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Staff Attorney, Senior Staff Attorney, or Senior Counsel, Disability Rights Program

San Francisco, California, United States; Washington, District of Columbia, United States

ABOUT THE JOB

The ACLU seeks applicants for the term-limited, full-time position of Staff Attorney, Senior Staff Attorney, or Senior Counsel in the Disability Rights Program of the ACLU’s National office in San Francisco, CA or Washington, DC. This is a two-year, term-limited position that will focus on veterans’ rights. This is a hybrid role that has in-office requirements of two (2) days per week or eight (8) days per month. 

We will review applications on a rolling basis, but priority consideration will be given to those who submit applications by May 30, 2025.

The Disability Rights Program’s mission is to achieve an America free of discrimination against people with disabilities; where people with disabilities are valued, integrated members of society who have full access to education, homes, health care, jobs, families, voting and civic engagement. We fight to ensure that people with disabilities are no longer segregated into, and over-represented in, civil and criminal institutions such as nursing homes, psychiatric hospitals, jails, and prisons.

The ACLU has fought for decades for the rights of people with disabilities - achieving key wins to stop coerced mental health treatment and unnecessary institutionalization, as well as playing a role in the drafting of the ADA. In 2012, the ACLU established the Disability Rights Project. DRP litigates and advocates to use disability rights laws to end the overrepresentation of people with disabilities in the criminal legal system, including pursuing first of its kind litigation to ensure that municipalities provide trained, non-police responders to people experiencing mental health crises. We also litigate and advocate to promote alternatives to guardianship and to secure equal access to the ballot. We also provide support to affiliates and the National office on disability rights issues that intersect with core civil liberties. While the ACLU’s Legal Department is headquartered in New York, the Disability Rights Program is housed in the San Francisco and Washington, D.C. offices.

The ACLU has also long fought for the rights of veterans and service members, running from its Military Discharge Project in the 1970s to assist veterans in upgrading discharge papers, to recent briefs arguing that the jurisdiction stripping language of the Veterans Judicial Review Act be narrowly construed, to litigation to uncover information about DOGE’s efforts to access sensitive information from the Department of Veterans Affairs. We are also litigating now to address censorship in Department of Defense Schools and to protect the path to citizenship for service members, and we have a history of working to protect the rights of military people to vote, to support the consideration of race in service academy admissions, and to challenge discrimination against women and LGBT people.

This position is part of a collective bargaining unit. It is represented by ACLU Staff United (ASU).

WHAT YOU'LL DO 

Reporting to the Director of the Disability Rights Program, we seek an experienced litigator to be a core member of a small, collaborative and strong team working to advance veterans’ rights through the lens of disability rights.

YOUR DAY TO DAY

  • Create and implement multi-pronged strategies using litigation, public education, and legislative and policy advocacy to further the disability rights of veterans
  • Assist in and lead litigation, including writing pleadings and briefs, conducting discovery and motion practice, handling hearings and trials, arguing appeals in both federal and state courts, and managing litigation teams
  • Work with ACLU political advocacy and affiliate staff on bills in state legislatures and in Congress
  • Draft policy analysis designed to effect change in state and federal administrative agencies
  • Engage in community outreach and public speaking, including representing ACLU positions to the media and the public generally
  • Work closely with legal and non-legal program staff, particularly legislative, communications, advocacy, and fundraising professionals
  • Develop strong co-counsel relationships with other public interest lawyers and pro bono attorneys
  • Provide support and assistance to ACLU affiliates and cooperating attorneys
  • Coach and mentor junior staff members and interns
  • Travel as required for litigation, legislative and policy advocacy, conferences, and public speaking

FUTURE ACLU'ERS WILL 

  • Be committed to advancing the mission of the ACLU
  • Center and embed the principles of equity, inclusion and belonging in their work by demonstrating commitment to diversity with an approach that respects and values multiple perspectives
  • Be committed to work collaboratively and respectfully toward resolving obstacles and conflicts

WHAT YOU'LL BRING

  • J.D. degree, bar admission in one state (admission to the bar in California or D.C. will eventually be necessary)
  • Experience as a litigator
  • A demonstrated commitment to public interest law, constitutional law and/or civil rights
  • Ability to engage in complex legal analysis and fact investigation in impact litigation, policy and legislative advocacy settings, sometimes under tight deadlines
  • Superior analytic skills and excellent research skills
  • Demonstrated ability to write and speak clearly and persuasively
  • Self-motivated, diligent, and able to meet deadlines
  • Ability to work independently, as well as with a wide range of people, and to foster a collaborative environment

PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS

  • Significant litigation experience 
  • Experience with veterans’ rights and/or disability rights 
  • Knowledge of disability rights laws, including the Rehabilitation Act and the Americans with Disabilities Act
  • Knowledge of veterans law including the Veterans Judicial Review Act
  • Military service or connections with veterans’ organizations
  • Deep connections with the disability community
  • Demonstrated ability to work creatively – across disciplines – to use the law, the media, and legislation to achieve social change
  • Demonstrated ability to collaborate with a wide range of civil rights organizations with diverse agendas
  • Ability to recognize the common factors across civil rights issues, and to creatively link advocacy strategies

COMPENSATION

The ACLU has a litigator scale that determines pay for attorneys in our Legal Department. The range of salaries are the following, based on year of law school graduation (please consult the hiring manager for specific salary details, based on individual circumstances)

  • 0-2 years since law school graduation: $92,374-$115,393
  • 3-5 years since law school graduation: $129,244-$152,480
  • 6-10 years since law school graduation: $159,461- $179,891
  • 11-15 years since law school graduation: $183,255-$193,657
  • 16-20 years since law school graduation: $195,485-$200,519
  • 21-25 years since law school graduation: $201,534-$205,663
  • 26-30+ years since law school graduation: $206,654- $210,677

The ACLU is committed to equity, transparency, and clarity in pay. These salaries are reflective of positions based in Washington, DC and San Francisco, CA. Salaries are subject to a regional pay adjustment if authorization is granted to work outside of the location listed in this posting.  

For details on our pay structure, please visit: https://www.aclu.org/careers/ACLU_Geographic_Pay_Structure-July_2024.pdf

WHY THE ACLU

For over 100 years, the ACLU has worked to defend and preserve the individual rights and liberties guaranteed by the Constitution and laws of the United States. Whether it’s ending mass incarceration, achieving full equality for the LGBTQ+ community, establishing new privacy protections for our digital age, or preserving the right to vote or the right to have an abortion, the ACLU takes up the toughest civil liberties cases and issues to defend all people.

We know that great people make a great organization. We value our people and know that what we offer is essential not just their work, but to their overall well-being. 

At the ACLU, we offer a broad range of benefits, which include:

  • Time away to focus on the things that matter with a generous paid time-off policy
  • Focus on your well-being with comprehensive healthcare benefits (including medical, dental and vision coverage, parental leave, gender affirming care & fertility treatment)
  • Plan for your retirement with 401k plan and employer match
  • We support employee growth and development through annual professional development funds, internal professional development programs and workshops

OUR COMMITMENT TO ACCESSIBILITY, EQUITY, DIVERSITY & INCLUSION

Accessibility, equity, diversity and inclusion are core values of the ACLU and central to our work to advance liberty, equality, and justice for all. For us diversity, equity, accessibility, and inclusion are not just check-the-box activities, but a chance for us to make long-term meaningful change.  We are a community committed to learning and growth, humility and grace, transparency and accountability. We believe in a collective responsibility to create a culture of belonging for all people within our organization – one that respects and embraces difference; treats everyone equitably; and empowers our colleagues to do the best work possible. We are as committed to anti-oppression, anti-ableism, and anti-racism internally as we are externally. Because whether we’re in the courts or in the office, we believe ‘We the People’ means all of us.

With this commitment in mind, we strongly encourage 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, veteran status and record of arrest or conviction, or any other characteristic protected by applicable law.    

The ACLU is committed to providing reasonable accommodation to individuals with disabilities. If you are a qualified individual with a disability and need assistance applying online, please email benefits.hrdept@aclu.org. If you are selected for an interview, you will receive additional information regarding how to request an accommodation for the interview process.

 

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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.

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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 the 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:

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