Senior Attorney - Students' Civil Rights Project

Public Justice is a nonprofit legal advocacy organization dedicated to pursuing high impact lawsuits to combat social and economic injustice, protect the Earth’s sustainability, and challenge predatory corporate conduct and government abuses. We seek to hire an attorney with at least eight years of civil rights litigation and advocacy experience for a Senior Attorney position in our Students’ Civil Rights Project.

Public Justice Overview

Public Justice specializes in high-impact, cutting-edge litigation. We use that tool along with strategic communications and partnerships to take on the biggest systemic threats to justice of our time—abusive corporate power and predatory practices, the assault on civil rights and civil liberties, and the destruction of the Earth’s sustainability. Our Students’ Civil Rights Project is one of several substantive areas of our work. Our other substantive areas include the Access to Justice Project, which seeks to make the civil court system a fair, equitable, and effective tool for those with less power; the Debtors’ Prison Project, which combats the criminalization of poverty; and the Environmental Enforcement Project, which fights climate change and secures environmental justice. For more information on Public Justice, please visit our website at www.publicjustice.net.

Students’ Civil Rights Project Overview

Public Justice’s Students’ Civil Rights Project (SCRP) combines high-impact litigation with other advocacy tools to combat discrimination in schools. We strive to create systemic change so all students can learn and thrive, and to secure justice for students who are denied educational opportunities based on their race, national origin, ethnicity, or sex, including sexual orientation, gender identity, and gender expression. We represent students at all stages of litigation, including pre‐suit negotiations, litigation in trial courts, appeals, and oppositions to cert petitions. Some of our ongoing and recent matters include:

• Doe v. South Carolina, a putative class action lawsuit on behalf of a trans student in South Carolina, and other trans students like him, who are prohibited by state law from using restrooms consistent with their gender identities
• Shelby v. Huntsville City Board of Education, a case on behalf of the parents of a student who died by suicide after experiencing anti-LGBTQ+ harassment and race discrimination at an Alabama school
• Williamson v. Heritage Preschools LLC, a suit on behalf of the family of a Black toddler who was singled out for excessive discipline at a private pre-school in Alabama and eventually expelled because of his race
• Brown v. State of Arizona, a successful appeal before the en banc Ninth Circuit, which we subsequently defended from a cert petition, concerning whether a school can be liable under Title IX for causing a student to be abused by a classmate in an off-campus residence

We also engage in policy and media advocacy on issues that affect our clients, create educational materials for students, families, and lawyers, and collaborate with other advocates. For more information about the SCRP’s work, visit our website here.

Job Responsibilities

• Serve as lead counsel or co-counsel in the development and and execution of impact litigation, amicus briefs, and special legal projects that further the strategic goals of the SCRP and the mission of Public Justice.
• Participate in the full range of the SCRP’s litigation responsibilities, which primarily include legal research and analysis, briefing, oral arguments, client communications, and settlement negotiations, as well as occasional factual investigation and discovery.
• Supervise junior attorneys and legal fellows working on SCRP matters.
• Develop and engage in a broad range of legal advocacy through and outside the courts (including reviewing legislation; drafting comments to agencies, letters, fact sheets, and other materials; participating in meetings and events; coordinating with student organizers; and working in partnership with members of the Communications division to develop and implement storytelling campaigns regarding the SCRP’s advocacy priorities.
• Build networks and collaborate with allies, including Public Justice’s Board of Directors and members, to fight the racism, sexism, homophobia, and transphobia that shape educational institutions’ policies, procedures, practices, and training, as well as how our civil rights laws and regulations are interpreted and enforced in the education arena.
• Speak at conferences, webinars, and other events about issues relevant to the SCRP’s work.
• Participate in strategic planning for the SCRP and other organizational planning initiatives.
• Assist with promoting and reporting on the SCRP’s work to prospective funders.

Qualifications

• J.D. degree with at least eight years of relevant litigation and advocacy experience, which can include clerkships or fellowships.
• Excellent analytical, legal research, writing, and public speaking skills, and the ability to modulate writing and speaking style for different types of audiences.
• Experience as the lead drafter of briefs, ideally in both trial and appellate courts.
• Litigation experience with progressively increasing responsibilities for case management.
• Experience supervising other attorneys or legal fellows.
• Strong organizational skills, excellent attention to detail, and commitment to follow-through.
• A passion for making our education system more equitable by eliminating race- and gender-based discrimination in schools and holding schools accountable when they allow such discrimination to impede students’ access to education.
• Self-motivation and proven ability to work independently and as part of a team.
• Creativity, initiative, strong work ethic, and sound judgment.
• Ability to juggle multiple tasks at a time and work in a fast-paced environment.
• Ability and willingness to travel.
• Ability to work effectively with people from diverse cultures, backgrounds, and orientations.
• Admission to a state bar and willingness to gain admission to the DC bar if not based in DC.

Preference will be given to applicants with civil rights litigation experience in the education arena. Litigation and advocacy experience on racial and gender justice issues is a plus.

This is an exempt position that reports to the SCRP’s Litigation Director. Public Justice operates as a remote organization, embracing flexibility and inclusivity that remote work offers. However, recognizing the value of in-person collaboration and the need for physical office space, Public Justice has an office in Washington, DC. Because Public Justice handles litigation, education, and advocacy nationally, the position will entail some travel.

We offer a mission-focused work environment, a teamwork and community-oriented work culture, and a competitive compensation package. We recognize and support healthy work-life balance policies, including operating on a four-day work week year-round. We also offer a generous benefits package, including flexible time off, two weeks of sick leave, all federal and some local holidays, end of the year office closure, employer-paid health, dental, and vision insurance premiums for employees and eligible dependents, and a 401(k) plan.

Our attorneys are paid on a salary scale based on years out of law school. In 2026, the starting annual salary for an attorney eight years out of law school is $120,250.