Paralegal, National Prison Project

The ACLU seeks applicants for the full-time position of Paralegal in the National Prison Project of the ACLU’s National office in Washington, D.C. or San Francisco. This is a four-year, limited term position.  This is a hybrid position that has in-office requirements of two (2) days per week or eight (8) days per month.  

The National Prison Project works to ensure that conditions in prisons, jails, juvenile detention centers, and immigration detention facilities comply with the Constitution, domestic law, and international human rights principles. NPP has successfully litigated on behalf of incarcerated and detained people in more than 25 states, and is the only organization litigating conditions of confinement cases nationwide. Our priorities include reducing overcrowding, improving health care, eliminating violence and maltreatment, and increasing oversight and accountability in prisons, jails, and other places of detention. We also work to reverse the policies that have given the United States the highest incarceration rate in the world and led to extreme over-representation of people of color in our country’s prisons, jails, and immigration detention facilities.  

This position is part of a collective bargaining unit. It is represented by ACLU Staff United (ASU).

Reporting to the Deputy Project Director of the National Prison Project, the Paralegal should be prepared to contribute to all aspects of the Project’s litigation and non-litigation work. This position will have a particular emphasis on challenging immigration detention conditions and the use and abuse of immigration detention in the federal government’s mass deportation system, and will coordinate closely with counterparts in the ACLU Immigrants’ Rights Project. The Paralegal will be responsible for a wide range of tasks to support and advance our litigation, advocacy, and public education efforts. This position is part of a collective bargaining unit. 

• Maintain and organize electronic and hard copy filing systems, including litigation case files, attorney correspondence files, and litigation dockets 
• Draft correspondence and other materials as requested; respond to written and verbal inquiries, as directed by Director, Deputy Director, and/or other attorneys 
• Work with attorneys to review documents, summarize exhibits 
• Travel with attorneys to visit carceral facilities to interview and meet with detained and incarcerated clients; interview detained and incarcerated clients via phone or video 
• Type, prepare, proofread, and cite check legal and other documents 
• Collect information for and update NPP’s docket, sharing regular updates with staff across the ACLU 
• Develop, update, and maintain NPP’s website and other public information outlets 
• Provide administrative support, including processing invoices; tracking and reporting expenses, case costs and lobbying hours; preparing expense reports; ordering supplies; and updating case codes and contact sheets 
• Provide administrative support to Project Director and Deputy Directors, including managing travel arrangements and calendar 
• Schedule, arrange, prepare, and distribute materials for meetings and conference calls, and take minutes at those meetings as needed 
• Assist with attorney pro hac and bar admission applications 
• Sort and distribute mail; assist with general NPP mail and telephone intake from detained and incarcerated people and their loved ones 
• Provide administrative support for the managers’ review of applications for new hires 
• With other paralegals, supervise and oversee undergraduate interns 
• Engage in special projects and other duties as assigned by NPP staff 

• Be committed to advancing the mission of the ACLU
• Center and embed the principles of equity, inclusion and belonging in their work by demonstrating commitment to diversity with an approach that respects and values multiple perspectives
• Be committed to working collaboratively and respectfully toward resolving obstacles and conflicts

• Fluency in Spanish strongly preferred; fluency in other languages commonly spoken by immigrant detainees preferred 
• Must take initiative, be highly organized and detail-oriented, and possess strong interpersonal and time-management skills 
• Excellent research, writing, and verbal communication skills 
• Ability to manage multiple tasks simultaneously 
• Ability to work independently as well as within a team while maintaining a high level of efficiency and professionalism 
• Prior professional or personal experience with the criminal justice and/or immigration systems preferred 
• Be committed to work collaboratively and respectfully toward resolving obstacles and conflicts

• Bachelor's degree
• One year of paralegal experience

For over 100 years, the ACLU has worked to defend and preserve the individual rights and liberties guaranteed by the Constitution and laws of the United States. Whether it’s ending mass incarceration, achieving full equality for the LGBTQ+ community, establishing new privacy protections for our digital age, or preserving the right to vote or the right to have an abortion, the ACLU takes up the toughest civil liberties cases and issues to defend all people.

We know that great people make a great organization. We value our people and know that what we offer is essential not just their work, but to their overall well-being. 

At the ACLU, we offer a broad range of benefits, which include:

• Time away to focus on the things that matter with a generous paid time-off policy
• Focus on your well-being with comprehensive healthcare benefits (including medical, dental and vision coverage, parental leave, gender affirming care & fertility treatment)
• Plan for your retirement with 401k plan and employer match
• We support employee growth and development through annual professional development funds, internal professional development programs and workshops

Accessibility, equity, diversity and inclusion are core values of the ACLU and central to our work to advance liberty, equality, and justice for all. For us diversity, equity, accessibility, and inclusion are not just check-the-box activities, but a chance for us to make long-term meaningful change.  We are a community committed to learning and growth, humility and grace, transparency and accountability. We believe in a collective responsibility to create a culture of belonging for all people within our organization – one that respects and embraces difference; treats everyone equitably; and empowers our colleagues to do the best work possible. We are as committed to anti-oppression, anti-ableism, and anti-racism internally as we are externally. Because whether we’re in the courts or in the office, we believe ‘We the People’ means all of us.

With this commitment in mind, we strongly 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, veteran status and record of arrest or conviction, or any other characteristic protected by applicable law.    

The ACLU is committed to providing reasonable accommodation to individuals with disabilities. If you are a qualified individual with a disability and need assistance applying online, please email benefits.hrdept@aclu.org. If you are selected for an interview, you will receive additional information regarding how to request an accommodation for the interview process.