Senior Staff Attorney

About the role

The team member in this position is:

• A seasoned, experienced civil litigator with strong litigation management, coordination, and implementation abilities;
• Proficient in doing a wide range of legal-related research and writing to support the work of the ACLU of Oregon’s legal, policy, and communications teams;
• Capable of representing the ACLU of Oregon in a wide array of settings, including interviews with journalists and the press, legislative work groups and public hearings, and educational forums.

This position manages our legal cases and related work, including amicus briefs and research, the day-to-day of which is often done by our volunteer cooperating attorneys. As needed, this position will also engage in day-to-day work with our legal cases, amicus briefs, research, and related matters. This position will also support our ballot measure work, policy work at the local and state levels, and communications and education work as needed. Oftentimes, this work consists of legal-related research and writing as well as other types of technical support.

This position does not supervise any staff positions, although the position may have lead-type responsibilities.

Qualifications

• Required education, legal, and licensure experience: Juris Doctor degree, a minimum of 5 years of civil litigation experience, and member of the Oregon State Bar;
• Required equity and inclusion values and experience: proven significant and continuous prior commitment to and experience with the values of diversity, equity, inclusion, belonging, anti-racism, anti-misogyny, anti-transphobia, anti-homophobia, anti-ableism, and other forms of anti-oppression;
• Strongly preferred — prior experience in ACLU of Oregon issue areas: prior litigation experience in several of the following areas — First Amendment, racial justice, criminal system reform, law enforcement accountability, LGBTQ+ rights, immigrant and refugee rights, and systems change or impact litigation.

Required values: a demonstrated ability to support the goals, priorities, and values of the ACLU of Oregon, including the following values related to building work-related relationships and trust:

• Sincerity: the assessment that you are honest, that you say what you mean and mean what you say. The idea that you can be believed and taken seriously and that your actions are aligned with your words;
• Reliability: the assessment that you meet the commitments you make, and that you keep your promises;
• Competence: the assessment you have the ability to do what you’re doing or propose to do. Note that being competent does not mean being perfect.
• Care: the assessment you have the other person’s interest in mind as well as your own when you make decisions and take actions.

Pay and benefits

This is a salaried, exempt, full-time position. The annual salary for the Senior Staff Attorney position is $115,481. Because we have established an internal salary system that centers equity, clarity and transparency, competitiveness, and sustainability, salaries for positions are not negotiable. Our current excellent benefits package includes:

• paid vacation time;
• paid sick time;
• paid personal time;
• 14.5 paid holidays per year;
• office rest (shutdown) periods during summer and winter as consistent with the organization’s values and work needs;
• flexible Friday hours, consistent with operational needs and supervisor approval;
• remote work stipend and commute-related benefits;
• health insurance (medical/vision and dental);
• life insurance;
• long-term disability insurance;
• employer contributions to a wellness FSA account;
• 401(k) retirement plan with matching and other contributions of up to 5.5% of salary, subject to the organization’s 401(k) plan requirements, which include a vesting schedules;
• funds to support work-related coaching;
• funds to support relationship and connection building related to work;

Please note that all employment-related pay and benefits provided to ACLU of Oregon’s employees are subject to all applicable policies, practices, processes, and legal requirements, including changes to them that may occur from time to time.

How to apply

An application package requires the following three parts:

• Cover letter. Please include why you are interested in the Senior Staff Attorney and the ACLU of Oregon, including the organizational values and issue areas that most call to you.
• Resume.
• Work samples. Please provide at least two work samples showcasing skills and abilities that you believe are relevant and important to the knowledge, skills, and abilities required for this position.

Please submit your materials via this application submission form.

Contact

Please contact hr@aclu-or.org if you need any assistance accessing the job posting or job application or need disability-related accommodations.