Legal Director

About the organization

The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Kansas is a non-profit and non-partisan organization dedicated to preserving and advancing the civil rights and legal freedoms guaranteed by the United States Constitution, the Bill of Rights, and the Kansas Constitution. The ACLU of Kansas works in the state legislature, the courts, and local communities to protect the rights of all people living in Kansas.

The organization’s work includes efforts to strengthen and defend First Amendment rights, voting rights, reproductive rights, racial justice, LGBT rights, immigrants’ rights, stopping government surveillance, and reforming the criminal legal system. The ACLU of Kansas currently uses a campaign model where 80% of its efforts and resources are dedicated to two campaigns: voting rights and immigrants’ rights. The remaining 20% of efforts are devoted to other civil liberties matters as they arise.

The ACLU of Kansas often works in broad-based coalitions made up of individuals and organizations from across the political, partisan, and ideological spectrum. It is an affiliate of the national American Civil Liberties Union, has an annual budget of approximately $4.7 million, and has nearly 40,000 supporters across the state. The ACLU of Kansas comprises two separate corporate entities: the ACLU Foundation of Kansas (a 501(c)(3) non-profit corporation primarily engaging in litigation and public education) and the ACLU of Kansas (a 501(c)(4) non-profit corporation primarily engaging in lobbying and advocacy).

About the role

The ACLU of Kansas seeks a visionary, dynamic, creative, and self-motivated team player to serve as its Legal Director. This senior-level, at-will position will lead the organization’s statewide program of impact-oriented litigation and legal advocacy. Reporting to the Deputy Executive Director/Chief Program Officer, the position may be based at either of the ACLU of Kansas’s offices in Overland Park or Wichita. The role involves some travel to communities around the state, including to state and federal courthouses.

This is a management position with supervisory responsibility for three full-time employees, as well as legal fellows, legal interns, and legal volunteers.

Responsibilities

• In coordination with the Deputy Executive Director/Chief Program Officer, develop the vision and set the overall strategy for the ACLU of Kansas legal program.
• Ensure the ACLU of Kansas maintains an active and diverse litigation docket consistent with organizational and campaign priorities.
• Serve as lead counsel for cases pursued by the ACLU of Kansas, where appropriate.
• Investigate and litigate select civil liberties cases in state and federal courts.
• Manage and litigate active cases, including:
  • Drafting and developing arguments for briefs and motions.
  • Managing all aspects of discovery.
  • Managing in-court proceedings.
  • Negotiating settlements.
  • Maintaining client relationships throughout the case.
• Supervise legal staff, including volunteers and legal interns/fellows.
• Prepare legal memoranda and demand letters.
• Review, comment on, or write amicus briefs.
• Provide legal analysis to other ACLU staff, when appropriate.
• Coordinate collaboration with and legal support for other ACLU of Kansas programs in the promotion of integrated advocacy, including Know Your Rights materials.
• Collaborate with national ACLU partners and participate in national ACLU conferences.
• Establish, maintain, and manage a robust set of co-counsel relationships with law firms and cooperating attorneys, within and outside of Kansas.
• Maintain communication and contact with the broader legal community in Kansas.
• Serve as a spokesperson for the ACLU of Kansas in the press, as a public speaker, and before other audiences, as appropriate.
• Coordinate media strategies for legal cases with communications staff.
• Collaborate with communications staff in drafting press releases, op-eds, and articles for newsletters, websites, social media, and other outlets.
• Report on legal program activities to funders and the ACLU of Kansas board of directors, as applicable.
• Perform other duties as assigned.