Staff Attorney - Students' Civil Rights Project

Public Justice, a nonprofit 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—seeks to hire a staff attorney with civil rights litigation and advocacy experience for its Students’ Civil Rights Project.

Who We Are

Public Justice connects 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. In particular, we ensure access to the civil justice system, protect students’ civil rights, fight to end modern-day debtors’ prisons, enforce the nation’s most important environmental laws, and much more.

Public Justice’s Students’ Civil Rights Project (SCRP) combines high-impact litigation with other advocacy tools to combat harassment and other forms of 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 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
  • Snyder-Hill v. The Ohio State University, a Title IX lawsuit seeking to hold a university accountable for enabling one of its physicians to sexually abuse hundreds of male students, student-athletes, and others during the physician’s two decades of employment

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, including student organizers. For more information about the SCRP’s work, visit our website here.

What We Are Looking For

The person selected for the SCRP Staff Attorney role will have at least four years of relevant experience, though attorneys with more experience are encouraged to apply. The attorney’s key responsibilities are listed below. The SCRP Staff Attorney will report to SCRP Director Adele Kimmel and may be based in Washington, DC or work remotely. Because Public Justice handles litigation and advocacy nationally, the position will require travel. This is a full-time, exempt position.

Key Responsibilities

• Serve as lead counsel or co-counsel in the investigation and development 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.
• 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; and coordinating with student organizers) regarding the SCRP’s advocacy priorities.
• Work in partnership with the SCRP’s Senior Communications Strategist and other members of the Communications Department to develop and implement storytelling campaigns to educate the public, policymakers, lawyers, community organizers, grassroots supporters, reporters, and others about the racist, sexist, homophobic, and transphobic barriers to equal access to education.
• 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 and other planning initiatives for the SCRP.
• Assist with promoting and reporting on the SCRP’s work to prospective funders.

Experience, Skills & Qualifications

• • Law school graduate with at least four years of relevant litigation and advocacy experience. (For the purposes of determining litigation experience, we will include clerkships and fellowships.)
  • Admission to a state bar and willingness to gain admission to the DC bar if not based in CA or DC.
  • 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.
  • Excellent analytical, legal research, and writing skills.
  • Excellent communication and public speaking skills.
  • Self-motivation and proven ability to work as part of a team.
  • Creativity, initiative, strong work ethic, and sound judgment.
  • Ability to juggle multiple tasks at a time.
  • Willingness to travel.
  • Ability to work effectively with people from diverse cultures, backgrounds, and orientations.
  • Ability and willingness to contribute to the creation of a diverse, equitable, and inclusive work community that thrives on collaboration.

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.

Salary and benefits

We offer a mission-focused work environment, a teamwork and community-oriented work culture, and a competitive compensation package. We implement healthy work-life balance policies, including operating on a four-day work week all year round. We also offer a generous benefits package, including at least three weeks of paid vacation, two weeks of sick leave, and two personal days each year, all federal and some local holidays, employer-paid health, dental, and vision insurance premiums, and a 401(k) plan. Our attorneys are paid on a salary scale based on years out of law school. The current annual salary for an attorney who graduated law school in 2020 is $109,350.