Job Description

Civil Rights Corps is an innovative non-profit organization based in Washington, D.C. that challenges injustices in the criminal punishment system and other repressive state bureaucracies. We’ve won groundbreaking litigation challenging the rise of debtors’ prisons, abusive private probation schemes, prosecutor and police misconduct, and pretrial detention. CRC works closely with impacted people and community partners to fundamentally change our country’s approach to health, well-being, and public safety.  Our staff are passionate and dedicated advocates who seek to fight inequality in all of its forms, to protect the rights of the people who are most frequently targeted by state repression, and to work with those communities to build the power necessary for transformative change. Employees at Civil Rights Corps possess a profound commitment to social justice, and they approach their work with urgency. Learn more at civilrightscorps.org.

The Department of Strategic Initiatives works in close collaboration with the Senior Leadership Team, and the Directors of Litigation, Policy, and Storytelling to conceive, lead, and develop new projects, and to support teams and staff throughout the organization by providing additional capacity and expertise as they develop their own ideas and projects. The DSI plays a coordinator role, helping to ensure inter-departmental communication about new projects and facilitating discussion of whether a particular project should be pursued in light of CRC’s strategic plan and internal resources.

Job Description 

Civil Rights Corps is seeking an attorney to join the Litigation Department and help develop and work on the (tentatively named) Families Project.  The Families Project encompasses a growing portfolio of work challenging family separation in the criminal and family regulation systems. The attorney will work closely with the Department of Strategic Initiatives where the project is currently incubated and also across the Policy and Storytelling departments, to build CRC’s litigation, advocacy, and narrative work relating to protecting and strengthening families and to reimagining health and safety in the United States. In particular, this candidate will explore ways for CRC  to support the movement to abolish the family policing system, and to expand the public’s understanding of pretrial detention and mass incarceration as a form of family separation.

This work will be done in a way that advances the organization’s goal of disrupting the structures and bureaucracies that oppress poor people and people of color. The work will include supporting ongoing work relating to jail visitation policies; developing an abolitionist litigation strategy relating to the family policing work; building relationships with organizers, directly impacted families, policy experts, litigators, family defense lawyers, journalists, academics, and others who are working to abolish the family policing system or otherwise to protect children and families; and working in collaboration with CRC’s Storytelling and Policy Departments, as well as with external partners, to develop a policy vision and narrative strategy.

Although the person that fills this role will devote the majority of their time to the Family’s Project initially, over time there may be increased fluidity in the issue areas they work on.  A successful candidate should be open to the idea of working on a range of civil litigation issues over time and as such this list below is not a closed list of job functions. In addition to family policing, the Attorney/Senior Attorney (depending on experience) will work collaboratively with case teams to support complex civil rights litigation in federal and state courts. The individual will be a crucial part of CRC’s efforts to continue innovating new ways to challenge mass human caging and other injustices in the legal system.

Job duties include: 

The Attorney/Senior Attorney will be a member of the litigation department and will have a personnel supervisor in the litigation department. For non-litigation work relating to the Families Project, the Attorney will report to the Director of Strategic Initiatives. Specific job responsibilities include:

• Serve as close partner to Director of Strategic Initiatives in the development of a vision and strategy for the Families Project;
• Work with teams consisting of litigators, policy experts, and storytellers, both internal and external to CRC, to investigate systemic problems relating to family separation in the United States and propose interventions;
• With the Director of Strategic Initiatives and other departments, ensure the Families Project is integrated into CRC’s other departments and well-coordinated with CRC’s litigation, storytelling, policy, and operations teams;
• Occasionally represent CRC at conferences, in the media, in coalitions, and at other events.
• Work collaboratively with teams on investigations by: conducting research; on-the-ground investigation; interviewing witnesses and clients, and performing other tasks related to fact development;
• Provide project management support by: managing, organizing, and delegating tasks; sharing information gleaned from investigations in both writing and orally; proposing and executing next steps to advance projects; tracking steps taken and work generated; organizing large amounts of information;
• Subject to the Director of Litigation’s leadership, support case teams litigating challenges to family separation; investigate and develop factual and legal claims; prepare pleadings, motions, and briefs; conduct discovery; present oral arguments; and handle trials and appeals; litigate complex civil rights cases in federal and state court to challenge a range of injustices within the criminal legal system;
• Develop and maintain relationships with clients, witnesses, community partners, organizers, coalition members, and legal allies;
• Support the Storytelling Department in its work relating to family separation;
• Provide mentorship to the Department’s two Fellows (who are non-lawyers).

Some travel will be required, consistent with project needs.

Qualifications 

The ideal applicant is passionate about racial, economic, and social justice, an outstanding attorney, interpersonally and culturally competent, and able to work well in a collaborative environment. Innovative thinking, an unwillingness to accept things as they are, and a strong work ethic are essential. We are seeking attorneys with at least three (3) years of professional experience. The most important thing is that the applicant possesses many of the specific qualifications listed below. We will prioritize people with relevant lived experience.

• Outstanding litigation and/or policy work, as established by many of the following criteria:

• Experience directly representing clients impacted by the criminal or family policing systems;
• Demonstrated commitment to client- or movement-centric lawyering, including implementing creative solutions to supporting the needs of clients outside the context of pure litigation;
• Willingness to think outside the box  and to experiment with new ideas;
• Demonstrated excellence in oral and written advocacy, investigation, case and/or project development, and public speaking skills;
• Familiarity with local and national policy priorities of the movement to abolish family policing; experience building and executing policy campaigns.
• Experience working within the family policing system as an attorney or other type of advocate on behalf of parents threatened with removal or termination;
• Proven ability to take initiative, establish priorities, work independently, self-motivate, and achieve objectives with minimal supervision;
• Litigation experience, including developing innovative strategies and legal claims, drafting complaints, building cases from the ground up, investigation, brief writing, courtroom advocacy, and/or complex discovery;

• Leadership / team abilities:
  • Demonstrated ability to work productively with teams of people who have a variety of levels of experience, abilities, and comfort working independently, including trial teams and/or investigatory teams;
  • Ability to manage multiple projects simultaneously with focus and effective prioritization;
  • Demonstrated commitment to mentoring more junior team members and learning from others;

• Other:
  • (Required) J.D. degree and a member in good standing of the bar of a U.S. state;

• An interest in working on family separation issues especially in DC, Baltimore, North Carolina, and/or Michigan;
• Demonstrated entrepreneurial abilities and strong interest in building out a new area of work;
• Demonstrated commitment to the mission, purpose, and values of CRC;
• Demonstrated commitment to an integrated strategy, including litigation, policy and community engagement. This commitment includes an understanding of the need to build power in those communities affected by this strategy;
• Race and identity competency, ability to understand and navigate issues of identity, power, and privilege with clients, partners and colleagues;
• (Preferred) Willingness to support fundraising efforts;

Salary, Benefits, and Logistics 

This is a full-time exempt position; preference will be given to candidates based in or willing to relocate to the Washington D.C. area, but remote candidates will also be considered. Salary is determined based on years of experience and will be in the range of $85,000 – $154,000. Civil Rights Corps offers an outstanding and generous benefits package, including employer-paid health, vision, and dental benefits; transit benefits; an annual wellness benefit; retirement matching; and paid sick, family, and unlimited vacation leave. This position is included within United Civil Rights Workers, the CRC workers’ union.

How to Apply

Job Categories: Equal Opportunities. Job Types: Full-Time. Salaries: 100,000 and above.

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