Lawyers for Civil Rights Senior Attorney

ORGANIZATIONAL MISSION

Lawyers for Civil Rights (LCR) fights discrimination and fosters equity through creative and courageous legal advocacy, education, and economic empowerment. With law firms and community allies, we provide free, life-changing legal support to individuals, families, and small businesses. Our work is organized around nine impact areas, which represent critical battlegrounds for civil rights, and address the many ways our clients and communities experience discrimination. These include education, employment, health equity, housing justice, voting rights, immigrant rights, police accountability, economic justice, and climate justice.

JOB DESCRIPTION

The vibe at LCR is bold, courageous, creative, and relentless. We are a rapid-response team that quickly mobilizes to tackle pressing problems, ensuring that those in need receive immediate and impactful legal assistance. We also believe in the power of partnership, working with organizations that share our commitment to justice. Embracing our unique approach, we are passionate about empowering individuals and communities through the law.

LCR has filed and won dozens of life-changing and law-changing cases. The Senior Attorney will build on this highly successful work to maintain a constant stream of litigation in one or more of our impact areas. The Senior Attorney’s areas of focus will be determined based on relevant experience and interest, as well as organizational need.

The Senior Attorney will actively develop litigation and will also support strategic policy advocacy, community outreach, and communication efforts to ensure the organization’s visibility across diverse communities and social justice movements.

The Senior Attorney will report to LCR’s Litigation Director or Deputy Litigation Director.

This position is full-time (40 hours/week) and will require flexibility to work evenings and weekends as needed. We currently employ a hybrid work environment, with Senior coming into our office in downtown Boston at least once a week for Senior meetings on Mondays. The Senior Attorney should have the ability to travel statewide, and to a lesser degree nationwide, as needed for court proceedings and other events.

SUMMARY OF KEY RESPONSIBILITIES (% of time spent)

Case Development and Litigation (80%)

Develop and maintain a significant caseload of civil rights matters in federal and state court. Actively engage in litigation through the following activities:

• Devise legal theory and strategy;

• Evaluate and investigate potential claims;

• Identify plaintiffs;

• Handle intakes;

• Work with pro bono law firms;

• Conduct all aspects of legal research;

• Draft pleadings, motions, and briefs;

• Conduct depositions and written discovery;

• Engage in trial and appellate work;

• Negotiate and monitor settlement agreements;

• Pursue attorney fee awards; and

• Coordinate amicus briefs.

The Senior Attorney will ensure the development of a consistent pipeline of new cases that will be co-counseled with pro bono law firms.

The Senior Attorney will also ensure the measurable quarterly growth of the litigation docket, and participate in weekly supervision meetings to assess work and quarterly productivity meetings to assess the volume of cases. Tracking work and “billable” hours is required for quarterly reports.

While developing and litigating cases, the Senior Attorney will ensure that all internal and external work is aligned with the organization’s brand, policies, procedures, and protocols.

Policy Advocacy, Community Outreach, and Organizational Visibility (10%)

Participate in community outreach, policy advocacy, legislative advocacy, and community meetings that are strategically aligned with the development of impact litigation and policy reform in targeted areas. Leverage policy advocacy and community outreach to ensure that our organization remains highly visible across diverse communities and social justice movements.

Represent the organization in meetings with stakeholder and constituent groups. Participate in traditional media appearances (newspaper, TV, radio); social media activities; and other communication efforts, including drafting community