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Staff Attorney, Democracy 2025

Washington, District of Columbia, United States

Position Summary: 

Democracy Forward seeks a highly collaborative and experienced attorney to join its Democracy 2025 team to carry out its mission to promote pro-democracy and progressive policies. Democracy 2025 is Democracy Forward’s infrastructure to support the entire pro-democracy movement. The attorney will help develop legal resources to support Democracy Forward and partner organizations, such as draft pleadings, legal memos, and more. These resources will cover the entire range of relevant legal doctrines, including civil rights, constitutional rights, administrative law, and other legal issues. The attorney will also help lead working groups coordinating among partner organizations; help engage in pro-democracy legal advocacy; and help build the expertise and strength of the entire pro-democracy coalition.  

This position is full-time. Democracy Forward’s office is located in Washington, DC, and the employee is expected to be in the office an average of 2 days per week. While candidates in the DC area are preferred, fully remote candidates outside of the DC area will also be considered. If a candidate is outside of the DC area, occasional travel to DC is expected.

Responsibilities:

  • Conduct legal research and analysis of emerging legal issues in response to the changing legal threat landscape. 
  • Draft written work product—such as sample pleadings, memoranda, issue area guides, and similar—to support the legal advocacy work of the Democracy 2025 community.
  • Help identify resources that would best support the Democracy 2025 community and propose plans to develop those resources.
  • Draft written work to explain complex legal issues to generalist audiences.
  • Support Democracy 2025 working groups, including supporting or making verbal presentations to partner organizations.
  • Continue coalition building with partner organizations. 
  • Track developments in the law in specific issue areas; regularly brief coalition partners and Democracy Forward staff on these developments.
  • This position is not a litigation role, however, depending on Democracy Forward’s needs and the candidate’s abilities, job duties might include supporting or engaging in litigation on an as-needed basis. 
  • Occasional travel is expected. 

Qualifications:

We recognize that strong candidates may not meet 100% of the qualifications listed. If you believe you can contribute meaningfully to our team, we encourage you to apply.

  • J.D. required. 
  • Active membership in good standing in your relevant state bar or with the ability to become admitted in your relevant state bar. 
  • 3-5 years experience, including minimum 1 years litigation experience and/or clerking. Ideally some experience litigating on behalf of or against federal or state governments.
  • Ideally experience in some of the following areas of law: civil rights, constitutional law, public/government litigation, administrative law, regulatory matters. 
  • Demonstrated ability to perform legal research and writing.
  • Attention to detail. 
  • Strong written and oral communication skills. 
  • Experience working on teams in a collaborative structure.
  • Ability to manage multiple, competing deadlines and priorities and be nimble and flexible in response to fast-moving threats
  • A commitment to Democracy Forward’s values of excellence, inclusion, accountability, collaboration, and impact. 
  • Demonstrated commitment to democracy and social progress. 

The salary range for this position is $130,000-$145,000 plus excellent benefits. Compensation is commensurate with experience.

Democracy Forward is an equal opportunity employer. We value a diverse workforce and an inclusive culture. We encourage applications from all qualified individuals. We strongly encourage people of color; lesbian, bisexual, transgender, queer, and intersex people; women; people with disabilities; and veterans to apply. Please note that all lawyer positions require a law degree and active membership in the bar of a state or the District of Columbia. 

Not sure you meet all of our qualifications? Research shows that men apply for jobs when they meet an average of 60% of the criteria. Yet women and other people who are systematically marginalized tend to only apply if they meet every requirement.  If you believe that you could excel in this role, we encourage you to apply. We are dedicated to considering a broad array of candidates, including those with diverse workplace experiences and backgrounds. Whether you are new to mission-based legal and policy work, returning to work after a gap in employment, or simply looking to transition or take the next step in your career path, we welcome the opportunity to have you on our radar.  Please include in your cover letter the nature of your interest in legal and policy work promoting democracy and progress and what you hope to bring to our team and the role for which you are applying. 

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