KIP Summer 2025 - Strategic Research Intern - Pacific Legal Foundation

The Koch Internship Program (KIP) is a paid, 10-week experiential learning program run by Stand Together Fellowships that offers meaningful work experience at non-profits all over the country tackling some of our nation’s most pressing challenges. Throughout your internship with a partner organization, Stand Together Fellowships hosts virtual professional development sessions every Thursday from 1-5 pm ET, wherein you will be mentored by seasoned professionals as you craft a capstone project on the topic that matters most to you.  Interns will receive either a $5,500 or $3,300 stipend from Stand Together Fellowships depending on whether they are participating full-time (40 hours/week) or part-time (28 hours/week).

Successful candidates will interview with both our non-profit partner organizations and Stand Together Fellowships staff, so we strongly encourage you to apply in advance!

You: An inquisitive, creative, and self-motivated college junior, senior, grad student, or recent graduate who knows the principles of liberty and seeks to advance them. You have strong written and oral communication skills and enjoy problem solving.

Them: Bureaucrats, city councils, mayors, governors, and federal agencies stripping Americans of their rights every day. There’s a lot of government overreach out there, and it’s backed by seemingly endless resources.

Us: We fight back. Pacific Legal Foundation (PLF) is the nation’s first and most successful public interest law firm dedicated to vindicating individual liberty. PLF has an unmatched record in the US Supreme Court, with 18 victories out of 20 cases heard by the Court. PLF also has nearly 200 active cases across the nation. At PLF, we aren’t interested in doing the same thing as everyone else. We aspire to be the best player in a constantly changing game.

The Strategic Research intern will be a member of the Strategic Research team. This team produces high-quality social science research to support PLF’s mission-driven goals. The team coordinates with PLF’s Litigation, Legal Policy, Constitutional Scholarship, and Communications teams. This internship is an opportunity for a wide variety of experiences, including the following:

·      Communicating with public officials to obtain public records.

·      Collecting, organizing, and analyzing data using Microsoft Excel, R, Python, GIS, or Stata.

·      Conducting literature reviews on such topics as regulatory reform, housing supply, property rights, coastal land rights, and more.

·      Developing internal data for litigation, communications, or legal policy campaigns.

·      Writing blog posts, op-eds, or one-pagers on topics relevant to PLF’s work.

General Information

PLF identifies and litigates important legal issues to set landmark precedents that benefit Americans nationwide. Using strategic and principled litigation, communications, and research, PLF battles for freedom in the nation’s courts and the court of public opinion.

As a national nonprofit organization, PLF has brick-and-mortar offices in Sacramento, California; Arlington, Virginia; and Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, although approximately half of the staff work from home offices across the country. Interns work remotely by default, but they can request to work physically in any of PLF’s offices.

If you think you might be a good fit, submit the following application materials:

·      A résumé that includes relevant experience in the liberty movement and professional skills.

·      A cover letter explaining why PLF is the place for you, why you want to fight for liberty, and what distinguishes you from typical applicants.

·      A writing sample.

·      A semester schedule (if taking classes during the internship period).

Stand Together Fellowships believes that diversity in experiences, perspectives, knowledge and ideas fuels creativity, broadens knowledge, and helps drive success. Our admissions office treats all program participants and applicants with honesty, dignity, respect and sensitivity. We welcome all qualified applicants regardless of color, race, religion, religious creed, sex, gender or gender identity, gender expression, sexual orientation, national origin, citizenship, ethnicity, ancestry, age, physical disability, mental disability, medical condition, pregnancy (including medical needs which may arise from pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions), military and veteran status, genetic information, marital or familial status, political affiliation, or any other legally recognized protected basis under federal, state or local laws, regulations or ordinances.