Staff Attorney, National Prison Project

Job Description

ABOUT THE JOB

The ACLU seeks a full-time position of Staff Attorney in the National Prison Project of the ACLU’s National office in Washington, DC.

The National Prison Project works to ensure that conditions in prisons, jails, juvenile detention centers, and immigration detention facilities comply with the Constitution, domestic law, and international human rights principles. The Project has successfully litigated on behalf of incarcerated people in more than 25 states, and is the only organization litigating conditions of confinement cases nationwide. Our priorities include reducing overcrowding, improving health care, eliminating violence and maltreatment, and increasing oversight and accountability in prisons, jails, and other places of detention. We also work to reverse the policies that have given the United States the highest incarceration rate in the world and led to extreme over-representation of people of color in the incarcerated population.

Reporting to the Project Director of the National Prison Project , the Staff Attorney should be prepared to contribute to all aspects of the Project’s litigation and non-litigation work. This position will have a particular emphasis on challenging the detention of immigrants. The individual in this role will join the National Prison Project of the ACLU National Office (either on-site in DC or remote for up to one year after the reopening of our sites).

RESPONSIBILITIES

• Litigating in federal courts, including appellate courts, throughout the country
• Handling a substantial caseload in federal court, working closely with other staff attorneys and local counsel
• Conducting legal research and writing legal memoranda
• Analyzing legislation for potential litigation
• Drafting pleadings and briefs, engaging in discovery and motion practice, and conducting evidentiary hearings and oral arguments
• Providing technical assistance and expert legal advice to local ACLU affiliates, cooperating attorneys and others who seek assistance from the Project
• Conducting policy advocacy on prisoners’ rights, criminal justice, and immigration detention issues
• Developing new cases and non-litigation advocacy projects
• Engaging in public speaking and articulating ACLU views to a variety of audiences on a broad range of prisoners’ rights, criminal justice and civil liberties issues
• Supervising paralegals

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS

• J.D. degree
• Demonstrated experience in litigation
• Active bar membership
• Familiarity with immigration detention and issues related to conditions of confinement
• A demonstrated ability to work independently as well as within a team. Ability to foster and contribute to a collaborative team environment is essential
• Excellent legal research skills
• Demonstrated ability to perform complex legal analytical work
• Excellent communication skills both written and verbal
• Self-motivated, diligent and able to meet strict deadlines while under pressure
• Ability to travel required
• Commitment to the mission of the ACLU
• Demonstrate a commitment to diversity within the office using a personal approach that values all individuals and respects differences in regards to race, ethnicity, age, gender identity and expression, sexual orientation, religion, disability and socio-economic circumstance
• Commitment to work collaboratively and respectfully toward resolving obstacles and/or conflicts

PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS

• At least three years of litigation experience, preferably in federal court
• Fluency in Spanish preferred
• Demonstrated experience working in immigrant community settings preferred
• Federal clerkship experience a plus

ABOUT THE ACLU

For 100 years, the ACLU has worked to defend and preserve the individual rights and liberties guaranteed by the Constitution and laws of the United States. Whether it’s ending mass incarceration, achieving full equality for the LGBT community, establishing new privacy protections for our digital age, or preserving the right to vote or the right to have an abortion, the ACLU takes up the toughest civil liberties cases and issues to defend all people from government abuse and overreach.

The ACLU is an equal opportunity employer. We value a diverse workforce and an inclusive culture. The ACLU encourages applications from all qualified individuals without regard to race, color, religion, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, age, national origin, marital status, citizenship, disability, veteran status and record of arrest or conviction, or any other characteristic protected by applicable law

The ACLU makes every effort to assure that its recruitment and employment provide all qualified persons, including persons with disabilities, with full opportunities for employment in all positions.

The ACLU is committed to providing reasonable accommodation to individuals with disabilities. If you are a qualified individual with a disability and need assistance applying online, please e-mail [email protected] . If you are selected for an interview, you will receive additional information regarding how to request an accommodation for the interview process.