Legal Jobs in Pennsylvania with F-1 OPT Sponsorship

INTRODUCTION

The American Civil Liberties Union of Pennsylvania (ACLU-PA) seeks a motivated, organized, and detail-oriented full-time Litigation Assistant to support the legal department’s important and non-partisan voting-rights litigation in this battleground election state. The work will primarily involve assisting attorneys with investigating and tracking voting rights violations, assisting the organization’s manager of election-protection during the November 2026 election cycle, performing analyses of voting data for use in advocacy and litigation, and carrying out administrative tasks related to litigation. The Voting-Rights Litigation Assistant works closely with the Legal Director and other lawyers in the organization’s voting-rights-litigation team, members of the organization’s voting-rights-advocacy team, as well as with members of the organization’s voting-right-coalition. This position is full time and runs from mid-2026 through mid-2027. Applicants are invited to work in either the Philadelphia or Pittsburgh offices. This is a one-year position and will run until mid-2027. Applications will be accepted on a rolling basis until the position is filled.

Our Approach

The ACLU-PA values the humanity and contributions of those we work with, inside and outside of the organization, and will take action to build and sustain an equitable, anti-racist culture that centers the voices and experiences of marginalized and directly impacted people and communities, and an organizational environment where all people feel valued, trusted, and respected. Our work is guided by the principles of freedom, equality, and justice enumerated in the Constitution. We understand that systemic racism and other forms of oppression have prevented the equitable application of these principles to all, and we strive to ensure that our approach accounts for this reality. We also acknowledge that demands of the work as well as the challenging subject matter it often involves take a toll. While we know that the path of this work is long and hard, we also value the importance of personal well-being. To that end, we endeavor to cultivate a culture that is supportive and sustainable and promotes taking care of oneself.

Responsibilities

The Litigation Assistant’s essential duties and responsibilities will likely include, but may not be limited to, the following:

• Assist attorneys with fact development and collection, including preparing and reviewing public records requests, attending elections board and coalition meetings, and interviewing clients and witnesses.
• Recruit and coordinate local attorneys to monitor election issues, including by providing legal support to the 1-866-OUR-VOTE election-protection hotline, which responds to complaints from Pennsylvania voters about problems with mail-in voting and in-person voting on Election Day.
• Assist attorneys in preparing materials for court hearings, depositions, and client meetings.
• Communicate/coordinate with clients, court personnel, co-counsel, cooperating attorneys, partner organizations, and other stakeholders, as assigned.
• Submit open records requests to election officials and perform impactful data analyses of voting data for use in advocacy and litigation.
• Schedule meetings and conference calls, and manage calendars.
• Perform general clerical and administrative duties, including copying, scanning, filing, and mailing.
• Assist in planning and coordination for meetings and events related to voting rights.
• Attend departmental and issue-oriented meetings to stay updated on ongoing work.
• Other duties as assigned.

BASIC QUALIFICATIONS

• A bachelor’s degree or paralegal certificate from an accredited program.
• Ability to stay organized, pay attention to details and manage time effectively.
• Experience handling and prioritizing multiple activities and responsibilities under time pressure.
• Strong computer skills, including Microsoft Word and Excel, and ability to learn new computer programs.
• Familiarity with an analytics programming language (e.g., R, Python) to perform data manipulation tasks and analysis.
• Experience being dependable and punctual and responsibly handling confidential information.
• Ability to work cooperatively on a variety of projects with lawyers, other ACLU-PA staff, clients, and co-counsel.
• Excellent interpersonal, verbal and written communication skills.
• Commitment to constitutional principle that all registered voters, regardless of beliefs or political affiliation, have a right to vote, in person or by mail, and to have that vote counted.
• Ability to occasionally work evenings and weekends.

PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS

Ideally, the successful candidate will exhibit the following characteristics:

• One or more years of experience working in a nonprofit or legal setting.
• Basic understanding of legal and constitutional issues related to elections and voting.
• Experience with litigation-related tasks, including creating tables of contents and tables of authorities, and filing documents with Pennsylvania and federal courts.
• Ability to speak and/or write in Spanish and to assist clients with limited English proficiency.
• Demonstrated personal commitment to advancing the ACLU’s values, mission, goals and programs, with an understanding of a broad range of civil liberties and civil rights issues and their implications.
• Direct personal or professional experience with communities impacted by systemic bias or economic exclusion.

COMPENSATION & BENEFITS

This is a temporary position ending in mid-2027. ACLU-PA offers paid time off and participation in an employee retirement account. The annual salary for the position is $66,966. This position is full-time, salaried, and nonexempt under the Fair Labor Standards Act. Benefits include a defined contribution plan with employer match; and 11 paid holidays.

LOCATION

This position can be based in either our Philadelphia or Pittsburgh offices. Under the ACLU-PA’s current hybrid remote work policy, the Litigation Assistant will be permitted to work up to three days per week remotely.

APPLICATION PROCEDURE

Applications will be accepted on a rolling basis until the position is filled. Applications must include (1) a resume, (2) a cover letter that best expresses your interest and unique qualifications, and (3) list of three references.

To apply, please complete the application on the ACLU-PA career page. Application materials sent via postal mail or fax will not be accepted. No calls, please.

The ACLU of Pennsylvania advances equity and inclusion in the workplace by providing equal employment opportunity to support a work environment free from discrimination on the basis of race, religious creed, color, national origin, ancestry, physical disability, mental disability, medical condition, genetic information, marital status, sex, gender, gender identity, gender expression, age (over 40), sexual orientation, military and veteran status, and any other basis prohibited by law. The organization also provides reasonable accommodations for qualified applicants and employees with disabilities. This equal employment opportunity policy applies to all aspects of employment, including recruitment, selection, advancement, training, problem resolution, and separation from employment. Through this policy, the ACLU-PA strives to establish and maintain an equitable and accessible work environment that is free from discrimination and supportive of a workforce that reflects the rich diversity of our communities and the people we serve.

ABOUT THE ACLU OF PENNSYLVANIA

The American Civil Liberties Union of Pennsylvania is a nonprofit, nonpartisan, membership organization that serves as an enduring guardian of justice, fairness, and freedom, working to protect civil liberties and advance equity for all.

ACLU-PA defends and promotes the fundamental principles and values protected by the constitutions of the United States and of the commonwealth of Pennsylvania, as well as by national, state and local civil rights laws. For more than 100 years, the ACLU has sought in particular to protect and expand the freedoms of expression, belief and association; voting rights; the separation of church and state; the right to privacy, including reproductive freedom; due process of law, including the rights of the accused and of immigrants; limitations on the power of police; and the right to equal protection for all marginalized individuals and groups. In advancing these rights, ACLU-PA strives always to acknowledge and remedy the pervasive and persistent harms of systemic racism.

Integrating litigation, legislative and policy advocacy, organizing, and communications, ACLU-PA’s staff and volunteers work both independently and in coalition with those most affected by the issues we address to ensure that threats to liberty and the civil rights of all persons in Pennsylvania are met with stark resistance as we progress toward a more genuine multiracial, multicultural democracy.

ACLU-PA’s hiring process will comply with Philadelphia’s Fair Criminal Records Screening Standards (“Ban the Box”) ordinance.