SENIOR STAFF ATTORNEY

Overview

This role is a full-time Senior Staff Attorney position (exempt) with a legal-advocacy organization. Work is remote within the United States, with most of the team based on the East Coast. Periodic domestic travel is required for staff gatherings, court appearances, case development, fundraising events, and other professional reasons.

The Senior Staff Attorney will report to the Legal Director and play a key role in litigation and advocacy across the organization’s work.

Posted: February 2, 2026

Responsibilities

• Perform litigation work, including:
  • Identifying and weighing potential legal claims, arguments, and strategies
  • Client contact, advisals, and communications
  • Drafting pleadings, motions, and briefs
  • Strategizing for and conducting written and oral discovery
  • Strategizing for, exploring, and guiding settlement negotiations
• Provide technical expertise and assistance to partners
• Develop and maintain relationships with grassroots and organizational partners and support shared advocacy
• Develop and present Know Your Rights (KYR) guidance
• Develop trainings for advocates
• Participate in ongoing advocacy coalitions
• Conduct federal and/or state/local policy advocacy, as required
• Screen and follow up on intakes
• Conduct in-depth, complex legal research and writing for both litigation and non-litigation advocacy
• Provide oral advocacy and communications/media/public advocacy related to litigation and non-litigation work
• Oversee interns and fellows

Requirements

• At least 7 years of practice experience as an attorney
• Subject-matter expertise and legal-advocacy experience in one or more of the following areas:
  • immigration detention-and-deportation system
  • students’ rights under the First Amendment and under Title VI of the Civil Rights Acts of 1964
  • criminal legal system
  • prisoners’ rights and carceral abolition
  • legal frameworks concerning putative national security
  • low-wage workers’ rights
• Demonstrated experience in or commitment to movement and client-centered lawyering
• Sound professional judgment
• Rigorous critical-thinking skills
• Strong oral and written communication skills
• Exceptional time-management and organizational skills
• Demonstrated ability to work and collaborate effectively in a remote environment as part of a team, with clients, and with a variety of partners and allies
• Demonstrated self-starter who takes accountability for all areas of their work
• Ability to receive and implement feedback effectively
• Flexibility and adaptation in response to shifting priorities
• J.D. from an accredited university
• Admitted in good standing to the bar of any state and/or the District of Columbia
• Fluent in oral and written English
• Willing and able to travel as the demands of the position require

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience litigating in federal and state courts, including in complex civil litigation
• Experience with federal and state/local policy advocacy
• Experience preparing administrative complaints directed to civil-rights bodies within federal and state/local agencies
• Fluency in ASL (American Sign Language), ISL (International Sign Language), and/or one or more non-English languages (preference for Arabic, Urdu, Dari, Farsi, Pashto, Tajik, and/or Uzbek)
• Demonstrated experience in:
  • Applying cultural humility in interactions with others
  • Applying trauma-informed approaches in interactions with others

Compensation & Benefits

• Salary is commensurate with experience.
• Expected salary range: $110,000 – 130,000.
• This position is included in a union-represented collective bargaining unit, and specific employment terms and conditions are subject to collective bargaining.
• Benefits package: generous and comprehensive benefits package.

Equal-Opportunity Employment

Black, indigenous, and other people of color, people with disabilities, individuals with diverse traditions and beliefs (non-religious or religious), people with any gender identity or expression, LGBTQIA+ people, and people with lived experience of economic struggle are strongly encouraged to apply.

Application Materials & Process

Applications are considered on a rolling basis and accepted until the position is filled.

Applicants are asked to submit:

• A cover letter specifying interest in working with the organization and describing skills and relevant experience
• A resume
• A list of at least 3 professional references who can speak to recent legal-advocacy experience
• Two legal-writing samples, no greater than 20 pages each, that accurately reflect work done either exclusively or predominantly

If you do not have all required qualifications, you are still welcome to apply.