staff attorney

director

philanthropy manager

senior counsel

paralegal

American Civil Liberties Union

I feel so bad for the people that show up here for an interview. they look so hopeful and I just want to say please run elsewhere. I ended up working 2-3 jobs but got paid for one and the funny part was my own job took up the least of my time. I tried speaking to the head of HR about a better pay or to at least take some of the load off of my plate and she looked at me and said "Unfortunately you are easily replaceable because I didn't hold a leadership position with in the ACLU"- which basically meant that they were able to dog me or replace me for someone else they could dog out. 
HR never did anything to help, managers continued to treat me as a pet. If you are a looking for a manager/ high position here, well then, I recommend you come on over because you can get away with anything here, but everyone else, save yourself the wasted time, headache and degradation. These people will treat you like cra*, yell at you and turn around and say good morning to you like it never happened. 
The funny part about all of this is, that the ACLU goes out to America and tries to legally fight and stand up for the little guy....but internally, behind closed doors - don't expect for them to do the same.

The ACLU has a tremendous reputation and has achieved some truly amazing milestones/victories in the fight for civil liberties over nearly 100 years.

If you're a lawyer, this is a great place to work, but if you have other skills - policy, communications, digital, advocacy - look elsewhere. 

The lawyers have an iron fist hold on all decisions related to strategy including decisions outside of their skill set. Management is terrified of the legal staff and will not push back, so skilled professionals who are not working on litigation or direct lobbying have to yield to illogical non-strategic "tactics" designed by lawyers who have no knowledge of (or real interest in) the wide range of opportunities that move public opinion around civil liberties. Good ideas are met with bullying from the lawyers to implement their ideas instead.

I've not yet met a lawyer who doesn't love it here- so if that is your field by all means apply. But if you are not a lawyer and want to flourish in your field while also working on behalf of the issues that matter most then this is not the place for you

I have never felt so alone and taken advantage of in my life. They say they are nonpartisan but that is a lie. If you don't share their viewpoints you are completely shunned. I am made to feel (on a daily basis) that I am incompetent and have no right to speak up. This may not be the case for the entire organization, but the NC affiliate is horrible. The senior management are hurtful, rude and disrespectful. I've learned that just because an organization advertises that they are inclusive and stand up for rights does not mean they are that way to employees. The hardest part of my job is being spoken to like I am 5 years old by superiors. There is no HR to go to and I feel trapped. I have no voice, well let me rephrase, I HAVE a voice but I am made to feel like I have no right to speak out. The board members are horrible and only care about the number. 

The ACLU has taken tremendous strides to center employee wellbeing, equity, diversity and inclusion and building a strong work culture ranging from management trainings to an expansive scope of ERGS. 

The culture often revolves around legal and program staff with other departments as an afterthought. 

There have been a lot of growing pains in recent years with some senior leadership changes, re-organization, departmental mergers and decoupling. 

In many ways change is constant. There is often more work than can reasonably be accomplished and a close eye on headcount. 

The best part of working here is the mission followed by passionate, smart and diverse colleagues. 

There are also very strong minded colleagues resistant to change and poor management skills. 

Overarching organizational goals and priorities are largely undefined and create difficulties downstream. 

There is a lot of interesting work to be done at the ACLU. I really enjoyed my colleagues and it was nice to know that we were all public service oriented and striving towards highlighting key social justice issues for the public. Some of the work can be a bit ambiguous, given the asks from other teams so defining what work you want to do can be difficult at times but has also helped me in learning how to appropriately scope problems and ask good questions to get the desired output for teams in need.

working for the American Civil Liberties Union entailed knowledge of the organization, memorizing wraps and being able to present the information in a presentable manner to other organizations.  I learned how to best sell to people by providing the background and legitimacy of the organization but also how the donations would in turn benefit the donors as well as the civil rights they were donating for.
The hardest part of the job was being able to present this information in a timely manner to people i have never met before or had just begun meeting at the job.
The most enjoyable part was witnessing the affect all our lobbying had on legislation, with the ability to assist in getting civil rights bills passed (same-sex marriage) and how it involved all the employees and donors and the significance we had had on each other as a collective group.

I do several different things as an Outreach Assistant at the American Civil Liberties Union of Utah. I do everything from plan fundraising events, to promoting our work to the community, to working with external partners on different projects. I have learned how to interact with different people in our community, fundraise, and work with donors. My supervisor was always quick to help and kept me busy. My co-workers were all very nice and open-minded. The hardest thing about this job was learning to work on several tasks at once. The most enjoyable part of the job was interacting with people in our community and working for an organization that I believed in.

I worked at the ACLU as an undergraduate Intern. Supervisors were super supportive, and I got to work on very important issues. Fellow interns were the best and perhaps one of the best parts of the internship. It feels really good to find peers who are as passionate about social justice as much as you are. There are also weekly brown bag events where you get to hear from issue experts (and away from your desk and free food!). And there is an intern program where you get money to have lunch with fellow interns and also coffee with ACLU staff whose careers you admire. Lunch and coffee can be had from anywhere.

Lastly, great pay if you opt to receive a stipend. I was pleasantly surpised.

Being a part of the Development sector of the ACLU of PA Philadelphia Chapter, I learned how to use time management to complete certain tasks which may have been time sensitive or not. There is efficiency in the office which allows the work flow to be finished in an ideal time. The office hosts a list of personal people as well in the office and there hasn't been a moment where I felt unwelcome in the office. I would recommend someone to come on board with the team if you have a passion for your legal rights and want to make an impact in your community.

During my time with the ACLU I got to learn about peoples rights and got to interact with those who believed they had been wronged by their employers or community.  I worked in an office where there were only three of us and all of our contact with management consisted of teleconferences on a weekly basis.  The work hours were great, however, the location was in a very sketchy area.  In working there I was able to learn and grow but I always wanted to work for the government so when I was offered a position at our local Sheriff's Department I took it and left the ACLU after a year.

Top Job Titles	Average Salary
Staff attorney 19 salaries reported	$129,673 per year
Director 7 salaries reported	$125,421 per year
Philanthropy manager 3 salaries reported	$72,752 per year
Senior counsel 6 salaries reported	$111,345 per year
Paralegal 1 salary reported	$78,979 per year

Working at American Civil Liberties Union: Company Overview and Reviews

American Civil Liberties Union

American Civil Liberties Union Ratings

Popular jobs at American Civil Liberties Union

Salary Satisfaction

Job Seeker Tools

Employer Tools

Browse

Stay Connected