About GLAD Law

Founded in 1978 and headquartered in Boston, GLAD Law (GLBTQ Legal Advocates & Defenders) is a nonprofit civil rights organization that works in New England and nationally to end discrimination based on gender identity and expression, HIV status, and sexual orientation. Through strategic litigation, public policy advocacy, and public education, GLAD Law has shaped landmark legal victories over nearly five decades, including the fight for nationwide marriage equality, and continues to pursue new legal strategies so LGBTQ+ people and people with HIV can live with dignity and self-determination.

Program Overview

GLAD Law is seeking to host independent clinical law students who want direct experience advancing LGBTQ+ civil rights. Clinical interns will work alongside GLAD Law attorneys on active litigation, policy advocacy, and legal research across the organization’s docket, and receive the supervision and feedback needed to satisfy their school’s field placement or externship requirements. Students should confirm credit arrangements with their own school’s clinical or externship office before applying.

Applicants choose one of two placement tracks.

Track 1: General Civil Rights Litigation & Policy

GLAD Law’s litigation and policy work spans the full landscape of LGBTQ+ civil rights. GLAD Law is currently engaged in a dozen cases challenging the current federal administration’s rollback of LGBTQ+ protections — including Doe v. Blanche and Talbott v. USA — and is defending patients against subpoenas targeting medical records. The team is also tracking major developments before the U.S. Supreme Court, and working nationally to protect transgender health care access, Title IX rights, and other core civil rights protections currently under sustained legal attack.

Interns in this track work across GLAD Law’s full docket, gaining exposure to the breadth of theorganization’s litigation and advocacy. Depending on caseload and interest, interns may:

  • Support active GLAD Law litigation.
  • Engage in public policy advocacy and public education.
  • Work one-on-one with GLAD Law attorneys on research assignments.
  • Attend GLAD Law’s Legal Department meetings and other case- or project-related meetings.

Track 2: Family Law & Marriage Defense

GLAD Law has long been a national leader in ensuring that states fully recognize LGBTQ+ families and provide equal access to reproductive care, adoption, and parental recognition — protections that are foundational to the security and dignity of LGBTQ+ families. That progress is now under sustained attack: opponents of equality are advancing legislation and litigation that would narrow who counts as a parent, create religious exemptions permitting discrimination in adoption and foster care, and challenge the constitutional foundations of marriage equality itself. Through a dedicated marriage defense project and through the leadership of our Director of Family Advocacy, GLAD Law is on the front lines of this fight — work that sits squarely at the intersection of LGBTQ+ rights and reproductive rights, spanning IVF and fertility care access, gamete regulation, and parentage. Interns in this track work directly with GLAD Law’s Director of Family Advocacy and other attorneys on these issues. Depending on caseload and interest, interns may:

  • Support litigation advancing family law protections in state courts, including parentage, IVF and fertility care protections, gamete regulation, fertility fraud, birth certificate reform, and surrogacy protections.
  • Help track and analyze state legislation affecting LGBTQ+ families, identifying opportunities for proactive advocacy and threats requiring a defensive response.
  • Research legal theories that strengthen the constitutional and statutory foundations of family protections and reproductive rights.
  • Contribute to amicus briefs in cases with national significance for LGBTQ+ family recognition.
  • Support policy work, including rulemaking, to advance LGBTQ+ rights.

Eligibility

GLAD Law welcomes applications from 2L and 3L law students who:

  • Possess excellent legal research and writing skills.
  • Have a demonstrated commitment to tearing down outdated laws and stereotypes that have denied full equality for LGBTQ+ people and those with HIV/AIDS.
  • Have a passion for securing racial and economic justice.

Applicants to the Family Law track should also have a strong interest in family law, reproductive rights, or constitutional law.

Program Details

Fall and Spring term placements are remote-eligible and can be full-time or part-time.

Application Deadlines

Fall 2026: Rolling admissions until positions are filled

Spring 2027: December 10, 2026

Summer 2027: February 1, 2027

How to Apply

Submit the following materials as separate PDF documents:

  • Resume
  • Cover letter (no more than one page) addressed to Legal Director Josh Rovenger, indicating which track you are applying to (General Civil Rights or Family Law)
  • Legal writing sample (5–10 pages)

Send materials to Legal Director Josh Rovenger at internships@gladlaw.org with “Legal Clinical Internship Application – [Track] – [Term][Year]” in the subject line. Please clearly indicate whether you are available to work full-time or part-time and where you learned of the position.