Senior Counsel

Free Speech For People is seeking an experienced public interest attorney to join our cutting-edge legal team as Senior Counsel. Ideal candidates will have civil rights, campaign finance, anti-corruption, and/or election law experience, and be prepared to take a leading role in our work to defend our Constitution and our democracy and to fulfill the promise of political equality for all.

Free Speech For People, a national nonpartisan nonprofit organization, was founded on the day of the Supreme Court’s Citizens United v. FEC decision in January 2010. We’ve been working since then on a multi-part strategy to reclaim our democracy.

Our recent projects include litigation challenging illegal intimidation of voters, voter suppression laws, and insecure voting systems; public advocacy to challenge corruption at the US Supreme Court; the 14Point3 litigation and grassroots advocacy campaign under the Fourteenth Amendment’s Insurrectionist Disqualification Clause against current and former elected officials involved in the January 6, 2021 insurrection; developing, lobbying for, and defending cutting edge legislation to fight political spending by corporations with significant foreign investment and to eliminate super PACs; and developing and lobbying for comprehensive model legislation to hold social media companies accountable when they engage in targeted amplification of disinformation and threats of violence on their platforms. Most of our projects involve bold new legal approaches rather than routine application of well-established law and, while we’re a small organization, we punch well above our weight.

(For a complete list of our issues and projects, visit our web site.)

Job duties

Specific projects will emerge and evolve and job duties will vary over time, but the day-to-day will likely center on litigation (serving as lead counsel, usually in conjunction with outside counsel in complex, affirmative litigation, amicus briefs, and/or defensive litigation if laws that we help pass are challenged in court), legislation (drafting; grassroots and direct lobbying; testifying; and organizing supportive testimony), and legal support for the organization’s advocacy before administrative agencies. Senior Counsel may also play a role in supervising attorneys, legal fellows, and interns. Job duties may also include media interviews; public speaking; writing op-eds; organizing panels, symposia, or similar events; and working with our campaign and communications teams on our grassroots campaigns. The attorney will report to Free Speech For People’s Legal Director, based in Massachusetts. The position will require occasional travel to locations around the country.

Qualifications

• J.D. and membership in good standing in a state bar;
• 5-7+ years lawyering experience, which may include judicial clerkships;
• Experience with impact litigation, other forms of civil litigation, or appellate litigation;
• Dedication to public interest work and strong intrinsic motivation;
• Demonstrated ability to work on novel, intellectually complex legal issues;
• Strong written and oral advocacy skills;
• Demonstrated ability to work independently in a nonprofit environment with a remote workspace;
• Demonstrated ability to develop and maintain collaborative relationships with colleagues, pro bono counsel, clients, grassroots organizers, and other stakeholders;
• Preferred, but not required: experience in constitutional, civil rights, and/or election law.

Location: Remote, with occasional travel.

Benefits and Salary: In addition to a competitive annual salary ranging from $100,000-120,000 depending on experience, a comprehensive benefits plan is offered, including 100% employer paid dental, vision, and medical health coverage.

Application instructions: Send a cover letter, resume, and writing sample that demonstrates your ability to address intellectually complex issues to Rosemary Hamington at attorney@freespeechforpeople.org

Free Speech For People is an affirmative action employer and recruits, employs, retains, and promotes persons in a manner that does not discriminate against any person because of race, color, ethnicity, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, national origin, age, veteran status, or physical or mental ability which is unrelated to job performance.