Senior Staff Attorney

Summary

Join Muslim Advocates (MA), a national legal-advocacy organization, as a Senior Staff Attorney! This full-time, exempt position involves remote work within the US, with occasional domestic travel. Reporting to the Legal Director, you will play a key role in litigation and advocacy across MA's work with diverse Muslim and marginalized communities. The position requires at least 7 years of legal practice experience and expertise in areas like immigration, students' rights, or criminal justice. MA offers a generous benefits package and a salary range of $100,000-$130,000.

Requirements

• At least 7 years of practice experience as an attorney
• Subject-matter expertise and legal-advocacy experience in one or more of the following areas: immigration detention-and-deportation system
• Students’ rights under the First Amendment and under Title VI of the Civil Rights Acts of 1964
• Criminal legal system
• Prisoners’ rights and carceral abolition
• Legal frameworks concerning putative national security
• Low-wage workers’ rights
• Demonstrated experience in or commitment to movement and client-centered lawyering
• Sound professional judgment
• Rigorous critical-thinking skills
• Strong oral and written communication skills
• Exceptional time-management and organizational skills
• Demonstrated ability to work and collaborate effectively in a remote environment as part of a team, with clients, and with myriad partners and allies
• Demonstrated self-starter who readily takes accountability for all areas of their work
• Ability to receive and implement feedback effectively
• Flexibility and adaptation in response to shifting priorities
• J.D. from an accredited university
• Admitted in good standing to the bar of any state and/or the District of Columbia
• Fluent in oral and written English
• Willing and able to travel as the demands of the position require

Responsibilities

• Litigation work, including but not limited to: identifying and weighing potential legal claims/arguments/strategies; client contact, advisals, and communications; drafting pleadings, motions, and briefs; strategizing for and conducting written and oral discovery; strategizing for, exploring, and guiding settlement negotiations
• Provide technical expertise/assistance to partners
• Develop relationships with grassroots and organizational partners and related, shared advocacy
• Develop and present Know Your Rights (KYR) guidance
• Develop trainings for advocates
• Participate in ongoing advocacy coalitions
• Federal and/or state/local policy advocacy, as required
• Screen and follow up on intakes
• In-depth, complex legal research and writing for both litigation and non-litigation advocacy
• Oral advocacy and communications/media/public advocacy relating to both litigation and non-litigation work
• Oversee interns and fellows

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience litigating in federal and state courts, including in complex civil litigation
• Experience with federal and state/local policy advocacy
• Experience preparing administrative complaints directed to civil-rights bodies within federal and state/local agencies
• Fluency in ASL (American Sign Language), ISL (International Sign Language), and/or one or more non-English languages (with a preference for Arabic, Urdu, Dari, Farsi, Pashto, Tajik, and/or Uzbek)
• Demonstrated experience in: applying cultural humility in interactions with others
• Applying trauma-informed approaches in interactions with others

Benefits

• The salary is commensurate with experience
• The preferred range of experience is seven plus years of legal practice
• This position is included in a union-represented collective bargaining unit and specific employment terms and conditions are subject to collective bargaining
• The expected salary range is $100,000 - 130,000
• Muslim Advocates offers a generous and comprehensive benefits package