Job Description

Who We Are

Public Justice is a public interest legal advocacy organization that takes on the biggest systemic threats to justice of our time—abusive corporate power and predatory practices, the assault on civil rights and liberties, and the destruction of the earth’s sustainability. We connect high impact litigation with strategic communications and the strength of our partnerships to fight these abusive and discriminatory systems and win social and economic justice.

Founded in 2018, Public Justice’s Debtors’ Prison Project (DPP) is a strategic litigation and advocacy project that combats the criminalization of poverty. Our work aims to counter the incentives for governments and private companies to shift the costs of the criminal legal system onto those least able to pay: indigent criminal defendants, their families, and their communities. We fight for the rights of individuals facing jail solely because of their inability to pay fines and fees and we also fight against the abusive imposition, enforcement, and collection of fines and fees.

What We Are Looking For

We seek to hire a full-time Investigator who will work collaboratively with attorneys in support of complex civil rights litigation in federal and state courts.

The Investigator will report to DPP Director Leslie Bailey and be supervised by DPP attorneys. The Investigator may be based in our West Coast Office (Oakland, CA), our national headquarters in Washington, D.C., or may work remotely from another part of the country. Because Public Justice investigates and litigates cases nationally, some travel will be required, consistent with case needs.

Job Responsibilities

Fact Development:

• Collaborate closely with attorneys to conduct comprehensive factual research using both online resources and in-person investigations.
• Conduct court watching.
• Interview witnesses, clients (including in jails and/or prisons), and other individuals.

Analytical work:

• Analyze facts, records, and data to identify key facts, insights and trends.
• Create summaries, charts, and conduct data analysis to effectively organize and present large quantities of documents.
• Collaborate with attorneys to integrate gathered information into case strategy and preparation.

Stakeholder relationship building:

• Develop and maintain strong relationships with clients, witnesses, community partners, organizers, coalition members, and allies.
• Foster open communication channels to ensure efficient exchange of information and cooperation.

Public awareness and communication:

• Collaborate with the communications team and partner organizations to raise public awareness about clients and their cases.
• Assist in crafting compelling narratives and messages that highlight our clients’ stories and the impact of our work.

Strategic planning:

• Participate in strategic planning initiatives for the Debtor’s Prison Project (DPP).
• Contribute insights and recommendations based on investigative findings to inform strategic decisions.

Case management and litigation support:

• Assist in proofreading and cite-checking legal briefs to ensure accuracy and quality.
• File legal pleadings with courts and manage litigation calendars to ensure deadlines are met.
• Organize and maintain case files, ensuring all relevant documents are readily accessible.
• Submit records requests and review subsequent responses to collect necessary information.
• Support attorneys in the review and production of discovery materials.
• Perform various case support tasks as needed.

Qualifications

The ideal Investigator is passionate about social justice, hard-working, a fast learner, proactive, able to juggle multiple tasks, and able to work well in a collaborative environment. This is an entry-level position. Specific qualifications we are looking for include:

• Demonstrated commitment to racial justice, decarceration, and ending wealth-based detention;
• Demonstrated ability to work well in teams;
• Highly organized and diligent work ethic;
• Intense level of curiosity and willingness to go above and beyond to find answers;
• Healthy distrust of authority (government, police, etc.);
• Care and respect for people who are system-involved;
• Ability to understand and navigate issues of identity, power and privilege with clients, partners, and colleagues;
• Experience working with disenfranchised communities and/or those directly impacted by the criminal legal system;
• Proven ability to take initiative, establish priorities, work independently, self-motivate, and achieve objectives with minimal supervision;
• Strong analytical, writing, and research skills;
• Comfort with data management systems, particularly Everlaw and Relativity, is a plus;
• Demonstrated ability to work with data sets in Excel and R, Python, Stata, or similar coding language is a plus, but not a requirement;
• Ability and willingness to contribute to the creation of a diverse, equitable, and inclusive work community that encourages collaboration.

Salary, Benefits, and Logistics

This is a full-time, non-exempt position with a starting salary of $55,000/year. We offer a mission-focused work environment and a teamwork and community-oriented approach. Our benefits include:

• A four-day work week all-year round
• Flexible schedule opportunities
• Three weeks paid vacation
• Two weeks of paid sick leave
• Two annual personal days
• Employer-sponsored health plan
• All federal holidays and some local holidays off (Public Justice acknowledges there are various religious and cultural holidays that are important to our team. We encourage team members to take any days necessary for observing holidays and celebrations that are central to their faith tradition or communities.)
• 401K plan

How to apply

Interested candidates should send a resume, cover letter, writing sample, and contact information for two references to DP*************@pu***********.net.

Applicants are encouraged to submit their materials as soon as possible

How to Apply

Job Types: Full-Time. Salaries: Not Disclosed.

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