at Southern Poverty Law Center
This position may work from one of the following locations: Atlanta, GA; Jackson, MS; Miami, FL; Montgomery, AL; New Orleans, LA; Tallahassee, FL; Washington, D.C.
Summary:
The Southern Poverty Law Center’s Voting Rights Practice Group (VRPG) works across the Deep South in collaboration with community partners and organizers to engage and mobilize voters, restore voting rights to returning citizens, pursue electoral policy reforms, and bring litigation to challenge unconstitutional and discriminatory voting practices. Our efforts center on expanding access to the ballot; promoting fair redistricting; defending against racial gerrymandering and vote dilution; improving election administration; and community outreach and engagement.
VRPG’s current work includes a lawsuit challenging multiple provisions of SB 202, Georgia’s sweeping voter disenfranchisement law which threatens to disenfranchise Georgia voters, specifically voters of color; a lawsuit challenging Alabama’s state legislative maps as racial gerrymanders in violation of the U.S. Constitution; a lawsuit challenging the Mississippi Supreme Court’s 35-year-old districting plan, which denies Black voters a fair opportunity to elect the candidate of their choice; a lawsuit challenging the city council and school board districts in Jacksonville-Duval County, Florida, as unconstitutional racial gerrymanders; and a lawsuit challenging Alabama’s failure to make its absentee ballot system accessible to blind and print-disabled individuals. We recently submitted reports to Congress in support of the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act detailing current and historical voting rights violations in Alabama, Mississippi, and Louisiana. We also engage regularly in public education, election monitoring, and other legal advocacy work across the Deep South.
We seek a senior staff attorney with at least six (6) years of relevant experience to assist with all aspects of legal advocacy and litigation, including legal research, factual investigations, drafting of memoranda, complaints, discovery materials, briefs, pleadings, and other documents. In addition to strong legal advocacy and litigation skills, the successful candidate will offer creative approaches on how to address voting rights issues and leverage litigation successes to achieve lasting reform and will have experiences and cultural competence to work with a diverse group of colleagues, coalition and community partners, and clients.
Primary Job Functions:
• Litigate cases in state and federal courts across SPLC’s five focus states. This includes working and co-counseling with private attorneys; conducting extensive research and factual investigations; writing motions, briefs, and other court filings; conducting discovery, court appearances; and oral arguments;
• Identify and develop new cases and new litigation strategies to advance voting rights, including working with community groups, coalitions, and individuals in SPLC’s five focus states;
• Supervise student interns, legal fellows, staff attorneys, and other staff as needed;
• Participate where appropriate on relevant task forces and coalitions;
• Collaborate extensively across departments within SPLC to ensure effective implementation of SPLC’s impact area goals;
• Represent VRPG on relevant task forces and coalitions;
• Work closely with SPLC’s Policy Department staff and the SPLC’s Communications and other departments in helping to advance the organization’s policy objectives;
• Engage in public speaking and articulate the SPLC’s policies and programs to the public and the media on voting rights issues; and
• Other duties assigned.
Qualifications:
• J.D. degree;
• At least six (6) years of federal court civil litigation or comparable experience;
• Membership in good standing with a bar at the time of application, and willingness to sit for the next Bar Exam after relocation to a state where SPLC has an office (Alabama, Georgia, Florida, Louisiana, Mississippi, and includes Washington, D.C.) if the attorney cannot waive. Must be barred in the State where the position is located.
Knowledge, Skills and Abilities:
• Excellent analytic, legal research, factual investigation, and writing skills;
• Ability to synthesize complex issues and communicate them effectively to diverse audiences, including elected officials, attorneys, advocates, impacted communities, supporters, community partners, coalition partners, the media, and the public;
• Ability to work independently;
• Ability to work independently, pay attention to detail and meet deadlines;
• Ability to work collaboratively and in team settings;
• Ability and willingness to travel;
• Demonstrated project management experience;
• Demonstrated commitment to civil rights issues and the mission and goals of the SPLC;
• Demonstrated commitment to or experience in voting rights, civic engagement, campaign work, organizing, or election law is preferred, but not required;
• Commitment to ideals of justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion;
• Commitment to fostering an anti-racist work culture and to anti-racist principles and learning; and
• Fluency in Spanish is preferred given SPLC’s desire to increase partnerships with Spanish-speaking communities, but not required.
Compensation:
This is an exempt role and the minimum starting salary is $87,650.00 annually. Salary is based on legal experience post law school.
Senior Staff Attorney I (6 & 7 years out of law school): $87,650
Senior Staff Attorney II (8 & 9 years out of law school): $100,800
Senior Staff Attorney III (10 & 11 years out of law school): $115,920
Senior Staff Attorney IV (12+ years out of law school): $133,310
Work Designation:
This role has the following work designation options:
• Local Remote: Will work remotely, but is expected to attend work-related activities that occur at the SPLC offices or in the states in which the SPLC operates.
• Telework: Will work at an SPLC office at least three days per week and may work two days per week from an alternative work location.
For immediate consideration, please click the following link to apply:
https://www.splcenter.org/about/careers/jobs?gh_jid=6364254002
Application Deadline:
Friday, December 2, 2022
For more information about our benefits, please click the following link:
https://www.splcenter.org/sites/default/files/hr_benefits_and_perks_nov2020.pdf
Other Special Considerations:
This job is performed under general office conditions and is not subject to any strenuous physical demands or dangerous conditions.
This position is represented by the Washington-Baltimore News Guild.
Disclaimer:
The statements herein are intended to describe the general nature and level of work being performed by the employee in this position. These statements are not intended to be construed as an exhaustive list of all responsibilities, duties, and skills required of a person in this position.
An Equal-Opportunity Employer with a Commitment to Diversity
Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) is proud to be an equal opportunity employer, and as an organization committed to diversity and the perspective of all voices, we consider applicants equally of race, gender, gender identity, color, sexual orientation, religion, marital status, disability, political affiliation, national origin, or prior record of arrest or conviction.