[blindlaw] FW: Please post/forward for ACLU, Staff Attorney [VRP-04] position.

[Scott C. LaBarre]

From: hrintern2 [mailto:hrintern2 at aclu.org] 
Sent: Thursday, November 07, 2013 11:39 AM
To: slabarre at labarrelaw.com
Subject: Please post/forward for ACLU, Staff Attorney [VRP-04] position.

 

November 7, 2013

 

 

CAREER OPPORTUNITY

STAFF ATTORNEY [VRP-04]

American Civil Liberties Union Foundation

Equality Center, San Francisco and New York

 

For more than 93 years, the American Civil Liberties Union Foundation (ACLU)
has been at the forefront of virtually every major battle for civil
liberties and equal justice in this country.  Principled and nonpartisan,
the ACLU has offices in all 50 states, Washington, DC and Puerto Rico, and
brings together the country's largest team of public interest lawyers,
lobbyists, communication strategists, members and activists in the
advancement of equality, fairness, and freedom, especially for the most
vulnerable in our society. 

 

The Equality Center of the ACLU's National offices in San Francisco and New
York seeks applications for a full-time Staff Attorney position to focus on
Disability with an emphasis on Voting.

 

OVERVIEW

 

The ACLU's Center for Equality continues the ACLU's long history of working
to fulfill America's ideal of equal rights for all.  The Center for Equality
includes the Voting Rights Project, the Racial Justice Program, the
Immigrants' Rights Project and the Disability Rights Docket.  All of this
work is calculated to advance the Center's aim to uphold the federal
constitution's promise that all Americans will receive the equal protection
of the law. 

 

The Staff Attorney will initially, work on disability rights with an
emphasis on voting.  The ACLU has a long history of defending the rights of
people with disabilities and an even longer history of defending the right
to vote.  

 

The ACLU was among the first organizations to fight the unnecessary
institutionalization of people with mental disabilities; it played a major
role in securing the passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA);
and it has battled discrimination against person with HIV/AIDS.  The ACLU
has stood up for the rights of prisoners with disabilities to access to
adequate healthcare and services, and for the rights of immigrants with
mental disabilities for the right to counsel in detention proceedings.    

 

The ACLU played a critical role in convincing the U.S. Supreme Court to
establish the "one person, one vote" rule and in strengthening the Voting
Rights Act in 1982.  Through persistent litigation, voter empowerment, and
fighting efforts to restrict the vote in state legislatures, the ACLU helped
make it possible for minority voters all over America to participate in the
electoral process, and through that, to change the face of government.

 

Today, the ACLU's work in both disability rights and voting includes
litigation and working for strong federal and state legislation and policy.
The emphasis in the disability rights work is on fighting policies and
practices which unduly limit the freedom of people with disabilities to
control their own lives and to participate in society.  The ACLU's voting
rights work is focused on making voting easy and equal.  That has involved
fighting a flood of state laws aimed at making it more difficult to register
and to vote.   The work is carried out through the Legal and Advocacy
Departments of the national ACLU, its Washington Legislative Office, and by
the ACLU's 53 affiliate offices around the country.  

The Staff Attorney reports to the Equality Center's Disability Counsel, who
will be assisted by the Director of the Voting Rights Project.

The ideal candidate will be willing to begin work in San Francisco, where
the Center's Disability Counsel is based, and within a few years be willing
to relocate to New York.   However, applicants who wish to start and be
based in either New York or San Francisco will be considered.

ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

Applicants should be prepared to contribute to all aspects of the ACLU's
litigation and non-litigation work.  Although the position will focus on
disability with an emphasis on voting rights, it may include work on other
issues, and the subject matter or focus could change over time.  The work
will include:

 

.         Helping to implement the disability rights and voting rights
strategic plans; 

.         Creating multi-pronged strategies using litigation, public
education, and  legislative and policy advocacy to further the ACLU's voting
rights goals; 

.         Drafting legislation, regulations and policy, preparing
legislative and policy analyses and arguments, and working to get them
adopted and implemented; 

.         Supporting and advising ACLU state affiliates in their disability
rights and voting rights litigation, legislation and advocacy; 

.         Engaging in litigation, both trial and appellate, including
supervision of and drafting pleadings and briefs, discovery and depositions,
motion practice, interviewing witnesses, working with expert witnesses,
trials, and appellate briefs and arguments;  

.         Preparing memos, briefing papers, and talking points for internal
and external use on disability and voting issues; 

.         Engaging in public speaking, including to the media, at
conferences, and other speaking engagements;

.         Working closely with legal and non-legal program staff,
particularly legislative, communications, and advocacy staff members to
advance the Equality Center's agenda;

.         Fostering relationships with other advocates, lawyers, civil
rights organizations and potential clients;

.         Supervising administrative assistants, paralegals, legal fellows,
and law students;

.         Travel as required for legislation and policy, litigation
supervision and litigation, conferences, and issue development. 

 

EXPERIENCE AND QUALIFICATIONS

Required Qualifications

.         J.D. degree, bar admission in one state (admission to the bar in
New York will eventually be necessary).

.         A demonstrated commitment to public interest law, constitutional
law and/or civil rights.

.         Ability to engage in complex legal analysis and fact investigation
in impact litigation, policy and legislative advocacy settings, sometimes
under tight deadlines. 

.         Superior analytic skills and excellent research skills.

.         Demonstrated ability to write and speak clearly and persuasively. 

.         Diligence, the capacity for self-motivation and the ability to
meet deadlines. 

.         Ability to work independently, as well as with a wide range of
people, and to foster a collaborative environment.

.         Flexibility to switch from one specialty area to another.

Preferred Qualifications

.         Two or more years of litigation experience and/or experience as a
legislative lawyer or in crafting or implementing civil rights policy.

.         Knowledge of disability rights laws, and/or voting rights laws.

.         Demonstrated ability to work creatively - across disciplines - to
use the law, the media, and legislation to achieve social change and to
creatively link advocacy strategies.

.         Demonstrated ability to collaborate with a wide-range of civil
rights organizations with diverse agendas.

.         Ability to recognize the common factors across civil rights
issues. 

COMPENSATION

The ACLU offers a generous compensation and benefits package, commensurate
with experience and within the parameters of the ACLU compensation scale.  

HOW TO APPLY

Interested persons should submit a cover letter (with salary requirements),
a resume, a legal writing sample, and three references, to:
<mailto:____ at aclu.org> hrjobsVRP at aclu.org. Reference [VRP-04/INCL] in the
subject line. Please note that this is not the general ACLU applicant email
address. This email address is specific to the Voting Rights Projects at
Equality Center department postings. In order to ensure your application is
received, please make certain it is sent to the correct e-mail address. You
can expect to receive an automatic response that acknowledges the submission
of application materials.

Applications can also be mailed to:

 

American Civil Liberties Union

RE: [VRP-04/INCL]

125 Broad Street, 18th Floor

New York, NY 10004

 

Please indicate where you learned of this career opportunity.

Applications will be accepted until the position is filled.

This job description provides a general but not comprehensive list of the
essential responsibilities and qualifications required.  It does not
represent a contract of employment.  The ACLU reserves the right to change
the description and/or posting at any time without advance notice.

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, and veteran status.  

The ACLU undertakes affirmative action strategies in its recruitment and
employment efforts to assure that persons with disabilities have full
opportunities for employment in all positions. 

 

We encourage applicants with disabilities who may need accommodations in the
application process to contact  <mailto:HRJobsINCLReq at aclu.org>
HRJobsINCLReq at aclu.org. Correspondence sent to this email address that is
not related to requests for accommodations will not be reviewed.  Applicants
should follow the instructions above regarding how to apply.

The ACLU comprises two separate corporate entities, the American Civil
Liberties Union and the ACLU Foundation.  Both the American Civil Liberties
Union and the ACLU Foundation are national organizations with the same
overall mission, and share office space and employees.  The ACLU has two
separate corporate entities in order to do a broad range of work to protect
civil liberties.  This job posting refers collectively to the two
organizations under the name "ACLU."