Civil Rights Attorney

Description:

Every day, disabled Montanans are neglected and abused by care providers, excluded from schools, unnecessarily institutionalized, denied critical services, denied treatment in correctional facilities, separated from their communities, and shut out of decisions that shape their own lives.

Our job is to change that.

Sometimes we negotiate. Sometimes we investigate. Sometimes we build coalitions. Sometimes we educate decision makers. Sometimes we use the media. And sometimes we sue. While being able to bring affirmative, impact litigation is a powerful option, we look to combine it with other advocacy tools to create durable systemic change, not just to tally individual wins.

If that sounds like your kind of lawyering, keep reading.

Who We Are:
Disability Rights Montana protects and advances the civil rights of disabled people across Montana.

We are a private nonprofit organization and Montana's federally designated Protection and Advocacy (P&A) system.

That designation gives us authorities and access that no other organization in the state possesses.

We can:

• Investigate abuse, neglect, and rights violations;
• Access facilities where disabled people live, work, learn, receive services, or are incarcerated;
• Obtain records unavailable to the public;
• Monitor government systems, services, and institutions;
• Litigate individual and systemic cases; and
• Deploy virtually every advocacy tool available to create change.

We are not a think tank.

We are not a policy shop.

We are not a traditional legal aid program.

We are a change agent.

When systems harm disabled people, we work to transform those systems.

For more information, visit:
www.disabilityrightsmt.org

What Makes This Job Different
You will practice law.

You will investigate.

You will help shape public understanding.

You will collaborate with advocates, community leaders, families, self-advocates, researchers, policymakers, and national experts.

Most attorneys spend their careers responding to persistent problems.

Our attorneys are expected to discover them, understand them, and help eliminate them.

You will work as part of a multidisciplinary advocacy team dedicated to creating meaningful improvements in the lives of disabled Montanans.

We do not expect anyone to arrive already knowing how to do all of this.

We invest heavily in mentoring, professional development, litigation training, advocacy skills, and leadership development because we believe exceptional attorneys are developed, not found.

What You'll Do:
Litigate Cases That Matter

• Represent disabled Montanans in high-impact litigation.
• Build and pursue strategic cases designed to achieve broad systemic change.
• Collaborate with national and local co-counsel.
• Pursue administrative, state, and federal remedies.
• Support impact litigation, class actions, and precedent-setting cases.

Conduct Investigations

• Review records, policies, and practices.
• Visit facilities throughout Montana.
• Interview stakeholders and directly affected individuals.
• Identify patterns that reveal systemic failures.
• Develop evidence that strengthens advocacy and litigation efforts.

The best attorneys here do not simply respond to violations.

They uncover them, strategize on the best way to stop them, and then build and lead teams of lawyers and advocates to stop them.

Turn Individual Stories Into Systemic Change
You'll encounter recurring problems:

• A child denied services.
• A person unnecessarily institutionalized.
• A jail failing to provide adequate care.
• A community support program that says it offers high quality services on paper but not in practice.

Your role is to connect those dots and help build strategies that address root causes rather than individual symptoms.

Work Across Disciplines

You will work closely with:

• Investigators
• Advocates
• Policy professionals
• Self-advocates
• Families
• National experts
• Partner organizations
• Co-counsel

Because meaningful change rarely comes from one strategy alone.

What Success Looks Like:
You will know you're succeeding when:

• Disabled Montanans experience tangible improvements in their lives.
• Investigations uncover problems that would otherwise remain hidden.
• Litigation advances broader advocacy goals.
• The disability community views Disability Rights Montana as a trusted partner.
• Institutions become more accountable.
• Disabled people have more freedom, autonomy, opportunity, and power than they did before.

Who You Are:
You may be:

• A legal aid attorney seeking greater systemic impact.
• A public defender tired of watching the same failures repeat themselves.
• A civil rights attorney looking for more creative freedom and the awesome investigative tools of a Protection and Advocacy system.
• A law firm associate questioning whether billable hours are the measure of a meaningful career.
• A government attorney who wants to work more directly with affected communities.

More important than your résumé is your mindset.

You are someone who:

• Learns quickly.
• Writes persuasively.
• Thinks strategically.
• Handles complexity well.
• Is intellectually curious.
• Is not intimidated by powerful institutions.
• Cares deeply about justice.
• Believes disabled people deserve the same rights, dignity, freedom, and opportunities as everyone else.

Qualifications:
Required:

• Juris Doctor degree.
• Montana bar admission or the ability to obtain admission within six months of hire.
• Strong legal research and writing skills.
• Strong analytical and strategic thinking abilities.
• Ability to manage litigation and advocacy projects.

Helpful But Not Required

• Disability rights
• Civil rights
• Constitutional litigation
• Public interest law
• Education law
• Institutional reform litigation
• Administrative law

We are more interested in outstanding attorneys than perfect résumés.

If you're mission-driven, intellectually curious, and eager to grow, we encourage you to apply.

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