Legal Policy & Constitutional Scholarship Internship (Spring 2025)

You: An inquisitive, creative, and self-motivated college junior, senior, grad student, or recent graduate who knows the principles of liberty and seeks to advance them. You have strong written and oral communication skills and enjoy problem solving.

Them: Bureaucrats, city councils, mayors, governors, and federal agencies stripping Americans of their rights every day. There’s a lot of government overreach out there, and it’s backed by seemingly endless resources.

Us: We fight back. Pacific Legal Foundation (PLF) is the nation’s first and most successful public interest law firm dedicated to vindicating individual liberty. PLF has an unmatched record in the US Supreme Court, with 18 victories out of 20 cases heard by the Court. PLF also has nearly 200 active cases across the nation. At PLF, we aren’t interested in doing the same thing as everyone else. We aspire to be the best player in a constantly changing game.

Legal Policy and Constitutional Scholarship

In the Legal Policy and Constitutional Scholarship path, the intern will work with two teams. The Legal Policy team works to secure state and federal legislative and executive reforms to expand individual liberty and reform the unconstitutional regulatory agencies. The Constitutional Scholarship team incubates legal theories for the three PLF practice areas: property rights, equality and opportunity, and separation of powers. This path is an opportunity for a wide variety of experiences, including the following:

• Reading and summarizing important legislation.
• Developing briefing materials for meetings with executive and legislative officials.
• Conducting policy research for reform efforts at the state or federal level.
• Conducting other research for op-eds, research reports, and other projects.
• Helping prepare for and facilitate legal symposiums and roundtables.

General Information

PLF identifies and litigates important legal issues to set landmark precedents that benefit Americans nationwide. Using strategic and principled litigation, communications, and research, PLF battles for freedom in the nation’s courts and the court of public opinion.

As a national nonprofit organization, PLF has brick-and-mortar offices in Sacramento, California; Arlington, Virginia; and Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, although approximately half of the staff work from home offices across the country. Interns can work physically in any of PLF’s offices or request to work virtually. To maximize the internship experience, PLF prefers candidates who can work in the Arlington office. Applications are accepted on a rolling basis. Please submit your application by November 22, 2024.

Interns are expected to be available 25–30 hours per week.

How to Apply

If you think you might be a good fit, submit the following application materials:

• A résumé that includes relevant experience in the liberty movement and professional skills.
• A cover letter explaining why PLF is the place for you, why you want to fight for liberty, and what distinguishes you from typical applicants.
• A writing sample.
• A semester schedule (if taking classes during the internship period).

This position awards an educational stipend in two installments throughout the duration of the internship.