Description:
Who we are:Situated at the forefront of the national stage in the racial justice movement, Advancement Project is a cutting-edge, no-holds-barred national organization dedicated to building local power in communities of color. Centered on a movement lawyering approach, defined as community-centered racial justice lawyering, Advancement Project supports power building in grassroots organizations working to eliminate oppressive structures in our laws and institutions and shift narratives towards transformative change. From ending the school-to-prison pipeline to the fight to expand the right to vote, from calling for a complete overhaul of how we view the police and carceral state to fighting for immigrant justice, Advancement Project impacts real change from the ground up. Building on more than 20 years, we continue to evolve our strategic thinking and creativity to imagine a more just world in which people of color can thrive, be safe, and free. – and we are excited to bring on new talent to forward our vision.
The Advancement Project's track record of success includes:
- Pioneering the school-to-prison pipeline movement, winning significant victories in several school districts across the country to reform disciplinary policies and practices and remove police from schools entirely, including building and nurturing a grassroots movement of parents and youth. This work led to federal guidance on racial discrimination in school discipline.
- Launching the National Police Free Schools Campaign with the Alliance for Education Justice, supporting local youth-led campaigns to end policing in their schools and calling for national demands for change for safety in public schools.
- Serving as legal counsel in the 2000 presidential election case in Florida, successfully challenged North Carolina's voter suppression law, and was the founding member of the Florida Rights Restoration Coalition that won the ballot initiative to strike down the state's ban on voting for those with felony convictions. Supported legislative efforts to pass the Virginia Voting Rights Act, the first voting rights anti-discrimination law in the South.
- Supporting Close the Workhouse Campaign in St. Louis, led by Action St, Louis, secured the city's agreement to close a jail and reinvest money into the community.
- Working with survivors of Hurricane Katrina from New Orleans to ensure their voices were being heard in the reconstruction process.
- Partnering with Ben & Jerry's to launch a new flavor of ice cream, Justice Remix'd, the first time the company put an organization's name on its containers.
Position Overview:
We are seeking a creative, problem solver, strong advocate, and skilled attorney to work from our Washington DC office to serve as a Staff Attorney to work on our Justice Project program supporting and implementing strategic initiatives to advance the objectives and goals of the Justice Project, including litigation and advocacy on policing issues. The ideal candidate will also support the legal, policy, and advocacy needs of our grassroots partners and understand how to use policy, litigation, and legislation to support organizing campaigns. Through research, analysis, writing, and litigation, the staff attorney will support grassroots partners and our national campaigns and collaborate with and across teams to do so.
This position will report to the Director of the Justice Project Program and will be a union member with compensation determined by the union compensation structure.
What You'll Do:
The staff attorney is part of a team that provides strategic counsel and partners with grassroots organizations for education justice campaigns at the local and national levels. The staff attorney will research and analyze policies, laws, and regulations on assigned issues to support grassroots partners and the Advancement Project's overall mission. The work will entail investigating racial justice issues, including through data, anecdotal, and other factual collection and analysis. The attorney prepares legal memoranda and drafts other associated policy-related and legal documents. This role also assists with litigation efforts, including discovery and motion writing when appropriate. The attorney assists with legislative efforts, including analyzing and drafting bill language.
Additional Functions:
- Collaborate with colleagues, internally and externally, in various program and function areas to develop and implement strategies.
- Cultivate external relationships with national and local organizations and allies.
- The author reports and other content on education justice issues for various audiences.
- Serve as an expert internally and externally on education justice issues.
- Monitor legal and legislative developments in assigned issue areas.
- Assist with legal and policy work cross-program, as needed;
- Use various legal, policy, communications, organizing, and coalition-building strategies to assist our community partners.
What you need to be considered:
- State bar membership (must be willing to become a member of or able to waive into DC Bar);
- Two years of legal experience.
- Demonstrated commitment to racial justice.
- Excellent written, verbal, analytical, interpersonal, and organizational skills.
- Interest in working with grassroots organizations.
- Willingness to travel.
- Experience in civil rights is preferred.
- Willingness to work in multiple program areas, as needed.
- Organizing, litigation, and coalition-building experiences are pluses.
- Fluency in Spanish is preferred.
PLEASE SUBMIT 2 WRITING SAMPLES WITH YOUR COVER LETTER
This position pays between $85,000 to $102,000 on our compensation scale.
