Kit Beyer

Spending my summer at CAC was an invaluable experience. I was able to directly contribute to legal advocacy on issues that interest me, and along the way, I became a better researcher and writer. The CAC team pairs outstanding legal work with supportive mentorship, and I’m so grateful to have had the opportunity to be part of it.

From start to finish, my internship was substantive and wide-ranging. On the litigation side, I worked on a direct litigation matter involving the Domestic Emoluments Clause—an important anti-corruption provision in the Constitution. I also contributed to research and drafting for CAC’s Supreme Court appellate advocacy, including cases on implied statutory and constitutional rights of action and LGBTQ+ equality. Moreover, after I expressed interest in CAC’s groundbreaking scholarship, I was able to dive into state constitutional history and trace the influence of the Declaration of Independence. CAC accounts for interns’ individual preferences in distributing assignments, and I’m coming away having both learned more about areas I was already drawn to and engaged with aspects of constitutional text and history that I previously knew nothing about.

On top of the work itself, CAC goes out of its way to welcome and support its interns. Although the summer really flew by, I felt like I got to know each member of the team—whether by working with them directly or over an informal lunch, coffee, or happy hour. Everyone was generous with their time, thorough in their feedback, and willing to share their advice on law school, clerking, and career paths. We had brown bags with the whole team and regular one-on-one check-ins, and the program also provides opportunities to connect with law students involved in other public-interest organizations.

I’m coming away from CAC with stronger legal skills and an understanding of how to pursue principled constitutional advocacy that advances fundamental rights, dignity, and equality. This work is more important than ever, and it’s been a privilege to contribute.

Vanessa Braganza

I have known that I wanted to practice constitutional and civil rights law since the moment I decided to enter law school. Working at CAC made me believe that I could.

What made CAC an epoch in my legal career was how the generosity and commitment of its people, and the coruscating intellectual energy of the organization, colluded to feed every one of my legal interests. CAC was not just a place to be curious. It was a place where I could act on my curiosity, take deep dives into issues that fascinated and unsettled me—and even do something about them. During my summer here, I have done research in areas as varied as immigration, voting rights, AI, the rights of incarcerated people, presidential records, inalienable rights clauses in state constitutions, and the Emoluments Clause—to name but a few.

CAC’s historicist approach to these issues has also been a learning curve. As a literary historian—and a rare book and documents historian specifically—by my pre-law school training, I had not previously realized how powerfully text and history can be brought to bear on the most contemporary of legal arguments today. I was able to merge both of my professional backgrounds at CAC for the first time—and I feel that we have only begun to scratch the surface of how connecting our constitutional past and present can help us achieve a more perfect union for all of the people.

Carson Eckhard

My summer at the Constitutional Accountability Center has been an incredibly rewarding experience. From my very first day, I had the opportunity to contribute to a wide range of projects that were intellectually challenging, engaging, and deeply meaningful. Over the course of the summer, I researched questions involving judicial oversight of federal prisons, complex choice-of-law issues, and the history and application of state constitutions’ inalienable rights clauses. Each assignment strengthened my legal research and writing skills while giving me a deeper appreciation for the role that careful historical and textual analysis can play in constitutional litigation.

Working with CAC’s talented attorneys has been one of the highlights of my summer. Their generosity with their time, thoughtful mentorship, and commitment to principled constitutional advocacy have shaped my experience in countless ways. I am especially grateful for the opportunity to learn from lawyers whose work reflects both intellectual rigor and a deep commitment to advancing equal justice. Each attorney I worked alongside provided detailed feedback on my work, and their willingness to serve as mentors has been immensely helpful as I think about my path in law school and beyond.

My fellow interns also made this summer wonderful. I learned so much from working alongside such thoughtful, accomplished, and kind law students, and I feel grateful our paths crossed at CAC. I’m looking forward to staying in touch with them, and the entire CAC team, in the years to come!

I came to CAC hoping to gain experience using constitutional text and history in litigation. I am leaving not only with a stronger foundation in those skills, but also with a clearer understanding of what thoughtful, values-driven appellate advocacy looks like in practice. I am deeply grateful to everyone at CAC for an unforgettable summer and for the opportunity to contribute to its important work.

Kenneth Gonzalez Santibanez

My summer at the Constitutional Accountability Center has been an incredibly rewarding experience. From my very first day, I had the opportunity to contribute to a wide range of projects that were intellectually challenging, engaging, and deeply meaningful. Over the course of the summer, I researched questions involving judicial oversight of federal prisons, complex choice-of-law issues, and the history and application of state constitutions’ inalienable rights clauses. Each assignment strengthened my legal research and writing skills while giving me a deeper appreciation for the role that careful historical and textual analysis can play in constitutional litigation.

Working with CAC’s talented attorneys has been one of the highlights of my summer. Their generosity with their time, thoughtful mentorship, and commitment to principled constitutional advocacy have shaped my experience in countless ways. I am especially grateful for the opportunity to learn from lawyers whose work reflects both intellectual rigor and a deep commitment to advancing equal justice. Each attorney I worked alongside provided detailed feedback on my work, and their willingness to serve as mentors has been immensely helpful as I think about my path in law school and beyond.

My fellow interns also made this summer wonderful. I learned so much from working alongside such thoughtful, accomplished, and kind law students, and I feel grateful our paths crossed at CAC. I’m looking forward to staying in touch with them, and the entire CAC team, in the years to come!

I came to CAC hoping to gain experience using constitutional text and history in litigation. I am leaving not only with a stronger foundation in those skills, but also with a clearer understanding of what thoughtful, values-driven appellate advocacy looks like in practice. I am deeply grateful to everyone at CAC for an unforgettable summer and for the opportunity to contribute to its important work.

Akhil Rajan

My summer at CAC has been deeply enriching. These months have exposed me to diverse issues and immersed me in the Constitution. Working with CAC’s exceptional lawyers over the past few months has offered an unparalleled crash-course in thoughtful appellate advocacy. I have learned how to excavate the oft-overlooked promise embedded within the Constitution’s text and history.

It is clear from day one that CAC puts a lot of thought into structuring this program to build skills for summer interns. Projects are always complex and substantive. Brown bags focus on tangible insights. And the intern cohort grows as a team. Because CAC files briefs in a wide array of cases, the attorneys have subject matter expertise across vast domains, which they are always happy to discuss over coffee.

At a time when the rule of law seems so fragile, CAC is doing yeoman’s work to push back. I am eternally grateful that I got the chance to be a part of that team for even just a summer. I know the skills I have developed and people I have met over this summer will be invaluable in the years to come.