Staff Attorney

ABOUT THE ACLU FOUNDATION OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA

Founded in 1923, the ACLU Foundation of Southern California (“ACLU SoCal”) has been at the forefront of many major efforts to protect civil liberties, civil rights, and equal justice in California. Principled and nonpartisan, ACLU SoCal has offices in Los Angeles, the Inland Empire (San Bernardino), and Kern County (Bakersfield). ACLU SoCal tackles a vast array of issues, including the criminal legal system, police practices, First Amendment rights, voting rights, gender equity, reproductive justice, LGBTQ rights, immigrants’ rights, education equity, and economic justice.

POSITION OVERVIEW

ACLU SoCal’s Advocacy Department seeks a Staff Attorney for the Criminal Justice and Police Practices project. The Staff Attorney will develop and litigate state and federal cases and engage in legislative and policy advocacy on criminal legal reform and policing issues, with an emphasis on Orange County-based advocacy. This includes representing ACLU SoCal in statewide and local advocacy on criminal legal system and policing issues that promote decarceration, law enforcement agency transparency, officer accountability, the development of alternatives to policing and incarceration, and that challenge bias, discrimination and systemic injustice.  The Staff Attorney will be expected to attend in-person meetings in and around Southern California, particularly in Orange County.

The Staff Attorney will help develop and litigate state and federal cases; help create, implement, and participate in campaigns that seek approaches to community safety and care that are community-based, holistic, and transformative; engage in public education; and provide technical assistance on criminal legal system and policing issues to coalitions, community partners, government officials, and government bodies.

The Staff Attorney will report to the Director of Criminal Justice and Police Practices or their designee and will work within the ACLU SoCal Criminal Justice and Police Practices and statewide Criminal Justice and Policing teams. The Staff Attorney will also work with other attorneys, policy advocates and organizers from other ACLU SoCal Projects as needed and work collaboratively with the Communications Department on campaigns.

Travel throughout the Southern California region and occasional trips to Sacramento may be required.

We recognize that ACLU SoCal’s integrated advocacy approach in which advocacy staff utilize diverse tactics to advance our goals, including litigating, drafting legislation, and lobbying elected officials, working in coalition with grassroots organizations, and engaging in public education campaigns including report writing and issue-based trainings, is not typical. While candidates must meet the minimum qualifications, we do not expect candidates to have experience performing the entire range of tasks that would comprise the job responsibilities for this position.  We encourage interested candidates to consider the transferable skills that they have developed, particularly those related to written and oral communication, collective action, and advocacy on behalf of others—and assess whether they are willing to gain experience with new job functions—when applying to this position.

This is a full-time, exempt bargaining unit position in the National Organization of Legal Services Workers union.

QUALIFICATIONS

Education and Experience

The ACLU SoCal anticipates hiring an attorney with approximately 2-9 years of experience for this position and will consider all applicants with approximately that level of experience with a demonstrated commitment to civil and human rights, racial justice, and strong advocacy and litigation skills. The ideal candidate will be a hard-working leader with a proven record of accomplishments working with, advocating with, and/or organizing with legal-system-involved and legal-system-impacted individuals, other marginalized populations, and community-based organizations.

Required

• Admitted to practice law in the state of California or willingness to promptly take the California bar exam. 
• Excellent research, writing, analytic, and speaking skills.
• Ability to develop and litigate impact cases.
• Ability to work in diverse coalitions and develop and implement advocacy campaigns
• Demonstrated ability to participate in, create, and sustain inclusive and engaging spaces for all.
• Demonstrated ability to lead projects, build strong relationships and work well in collaboration with others.
• A deep commitment to the cause of civil liberties and civil rights, in particular, criminal legal system and policing issues.
• Travel within Southern California, as well as occasionally to other parts of the state.
• Extremely strong project and time management skills, including a high level of organization, attention to detail and follow-through, while balancing and prioritizing multiple activities and responsibilities.
• Willingness to work occasional weekend and evening hours, as needed.
• Ability to supervise interns. 

Desired

• Familiarity working in the criminal legal system with an emphasis on policing, civil rights, and/or social justice issues in Southern California.
• People with personal experience with the criminal legal system, including people who are formerly incarcerated or who have personal experience with incarceration, are encouraged to apply for this position.  
• A demonstrated commitment and track record of doing intersectional advocacy.
• Experience working effectively with coalitions and building coalitions
• Experience planning and facilitating workshops, trainings, meetings, and other community events.
• Spanish language fluency. 

Racial Equity Competencies

Understanding, Applying, and Working for Racial Equity

• Demonstrate commitment to building or deepening understanding of racial equity:

o   Core terms and concepts such as structural racism, white privilege, and anti-Blackness.

o   The role that racial inequity has played and continues to play in our society.

o   How race impacts supervisory relationships, team dynamics, and organizational culture.

o   Personal/implicit/unconscious bias.

·    Consistently assess structural implications and racially disproportionate impacts of policies, activities, and decisions within the context of their job responsibilities; race/ethnicity, intersection of race/ethnicity, gender, identity, and/or sexual orientation.

·    Consistently adhere to organization’s racial equity policies and procedures, including those that relate to hiring, retention, and promotion.

·    Consistently identify and disrupt ways in which bias plays out in work and/or team.

COMPENSATION AND BENEFITS

The salary range for this position is $86,474 – $106,352 based on year of law school graduation.

Benefits include medical, vision, and dental insurance for staff members and their eligible dependents; life and long-term, short-term disability insurance; 401(k) plan with employer match; ample vacation and sick leave and twenty-two paid holidays.