Department: Legal Department

Employment Type: Full-time

Location: Houston, TX

ORGANIZATION OVERVIEW

The American Civil Liberties Union of Texas is the leading civil rights organizations in the Lone Star State. We work in courts, legislatures, and communities to protect and extend the civil rights for Texans throughout the state. The ACLU of Texas is both a nonprofit and nonpartisan organization. The ACLU of Texas operates professional offices in Houston, Austin, Dallas, El Paso, and Brownsville, Texas.

ROLE OVERVIEW

The Staff Attorney reports to the Legal Director and plays a leadership role in developing and managing litigation and related activities in support of the ACLU’s mission.

RESPONSIBILITIES

Specific responsibilities include:

Develop and maintain a robust docket concentrating on civil rights and liberties.
Review, investigate, and select for legal representation complaints received through the ACLU-TX intake system, as well as referrals from other organizations and agencies and attorneys.
Develop and prosecute select civil liberties and civil rights cases, including legal research and memoranda, the drafting of pleadings and briefs, discovery and motion practice, mediation, trials, settlement negotiation, post-judgment litigation, and appeals in both state and federal courts.
Develop and execute non-litigation legal advocacy, such as preparing and filing administrative complaints, and provide limited representation in administrative proceedings.
Provide legal support to community partners and advocates advancing ACLU-TX’s goals in non-legal spaces.
Participate as a legal expert in local and statewide legislative processes, including by analyzing bills and policies, developing talking points, engaging in public education, and authoring and delivering testimony.
Litigate select cases as lead counsel or as co-counsel with cooperating or other public interest and private attorneys.
Conduct legal and factual research; prepare legal memoranda and letters; draft demand letters; review, comment or write amicus briefs.
Advocate for civil liberties and serve as a spokesperson for the ACLU both with the press and as a public speaker, when appropriate.
Support the advocacy and legal needs of cross departmental advocacy work.
Collaborate and work with ACLU National colleagues on joint projects, cases, or working groups, when appropriate or as needed.
Perform other duties as

QUALIFICATIONS

The Staff Attorney must demonstrate a commitment to civil rights and civil liberties consistent with the mission and goals of the ACLU with the following qualifications:

JD with at least three years of litigation experience, preferably with a background in constitutional and civil rights and civil liberties issues.
Experience with public interest advocacy and working with community-based groups is
Licensed to practice law in Texas and a member of the State Bar of Texas or eligible to waive in.
Substantive knowledge and understanding of constitutional law and civil liberties issues.
Demonstrated ability to litigate independently, jointly or in a team, and under
Demonstrated capacity to manage a docket requiring frequent requests for immediate relief.
Ability to effectively manage multiple cases and advocacy projects simultaneously.
Excellent communication skills to both legal and non-legal
Demonstrated skills in legal analysis, research, writing and strategic
Demonstrated ability to work effectively, respectfully, courteously, and professionally with lawyers, clients, staff members, and with community organizations, leaders, partners, and
A commitment to the rules of professional conduct and ethical practice of law.
A commitment to diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging; a personal approach that values the individual holistically and respects differences of race, ethnicity, age, gender, sexual orientation, religion, ability, and socio-economic circumstances.
Proficiency with computers and software: Windows, Microsoft Office, and Westlaw in
Willing and able to travel and work evenings and weekends as

COMPENSATION

Starting salary is $81,000/year in alignment with parameters of ACLU of Texas’s salary scale. Excellent benefits include a generous paid time off policy; medical, dental and vision insurance; 401(k) plan with an employer match; life and long-term disability insurance, and generous paid holidays.

Link: https://www.paycomonline.net/v4/ats/web.php/jobs/ViewJobDetails?job=111898&clientkey=A40D81DDE1990C52BBDABE0D6922830F

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 job 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, previous criminal conviction, and veteran.

#LI-DNI

Apply for this Job

* Required

First Name *

Last Name *

Email *

Phone

Resume/CV *

Google Drive

(File types: pdf, doc, docx, txt, rtf)

Cover Letter *

Google Drive

(File types: pdf, doc, docx, txt, rtf)

LinkedIn Profile

Website

______________________________________________________________

Gender

__________________________________________________________________________________________

Veteran Status

If you believe you belong to any of the categories of protected veterans listed below, please indicate by making the appropriate selection. As a government contractor subject to Vietnam Era Veterans Readjustment Assistance Act (VEVRAA), we request this information in order to measure the effectiveness of the outreach and positive recruitment efforts we undertake pursuant to VEVRAA. Classification of protected categories is as follows:

A "disabled veteran" is one of the following: a veteran of the U.S. military, ground, naval or air service who is entitled to compensation (or who but for the receipt of military retired pay would be entitled to compensation) under laws administered by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs; or a person who was discharged or released from active duty because of a service-connected disability.

A "recently separated veteran" means any veteran during the three-year period beginning on the date of such veteran's discharge or release from active duty in the U.S. military, ground, naval, or air service.

An "active duty wartime or campaign badge veteran" means a veteran who served on active duty in the U.S. military, ground, naval or air service during a war, or in a campaign or expedition for which a campaign badge has been authorized under the laws administered by the Department of Defense.

An "Armed forces service medal veteran" means a veteran who, while serving on active duty in the U.S. military, ground, naval or air service, participated in a United States military operation for which an Armed Forces service medal was awarded pursuant to Executive Order 12985.

__________________________________________________________________________________________

Voluntary Self-Identification of Disability

Why are you being asked to complete this form?

We are committed to equal opportunity to qualified people with disabilities. To help us measure how well we are doing, we are asking you to tell us if you have a disability or if you ever had a disability. Completing this form is voluntary, but we hope that you will choose to fill it out. If you are applying for a job, any answer you give will be kept private and will not be used against you in any way.

If you already work for us, your answer will not be used against you in any way. Because a person may become disabled at any time, we are required to ask all of our employees to update their information every five years. You may voluntarily self-identify as having a disability on this form without fear of any punishment because you did not identify as having a disability earlier.

How do I know if I have a disability?

You are considered to have a disability if you have a physical or mental impairment or medical condition that substantially limits a major life activity, or if you have a history or record of such an impairment or medical condition.

Disabilities include, but are not limited to:

Blindness
Deafness
Cancer
Diabetes
Epilepsy
Autism
Cerebral palsy
HIV/AIDS
Schizophrenia
Muscular dystrophy
Bipolar disorder
Major depression
Multiple sclerosis (MS)
Missing limbs or partially missing limbs
Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)
Obsessive compulsive disorder
Impairments requiring the use of a wheelchair
Intellectual disability (previously called mental retardation)

Disability Status:

_____________________________________________________________________________________________ The following demographic questions are optional. They are used to help us better understand our applicant pool and to continually improve our outreach and recruitment efforts. Individuals seeking employment at the ACLU are considered without regards to race, color, religion, national origin, age, sex, marital status, ancestry, physical or mental disability, veteran status, gender identity, or sexual orientation.

Race and/or Ethnicity

If you chose 'A race or ethnicity not listed,' please let us know how you self-identify:

If you chose 'A gender not listed,' please let us know how you self-identify:

Our system has flagged this application as potentially being associated with bot traffic. Please turn off any VPNs, clear your browser cache and cookies, or try submitting your application in a different browser. If this issue persists, please reach out to our support team via our help center.

Please complete the reCAPTCHA above.