The Legal Action Center (LAC) seeks interns for its New York City headquarters to work on projects related to fighting discrimination against people with histories of addiction and/or criminal justice involvement and increasing access to services.

About the Organization: LAC is a private, not-for-profit law and policy organization, with offices in New York City and Washington, D.C.  LAC is the only organization in the country whose sole mission is to fight discrimination against people with criminal records, drug or alcohol histories, and/or HIV/AIDS. LAC is a national leader in fighting mass incarceration by expanding alternatives to incarceration, seeking to connect individuals in the criminal justice system to health care services and reducing barriers to reentry in employment, housing and higher education.

Job duties: Interns will have the opportunity to participate in a variety of public policy and client-related projects, which may include:

• Researching and writing about policies and programs that impact people in the criminal justice system in New York City, New York State and federally;
• Helping to build coalitions to maintain strong privacy protections for substance use disorder treatment records and to advocate for policies that reduce barriers to housing for people with criminal justice histories;
• Helping to organize a conference about increasing access to medication-assisted treatment in jails and prisons;
• Screening calls from clients who have faced discrimination;
• Supporting the agency’s external communications efforts.

 Qualifications 

• Current college student or equivalent experienced required;
• Strong research, analytic, writing, and verbal communication skills;
• Ability to attend meetings and take notes;
• Experience designing websites a plus;
• Bilingual ability in English and Spanish preferred.

Application

Please e-mail a resume and brief cover letter (no calls) to lacinfo@lac.org and write “New York State Intern” in the subject line. The Legal Action Center is an equal opportunity employer. We encourage applications from our constituencies.

Time Commitment

Minimum 10 hours per week for 8 weeks, but up to full-time for the entire summer.  The greater the time commitment, the more responsibility the intern can take on.