Staff Attorney

Who We Are: The National Police Accountability Project (NPAP) is a non-profit organization whose members hold law enforcement and corrections officers accountable to constitutional and professional standards through coordinated legal action, public education, and support for grassroots organizations. We have hundreds of dues-paying members nationwide. NPAP’s litigation work focuses on pursuing injunctive relief to end harmful practices by police departments, jails, and prisons.

Position Description: The National Police Accountability Project (NPAP) is seeking applications for a Staff Attorney to work on the organization’s litigation, legislative, and amicus work. The staff attorney will be supervised by the Executive Director.

Responsibilities:

Litigation (70%)

• Motion practice
• Conduct pre-litigation factual and legal research, prepare memoranda, draft
• Draft demand letters, pleadings, and briefs
• Handle discovery
• Develop and maintain relationships with clients
• Manage relationships with co-counsel
• Manage relationships with other 3rd parties (eg. experts)
• Research legal issues
• Review, comment on, and edit letters and briefs of co-counsel

Amicus (5%)

• Draft amicus briefs on behalf of NPAP  Review amicus briefs that NPAP is asked to join or sign onto  Meet w/ co-amici and requesting attorneys

Legislative (15%)

• Draft and present testimony on bills related to policing and the criminal legal system as assigned
• Conduct research as needed on NPAP legislative issues
• Meet w/ coalition partners
• Attend legislative committee meetings
• Comment on legislative and policy matters as assigned by ED

Support Legal Department Programs (5%)

• Assist with supervision of law student interns and fellows
• Attend CLEs and conferences as assigned by the ED
• Speak on behalf of NPAP to student groups and news outlets as assigned by the ED.

Qualifications

Required

• J.D. degree;
• State or D.C. bar membership;
• Demonstrated ability to collaborate and communicate with a diverse group of clients, coalition partners, and stakeholders;
• Excellent legal research and writing skills;
• Excellent interpersonal skills and a proven ability to work within a team;
• Demonstrated commitment to public interest law, civil rights, and racial justice;
• Willingness and ability to travel on a regular basis for case matters and other meetings when deemed safe.

Desired

• Five years or more of litigation experience;
• Experience litigating Section 1983 cases;
• Experience conducting complex legal analysis and fact-finding;
• Familiarity with or experience working on social justice issues in underserved regions and rural areas;
• Experience working on legal matters related to criminal legal system reform or lived experiences with the criminal legal system.

NPAP is an equal opportunity employer and strongly encourages applications from all qualified individuals including women, people of color, persons with disabilities, formerly incarcerated individuals, and lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and gender nonconforming individuals. The position will remain open until filled.

Compensation is dependent on experience with a minimum salary of $85,000 plus generous benefits package that includes health, dental, and vision insurance. This is a union position. The individual selected for this position will be a member of the National Lawyers Guild (NLG) Staff Union, National Organization of Legal Services Workers (NOLSW) / United Auto Workers (UAW) Local 2320. NPAP is a fully remote. The Staff Attorney role could be performed remotely from anywhere within the United States.