule under a hybrid/remote work policy with some required in-person participation. Interns, supervised by attorneys working on various issues, will receive training and education on legal skills in civil rights issues. Interns may work on litigation, legal and policy advocacy, legal services, legal research and writing, community outreach and education, and/or client intakes. Interns will be paired with supervisors based on the capacity and priorities of the organization’s work at the time. Interns will have the opportunity to attend AALDEF staff meetings, programmatic trainings, and workshops related to community lawyering, legal writing, and more.

Applicants are expected to diligently seek any available funding from their law schools. For applicants who cannot secure funding or secure funding at a lower rate than AALDEF offers, AALDEF will supplement funding up to $6000 for the ten weeks. More information regarding this process will be provided after offers are accepted.