Before becoming a public official, Achtenberg worked for more than 15 years as a civil rights attorney, nonprofit director, and legal educator. Achtenberg supported the LGBTQ community early in her political career. Her activity included co-founding the National Center for Lesbian Rights. Between 1975 and 1976, she served as a teaching fellow at Stanford University. In 1976, Achtenberg became the Dean of the New College of California School of Law. Additionally, in 1978 Achtenberg represented LGBTQ rights while in the Anti-Sexism Committee for the National Lawyers Guild. While working for the organization, she edited "Sexual Orientation and the Law" (1985).