Now Hiring: 2025 DREDF Arlene Mayerson Internship

Disability Rights Education & Defense Fund (DREDF), located in Berkeley, California, offers the Arlene Mayerson Summer Internships for current law students (rising 2Ls and 3Ls) with a focus on diversity and disability. This summer internship is a full time, 40 hour per week program, that will last at least eight weeks. Interns may work in person at our accessible offices at the Ed Roberts Campus, remotely, or through a hybrid arrangement.

DREDF is a national, non-profit law and policy organization dedicated to protecting and advancing the civil and human rights of people with disabilities through legal advocacy, training, education, and development of legislation and public policy. DREDF regularly works with law student interns and teaches disability rights courses at Bay Area laws schools. Our office is uniquely comprised of not only attorneys, but also special education advocates and policy analysts, which provides for a truly interdisciplinary and multifaceted perspective on disability rights issues. The internship is named after Arlene Mayerson, a leader in the disability rights movement and DREDF founder who served as the organization’s Directing Attorney for 40 years.

Interns work on a variety of litigation projects under the supervision of DREDF attorneys. Substantive issues may include special education, health care, housing, access to government benefits and services, technology access, public accommodations, or transportation. Projects include researching legal issues, developing information materials for the community, drafting legal memos, as well as helping with court cases through drafting pleadings, motions, and discovery. Interns may have direct contact with clients and the opportunity to observe or participate in meetings, depositions, and court proceedings related to ongoing litigation.

DREDF attorneys regularly receive requests from lawyers around the country who are seeking advice and assistance on cutting-edge disability rights issues. Interns may be included in telephone calls and strategy sessions responsive to these requests. With the close supervision of attorneys, interns may also respond to telephone inquiries about disability discrimination or special education issues that callers with disabilities or parents of children with disabilities are facing and may provide informal advocacy on the clients’ behalf. Interns are also invited and encouraged to join DREDF staff in attending disability community events and meetings that occur during their internship.

We are looking for law students who are rising 2Ls or 3Ls who are interested in disability rights and social justice. Below is a list of preferred qualifications, but all law student applicants, regardless of qualifications, will be considered.

1. A demonstrated commitment to social justice.
2. Experience with disability related issues (ex. disability related course work, prior volunteer experience, prior internship/job).
3. Experience with in issues related to health, housing, and special education, transportation, and/or reproductive justice.
4. Commitment to an intersectional approach to disability justice. To this end, we are looking for interns who also have some demonstrated commitment to working for the rights of people of color, LGBTQ people, immigrants, women, indigenous populations, and other marginalized populations.
5. Strong research skills, including familiarity with researching case law, policy, municipal laws, NGO or NPO reports, and legislative history.
6. Strong writing skills, including drafting legal briefs, pleadings, Public Records Act requests, and discovery.

Stipends are available on a limited basis for qualifying interns who cannot otherwise secure summer funding or externship credit. We request that interns first explore and apply to other funding sources that they identify (e.g., law school grants). We are happy to provide confirming letters and supporting documentation to interns seeking external grants or externship credit. Our goal is for each intern to receive funds of $8,000 for the summer.

To apply, please send a cover letter, resume, transcript, and writing sample to info@dredf.org with the subject line: “2025 Internship Application”.

DREDF values diversity, and we strongly encourage and welcome applicants who are people of color, people with disabilities, people with family members with disabilities, LGBTQIA people including trans people, higher weight people, people from low-income and working-class families, and people with diverse life experiences to apply. In your cover letter, please feel free to include a paragraph explaining how your personal or professional background meets DREDF’s commitment to diversity.

Deadline for applications: February 7, 2024