The Women’s Rights Project of the American Civil Liberties Union Foundation seeks applicants for a senior-level Staff Attorney in New York.
America's foremost advocate of individual rights, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) is a nonpartisan organization founded in 1920. With national headquarters in New York and Washington and 53 affiliates throughout the country, it is widely regarded as one of the nation's premier public interest law firms.
WOMEN’S RIGHTS PROJECT
Founded in 1972 by Ruth Bader Ginsburg, the Women's Rights Project (WRP) has been a leader in the legal battles to ensure women’s full equality in American society. WRP is dedicated to the advancement of the rights and interests of women, with particular emphasis on issues affecting low-income women, women of color and immigrant women. WRP has overall responsibility for implementing ACLU policy in the area of gender discrimination. WRP conducts direct litigation, files amicus curiae briefs, provides support for ACLU affiliate litigation, serves as a resource for ACLU legislative work on women’s rights and seeks to advance ACLU policy goals through public education, outreach and participation in coalitions. WRP has been an active participant in virtually all major gender discrimination litigation in the Supreme Court, in Congressional efforts to promote gender equality and in other significant public education on behalf of women and girls.
WRP has three core priority areas of focus: violence against women, with a focus on housing and employment discrimination against survivors of domestic violence and police responsiveness to abuse; economic justice, with a particular emphasis on employment issues that affect low-wage immigrant women workers and women in non-traditional employment; and criminal and juvenile justice issues affecting women and girls. Cutting across these priority areas, WRP seeks to incorporate an international human rights framework into its litigation and advocacy efforts.
ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES
The Staff Attorney will be responsible for managing and supervising significant litigation in federal and state court. The work will include district and appellate court litigation, discovery and motion practice, briefs and arguments and occasional trials.
The Staff Attorney will also:
*Provide assistance and advice to ACLU affiliates and private attorneys;
*Respond to requests for assistance from members of the public;
*Conduct policy analysis;
*Draft materials for public education;
*Develop strategies for international human rights advocacy;
*Engage in public speaking and respond to press inquiries;
*Work with other advocates and organizations;
*Supervise junior attorneys, fellows and law student interns.
EXPERIENCE AND QUALIFICATIONS
*J.D. and six to ten years’ litigation experience preferred;
*Excellent legal research and writing skills;
*Ability to undertake complex legal analytical work;
*Self motivation and ability to manage a variety of tasks;
*Creativity in crafting strategies to advance women’s rights in WRP’s priority areas;
*Ability to supervise junior colleagues;
*Commitment to advancing women’s rights; Knowledge of legal issues involving women’s rights, discrimination, violence against women, and/or international human rights strongly preferred;
*Willingness and ability to travel.
COMPENSATION
The ACLU offers a generous and comprehensive compensation and benefits package, commensurate with experience and within parameters of the ACLU compensation scale.
The ACLU is an equal opportunity/affirmative action employer and encourages applications from women, people of color, persons with disabilities, and lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender individuals.
The ACLU comprises two separate corporate entities, the American Civil Liberties Union and the ACLU Foundation. Both the American Civil Liberties Union and the ACLU Foundation are national organizations with the same overall mission, and share office space and employees. The ACLU has two separate corporate entities in order to do a broad range of work to protect civil liberties. This job posting refers collectively to the two organizations under the name “ACLU.”
HOW TO APPLY
If you are a proactive and resourceful team player with a passion for women’s rights, please send letter of interest, current resume, law school transcript, legal writing sample and names and telephone numbers of two legal references by email to hrjobs@aclu.org - reference [WRP-07] in subject line – or by mail to:
Human Resources
RE: STAFF ATTORNEY SEARCH - [WRP-07]
American Civil Liberties Union
125 Broad Street, 18th Floor
New York, NY 10004
Applications will be accepted until the position is filled, which will not be before August 10, 2006. Please indicate where you learned of this job posting.