Description:
About the Job:
The ACLU of Illinois works to advance civil liberties throughout Illinois. Our work includes fighting institutional and structural racism that undermines civil rights and civil liberties, including in the criminal and civil legal systems and immigration; protecting democracy by advancing First Amendment rights, government transparency and voting rights; promoting the rights of women and people in the LGBTQIA+ community, including the right to reproductive freedom, bodily autonomy, and gender-affirming care; and fighting to enforce the rights of people in government care, including children in foster care and people in prisons, jails, and juvenile detention facilities.
Job Description:
The Senior Supervising Attorney is a highly collaborative team player who works in tandem with colleagues across our organization to advance our goals. Senior Supervising Attorneys lead and litigate cases in state and federal court. In addition, they work closely with colleagues in our Advocacy, Communications, and Philanthropy & Engagement Departments to promote change through legislative initiatives, advocacy with government officials, and public education.
A core priority of our work is to use systemic impact litigation and advocacy strategies to advance the rights of persons affected by the criminal legal system. This includes work to advance transformational change in the way police interact with communities of color, people with disabilities, and other marginalized groups.
The expectation is that the person hired for this position initially will spend a substantial portion of their time working in our Criminal Legal System & Policing Project, but they will also have responsibilities for cases in our other projects, and the focus of their work will shift over time as the changing needs of the Legal Department may require.
Responsibilities:
The general job responsibilities of a Senior Supervising Attorney include, but are not limited to, the following:
The ACLU of Illinois works to advance civil liberties throughout Illinois. Our work includes fighting institutional and structural racism that undermines civil rights and civil liberties, including in the criminal and civil legal systems and immigration; protecting democracy by advancing First Amendment rights, government transparency and voting rights; promoting the rights of women and people in the LGBTQIA+ community, including the right to reproductive freedom, bodily autonomy, and gender-affirming care; and fighting to enforce the rights of people in government care, including children in foster care and people in prisons, jails, and juvenile detention facilities.
Job Description:
The Senior Supervising Attorney is a highly collaborative team player who works in tandem with colleagues across our organization to advance our goals. Senior Supervising Attorneys lead and litigate cases in state and federal court. In addition, they work closely with colleagues in our Advocacy, Communications, and Philanthropy & Engagement Departments to promote change through legislative initiatives, advocacy with government officials, and public education.
A core priority of our work is to use systemic impact litigation and advocacy strategies to advance the rights of persons affected by the criminal legal system. This includes work to advance transformational change in the way police interact with communities of color, people with disabilities, and other marginalized groups.
The expectation is that the person hired for this position initially will spend a substantial portion of their time working in our Criminal Legal System & Policing Project, but they will also have responsibilities for cases in our other projects, and the focus of their work will shift over time as the changing needs of the Legal Department may require.
Responsibilities:
The general job responsibilities of a Senior Supervising Attorney include, but are not limited to, the following:
- Investigate, develop, and lead high-impact cases at the trial and appellate level in federal and state courts and in state or federal administrative proceedings.
- Investigate, develop, and advance, in coordination with other Departments, non-litigation strategies for advancing civil rights and civil liberties.
- Conduct investigations, lead impact litigation, and/or non-legislative advocacy, either independently or in collaboration with other members of the Legal Department.
- Develop and maintain strong, collaborative relationships with our cooperating counsel, allied organizations, community-based organizations, stakeholders, members of communities affected by our work, and ACLU-IL members.
- Serve as an ACLU-IL spokesperson with the media and external partners on identified issues.
- Effectively supervise, manage, and mentor early-career and mid-career attorneys and Legal Department support staff, including assigning and overseeing day-to-day work and evaluating their work performance and professional development.
Position Requirements:
This is a full-time position. All applicants must:
- Have a J.D. and be admitted to practice in Illinois, be eligible to waive into the Illinois bar, or be willing to take the Illinois bar exam no later than summer 2024.
- Have a minimum of 10 years of litigation experience in state court, federal court, and/or state or federal administrative proceedings.
- Have demonstrated ability in conceiving cases and litigating them to conclusion. Significant experience in conducting evidentiary proceedings and handling expert discovery and witness presentation is required.
- Have excellent persuasive writing skills for court filings and for communications in legal and non-legal settings.
- Have demonstrated ability to speak persuasively and effectively with individuals from a diverse range of identities, interests, and backgrounds in non-legal and legal settings.
- Have strong legal aptitude, including thoughtful engagement with novel and complex legal questions, and demonstrated ability to respond quickly and effectively to emergent issues.
- Have a well-developed interest in a range of civil rights and civil liberties issues and the ability to master areas of law outside of their current expertise.
- Be highly collaborative with the desire to consult and share information with colleagues, and skills to respectfully resolve differences.
- Have demonstrated ability to supervise attorneys to produce high-quality results and help less-experienced attorneys develop their skills.
- Have demonstrated practice of integrating key equity concepts into work and interpersonal interactions by addressing structural implications and disproportionate impacts of policies, activities, and decisions on race, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity and gender expression, class, and other group identities.
- Have demonstrated a commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion within the workplace, using an approach that values all individuals and respects differences in race, ethnicity, age, gender identity and expression, sexual orientation, religion, ability, socio-economic circumstance, and other factors.
- Be willing and available to travel throughout Illinois and to work beyond the normal workday and/or on weekends when needed.
