Senior Staff Attorney Staff Attorney

Position: Senior Staff Attorney/Staff Attorney

Department: Racial Justice Center

Terms of Employment: Regular Full-Time/Exempt/Temporary (3-Year Position with possibility of extension)/Local 2320 Union (NYCLU staff is currently working in a Hybrid model; a minimum of two days in-office each week in addition to other in-person work requirements such as legislativevisits community events and court appearances).

Location: 55 Broadway New York NY 10006 / New York Statewide

Salary: $97000- $101000 (In accordance with Attorney Pay Scale)

Application Deadline: Applications will be considered until the position is filled.

The New York Civil Liberties Union (NYCLU) is one of the nations leading advocates on behalf of constitutional rights and liberties. Founded in 1951 as the New York affiliate of the American Civil Liberties Union the NYCLU is a not-for-profit nonpartisan organization with more than 90000 members and supporters and eight offices statewide. We work in the courts in the legislatures and on the streets to advocate for racial and economic justice free speech freedom of religion privacy and equality before the law for all New Yorkers. For more information please visit our website: .

Racial Justice Center (RJC)was established in 2023 to expand and deepen the NYCLUs racial justice portfolio. The NYCLU Racial Justice Center is in deep collaboration with the NYCLU departments and centers with all of the NYCLU priorities. The RJC also leads its own advocacy legislation and litigation docket. Primarily focuses on environmental justice Indigenous rights and restorative efforts.

DEI VISION STATEMENT

The NYCLU is committed to building an equitable inclusive and anti-racist workplace that centers the voices of marginalized and directly impacted communities. This commitment strengthens our mission to protect civil liberties and advance justice across New York. We welcome candidates of all backgrounds to apply including people of color women LGBTQ individuals people with disabilities formerly incarcerated people and others whose experiences reflect the diversity of the communities we serve.

SUMMARY DESCRIPTION

The NYCLU seeks an experienced innovative and dynamic racial justice legal expert who thrives in a collaborative fast-paced organization. The candidate should have the ability to skillfully implement and/or support the NYCLUs interdepartmental approach to racial justice and broad docket of civil rights and civil liberties issues. This position will play a key role in executing the NYCLUs Racial Justice Centers strategic priorities.

The staff attorney will have a particular focus on the intersectionality of racial justice with NYCLU priority areas such as environmental racism Indigenous rights and restorative justice. The staff attorney will utilize a range of strategies to advance racial justice in New York State including legal research identifying legislative priorities and threats joining and seeking new litigation and civic engagement including submitting public comments testifying at hearings Know Your Rights education movement lawyering coalition development and strategic communications.

This position is situated in NYCLUs Racial Justice Center and directly reports to the Racial Justice Center Director.

ROLES & RESPONSIBILITIES

• Independently review state and local legislation and engage in related legislative advocacy and lobbying in connection with the Racial Justice Center strategic priorities.
• Developing and conducting litigation in federal and state courts and in administrative forums. All NYCLU attorneys are responsible for identifying possible litigation and advocacy preparing pleadings motions and briefs; conducting discovery; presenting oral arguments; and handling all aspects of appeals.
• Engaging in pre-litigation analysis including evaluating and following up on intakes; conducting factual investigations and legal analyses; utilizing the Freedom of Information Law; and drafting demand letters.
• Develop strong relationships with civil rights advocacy organizations and represent the NYCLU in multi-organization coalitions and working groups.
• Work in close collaboration with the NYCLUs legal department on developing RJC litigation strategies to promote and expand racial justice litigation priorities including close collaboration with the legal department in developing claims preparing pleadings and briefs conducting discovery and depositions handle hearings and trials and argue motions and appeals.
• Prepares and delivers testimony at public hearings and drafting public comments.
• In collaboration with NYCLU communications staff provide expert commentary to the media participate in media briefings and contribute to op-eds blog posts and other publications.
• Work closely with staff across the NYCLUincluding the Education Policy Center Legal Policy and Field Departments and our Regional Officesto ensure that the NYCLU has an integrated approach to furthering the RJCs mission.

QUALIFICATIONS

• At least 3-5 years of relevant experience.
• Must reside in or plan to relocate to New York
• Must be licensed to practice in New York State.
• Experience with litigation drafting and amending legislation and legislative advocacy community engagement and leading legal priorities.
• Preferred experience working on racial justice issues such as environmental racism infrastructure equity land-use laws restorative principles such as reparations education equity and Indigenous rights.
• Significant experience working in policy legal or government settings; high familiarity with public and legislative policy and legal procedures.
• Demonstrated ability to work successfully with organizations representing communities of color including Black Latine AMEMSA AAPI and Indigenous communities and/or Tribes.
• Ability to work independently as well as within a team.
• Excellent interpersonal relationship-building and communication skills.
• Excellent research writing analytical and communication skills.
• Ability to communicate complex legal and policy issues to government decision makers and the general public.
• Ability to work and communicate quickly and accurately managing multiple projects and deliverables under pressure.
• Meaningfully commits to and supports the NYCLUs internal and external commitment to diversity equity and inclusion.
• Must be willing to travel throughout New York State.

HOW TO APPLY

Please submit (1) a cover letter explaining your interest in the position and describing your qualifications (2) a resume and (3) a writing sample of your choosing not to exceed five (5) pages via If feasible please submit these materials as a single PDF.

We strongly prefer writing samples that are recent and entirely or largely your own work. A wide variety of writing samples may be submitted such as legal briefings or memos pleadings exert form legal research public comments advocacy letters creative writing.

The NYCLU is an equal opportunity employer and encourages applications from all qualified individuals regardless of race sex gender identity or expression age disability religion national origin citizenship marital status sexual orientation veteran status record of arrest or conviction or any other characteristic protected by applicable law. We are committed to diversity equity and inclusion and having a workforce that reflects the communities that we serve.

The NYCLU is committed to providing reasonable accommodation to individuals with disabilities. If you are a qualified individual with a disability and need assistance applying online please e-mail If you are selected for an interview you will receive additional information regarding how to request accommodation for the interview process.

This position may be eligible for the Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) Program.