2027–29 Constitutional Litigation Fellowship

Americans United for Separation of Church and State is seeking a two-year (Aug./Sep. 2027–Aug./Sep. 2029) Constitutional Litigation Fellow who is committed to civil rights, impact litigation, and upholding core First Amendment protections. You will fight to keep religion out of government—including through challenges to religious coercion in public schools, religious proselytization by governmental officials, and public funding of religious institutions. And your work will include defending the rights of women, LGBTQ+ people, and racial and religious minorities against religion-based discrimination and oppression.

About Americans United. Americans United is a nonpartisan educational and advocacy organization dedicated to advancing the constitutional principle of church-state separation as the only way to ensure freedom of religion, including the right to believe or not believe, for all of us. Founded in 1947, Americans United is a diverse and dynamic organization composed of people from all walks of life: lawyers and lobbyists, students and activists, religious leaders and impassioned Americans. Americans United includes people of faith and people who don’t profess any particular faith.

For nearly 80 years, we have litigated church-state issues in federal and state courts across the country, with a substantial practice before the federal courts of appeals and the U.S. Supreme Court. Most of our cases involve novel, cutting-edge First Amendment and other constitutional issues. In recent years, for example, we have litigated lawsuits and submitted amicus briefs challenging or opposing:

• Coercive religious practices in the public schools. 
• Proselytizing by Trump-Vance Administration officials.
• Public funding of religious education. 
• Religion-based refusals by businesses, foster-care agencies, and government officials to provide services to LGBTQ+ people and religious minorities.  
• Religion-based efforts to deprive people of access to abortion and contraceptives.  
• Race-based and sex-based employment discrimination by religious employers.

For more information about Americans United’s legal program, please visit our website at www.au.org.

Duties and responsibilities. Fellows participate in all aspects of litigation before trial and appellate courts. Fellows write briefs, draft pleadings and discovery, work with clients, interview witnesses, participate in settlement negotiations, screen incoming complaints, and assist with development of new cases. Fellows may also have opportunities to take and defend depositions, conduct in-court examinations of witnesses, take part in oral arguments, and do public speaking.

Under the close supervision of our experienced litigators, Fellows receive the intensive training in trial and appellate litigation needed to become the next generation of leading impact litigators. Fellows regularly go on to serve as judicial clerks or work for public-interest organizations, government, academia, or plaintiffs’-side civil-rights firms.

Eligibility and requirements. Third-year law students, recent law-school graduates, and judicial clerks who are committed to advancing the public interest and the separation of religion and government are encouraged to apply. Americans United includes and welcomes people of all genders, races, ethnicities, religions and beliefs, sexual orientations, gender identities, ages, socioeconomic backgrounds, and abilities. Because we work on a wide variety of issues and with many different communities, we value what diversity and diverse perspectives bring to our work.

Research shows candidates from marginalized groups are less likely to apply for positions when they don’t meet 100% of the listed requirements; please consider applying even if you don’t match 100% of these criteria.

Equal opportunity employer. Americans United is an equal opportunity employer. We consider applicants without regard to race, color, religion, gender identity or expression, national origin, age, disability, marital or veteran status, sexual orientation, or any other legally protected status. If you need an accommodation for a disability to apply to this position, please let us know by emailing hr@au.org.  

Compensation. $83,640–$109,777.50 annually, depending on experience and location. Americans United’s compensation system is described in detail at bit.ly/AuscsCareers; we expect that an annual increase to the posted pay ranges will occur prior to the start of the fellowship. Americans United offers a comprehensive benefits package that includes employer-paid premiums for health care, dental, vision, life insurance, short-term disability, long-term disability, 401(k) with match, and commuter subsidy.  

Work location. Fellows can work remotely from anywhere in the following fifteen states: California, Indiana, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Maryland, Maine, Montana, New York, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, Washington, Wisconsin, and Wyoming. Fellows can also work remotely in Washington, D.C. or locally in our Washington, D.C. office. Occasional in-person attendance at events and meetings in Washington, D.C. will be required, most likely several times per year.

Working conditions and physical requirements. This position primarily involves working from a home office and/or professional office environment. The position requires routinely using standard office equipment such as computers, phones, and video-conferencing tools. It also requires the ability to remain in a stationary position for extended periods, communicate effectively, and occasionally move about within the workspace. 

Position classification. This is a full-time, exempt position. This position is within a union; it is included in the bargaining unit represented by AU Collective in connection with SEIU Local 500.

How to apply. Please submit a cover letter, a resume, a law-school transcript, a writing sample, and a list of three references through our web-based application portal at bit.ly/AuscsBambooHR. The cover letter should highlight why you want to work with us and what perspectives you would bring to strengthen our practice. The writing sample may be of any length; it should be your best example of comprehensive and detailed legal argument or analysis, should be your own work, and should not be substantially edited by anyone else. If you have any questions about the position, please do not hesitate to contact us at legaljobs@au.org.

Deadline: Open until filled. We encourage you to apply by September 13, 2026.

Compensation: $83,640–$109,777.50