Description:
Are you an attorney who is passionate about racial justice and is interested in litigating and advocating to dismantle unjust systems? We invite you to consider joining us!About You:
We are looking for a skilled litigator with excellent written and oral advocacy skills, someone who is devoted to movement lawyering and dismantling unjust systems, passionate about racial and economic justice, committed to working in a collaborative environment, and eager to train and support junior attorneys. This person will take an immediate leadership role on several active impact litigation matters and will develop a pipeline of novel civil rights cases that are tailored to the most pressing issues facing low-income communities of color in Northern California. This position will work closely with an exceptional program team that includes a program director and a staff attorney.
About the Racial Justice Team
As part of our racial and economic justice work, An Oldest Civil Rights Institutions is drawing on its years of experience to meet the demands of a moment defined by a post-pandemic landscape, the national reckoning in response to police brutality, and oppressive systems of wealth extraction designed to target low-income Black and Brown communities. We take an integrated advocacy approach by combining cutting- edge impact litigation with targeted advocacy campaigns designed to achieve measurable wins in the fight for racial and economic justice. An Oldest Civil Rights Institutions works in the direction of movement groups and grassroots allies. Some of our recent litigation and advocacy victories include:
- Debt Collective v. Judicial Council of California, a case against the California courts for running a profit scheme that extracted hundreds of millions of dollars from low- income Black and Brown Californians for profit; our litigation and advocacy helped galvanize AB-199, a new law that eliminated more than $1 billion in illegally imposed court debts;
- Coalition on Homelessness v. City and County of San Francisco, securing a historic preliminary injunction against San Francisco's draconian practice of policing homeless residents who have committed no crime but sleeping in public amidst the City's massive affordable housing shortage;
- Caldwell v. Bad Boys Bail Bonds, winning a decisive appellate ruling invalidating $30+ million dollars in illegal bail debts for the families of arrestees, and declaring that unscrupulous bail bond companies must honor consumer protection laws;
- Got hundreds of curfew citations dismissed in Sacramento and San Jose in the wake of George Floyd protests. Filed litigation for people injured by the violent tactics of law enforcement to prevent future police violence and get recompense for those harmed in?White v. City of Sacramento;
- COH v. SF, a California Court of Appeal decision that is the first nationally to declare that poverty tows the practice of seizing and selling low-income people's vehicles just because they cannot afford to pay late parking tickets is unconstitutional. This litigation victory dovetails with ongoing legislative advocacy in the form of AB-1082, a bill we are sponsoring to end poverty tows and reform traffic ticket collections; and
- Made California a national model for fines and fees reform, including ending driver's license suspensions and eliminating dozens of regressive fees.
Your Work
The attorney in this position will focus predominantly on leadership and management of our active litigation docket and will become an integral part of our team's strategic design and visioning for future impact litigation and advocacy campaign priorities. Specific goals will include:?
Litigation (70%)?
Serve as lead counsel on major cases in our current civil rights docket, including legal research, drafting and reviewing filings and correspondence, discovery, motion practice, trial advocacy, appellate advocacy, etc. Supervise and develop relationships with pro bono law firm partners, co-counsel at other nonprofit institutions in the Bay Area, as well as An Oldest Civil Rights Institutions staff attorneys, legal fellows, and law student externs.
Identify racial and economic justice issues for impact litigation and policy advocacy, including investigation of cases and strengthening the organization's ties with community partners and clients who best understand which issues are top priority and the remedies needed.
Policy and Advocacy (10%)?
Engage in legislative and administrative advocacy, particularly as it relates to litigation as part of coordinated campaigns, including drafting legislation, meeting with client organizations, representation of groups before administrative and legislative bodies, and technical assistance to policy makers.
Program Leadership (15%)?
Train and supervise junior staff on litigation and advocacy and create a supportive learning environment.
External Partnerships and Communication (5%)?
Seek opportunities to engage in public education and media advocacy consistent with our identified program strategies and in consultation with Communications staff.?
Essential Qualifications?
- Significant experience as a primary counsel leading impact litigation; while a minimum of five years of post-graduate legal experience is anticipated, the primary indicator of appropriate experience will be the strength and substance of the candidate's previous docket of litigation matters;?
- Knowledge of and demonstrated leadership in civil rights law advocacy, particularly racial justice;?
- Experience working with/ties to low-income communities of color;?
- Excellent oral and written communication skills and skills in mentoring junior attorneys to develop their litigation practice;?
- Collaborative team-player who will work cooperatively across a team of people from diverse backgrounds, experiences, and perspectives;?and
- California Bar membership or intent to sit for the California bar within 6 months of hire if currently holds law license from another state.
