Senior Attorney – Racial & Disability Justice

Senior Attorney – Racial & Disability Justice

National Center for Law and Economic Justice

Title: Senior Attorney

Reports to: Director of Litigation and Advocacy

Exempt Salary: $107,377 (10 yrs) to $120,908 (15 yrs) based on years of experience, as per NCLEJ’s attorney salary scale

Location: NCLEJ’s office is located in New York City. This position has the option of being in-person (with flexible work from home options) or fully remote.

NCLEJ’s Mission and Work:

NCLEJ advances economic, racial, and disability justice for low-income families, individuals, and communities across the country, using ground-breaking impact litigation, policy advocacy, and support for grassroots organizing. NCLEJ works to build systems that provide economic security, respect human dignity, and enable everyone to participate fully in our society. Specifically, our advocacy focuses on 1) safeguarding access to public benefits; 2) advancing the rights of lower wage workers; 3) combatting abusive debt collection and wealth extraction; and 4) advocating for disability justice, all of which we do through a racial justice lens. We litigate extensively in federal and state courts across the country, typically as lead counsel in class actions, and we partner with grassroots and community-based organizations, other legal organizations, and the private bar to achieve our mission.

Senior Attorney’s Role:

NCLEJ seeks to hire an attorney with a demonstrated commitment to racial, economic, and disability justice, and 10-15 years of experience in the field, to engage in impact litigation and advocacy on a range of civil rights and economic justice issues. While all NCLEJ attorneys have opportunities to work across practice areas, this position will focus on racial and disability justice, supporting litigation and advocacy to prevent the segregation and institutionalization of disabled people, challenge discrimination in housing and carceral settings, and promote the liberation of all disabled people. This role will also involve shaping the disability justice docket and team’s vision to advocate from a disability justice perspective. Because we believe that racial and disability justice issues are embedded in all of our work, this role also has a strong focus on providing subject matter expertise to attorneys in other practice areas (workers’ rights and public benefits), as well as supervision and mentorship to junior attorneys.

Qualifications and Experience of the Ideal Candidate:

• 10-15 years’ hands-on experience with major impact litigation, including drafting complaints and briefs, motion practice, all phases of the discovery process, settlement negotiations, evidentiary hearings, trials, and appeals.
• Substantive knowledge of movement lawyering principles and anti-discrimination law, such as the Americans with Disabilities Act, the Rehabilitation Act, the Fair Housing Act, and the 14th Amendment.
• Significant experience with non-litigation advocacy, such as policy/legislative advocacy and support of grassroots organizing and/or coalition work, preferably in a disability or racial justice context.
• Ability to work effectively with colleagues and clients from a great diversity of backgrounds.
• Ability to understand and navigate issues of identity, power, and privilege with clients, partners, and colleagues.
• Excellent legal research, writing, and oral advocacy skills.
• Strong supervision, project and time management skills, with a demonstrated ability to work independently and as part of a team.
• Enthusiasm for fostering a supportive and collegial workplace culture.
• Commitment to racial, disability, and economic justice, and NCLEJ’s mission.
• J.D. degree and admission to the Bar of at least one state.

Vaccination Requirement: To help ensure that NCLEJ continues to operate in the safest manner possible, NCLEJ requires all employees to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19. Requests for medical and/or religious exemptions from the vaccination requirement will be considered on an individual basis, to the extent required by law.

Equal opportunity: NCLEJ is an equal opportunity employer. We value a diverse workforce and an inclusive culture. We strongly encourage people of color, people with disabilities, LGBTQ+ people, and people from other historically disenfranchised communities to apply. NCLEJ does not discriminate based on race, color, religion, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, age, national origin, marital or parental status, citizenship, disability, veteran status, record of arrest or conviction, or any other characteristic protected by applicable law. NCLEJ makes every effort to ensure that its recruitment and employment provide all qualified individuals, including individuals with disabilities, with full opportunities for employment in all positions.

We are most interested in finding the best candidate for the job, and that candidate may be one who comes from a less traditional background. If you are interested in applying, we encourage you to think broadly about your background and qualifications for the role.

NCLEJ has a generous benefits package including medical, dental, and vision insurance plans through Aetna that are 100% employer premium sponsored for base coverage, with additional buy up options; Open Paid Time Off, which allows for flexibility for personal, vacation, and sick time to be taken as needed, at a minimum of 2 weeks per year; 12 paid holidays per year; FSA plan options for medical, childcare, and transit expenses; various Employee Assistance Programs; paid life and AD&D insurance; additional voluntary benefits, for example (but not limited to), legal services, accident, critical illness, hospital indemnity, pet insurance, additional life insurance or AD&D insurance, and identity theft protection; and generous employer contributions to individuals’ 403(b) plans.