Back to jobs

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. 

Apply for this job

*

indicates a required field

Resume/CV*

Accepted file types: pdf, doc, docx, txt, rtf

Cover Letter*

Accepted file types: pdf, doc, docx, txt, rtf

In compliance with federal law, all persons hired will be required to verify identity and eligibility to work in the United States and to complete the required employment eligibility verification form upon hire. *

Voluntary Self-Identification

For government reporting purposes, we ask candidates to respond to the below self-identification survey. Completion of the form is entirely voluntary. Whatever your decision, it will not be considered in the hiring process or thereafter. Any information that you do provide will be recorded and maintained in a confidential file.

As set forth in Democracy Forward’s Equal Employment Opportunity policy, we do not discriminate on the basis of any protected group status under any applicable law.

Select...
Select...
Race & Ethnicity Definitions

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:

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.

Select...

Voluntary Self-Identification of Disability

Form CC-305
Page 1 of 1
OMB Control Number 1250-0005
Expires 04/30/2026

Why are you being asked to complete this form?

We are a federal contractor or subcontractor. The law requires us to provide equal employment opportunity to qualified people with disabilities. We have a goal of having at least 7% of our workers as people with disabilities. The law says we must measure our progress towards this goal. To do this, we must ask applicants and employees if they have a disability or have ever had one. People can become disabled, so we need to ask this question at least every five years.

Completing this form is voluntary, and we hope that you will choose to do so. Your answer is confidential. No one who makes hiring decisions will see it. Your decision to complete the form and your answer will not harm you in any way. If you want to learn more about the law or this form, visit the U.S. Department of Labor’s Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) website at www.dol.gov/ofccp.

How do you know if you have a disability?

A disability is a condition that substantially limits one or more of your “major life activities.” If you have or have ever had such a condition, you are a person with a disability. Disabilities include, but are not limited to:

  • Alcohol or other substance use disorder (not currently using drugs illegally)
  • Autoimmune disorder, for example, lupus, fibromyalgia, rheumatoid arthritis, HIV/AIDS
  • Blind or low vision
  • Cancer (past or present)
  • Cardiovascular or heart disease
  • Celiac disease
  • Cerebral palsy
  • Deaf or serious difficulty hearing
  • Diabetes
  • Disfigurement, for example, disfigurement caused by burns, wounds, accidents, or congenital disorders
  • Epilepsy or other seizure disorder
  • Gastrointestinal disorders, for example, Crohn's Disease, irritable bowel syndrome
  • Intellectual or developmental disability
  • Mental health conditions, for example, depression, bipolar disorder, anxiety disorder, schizophrenia, PTSD
  • Missing limbs or partially missing limbs
  • Mobility impairment, benefiting from the use of a wheelchair, scooter, walker, leg brace(s) and/or other supports
  • Nervous system condition, for example, migraine headaches, Parkinson’s disease, multiple sclerosis (MS)
  • Neurodivergence, for example, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), autism spectrum disorder, dyslexia, dyspraxia, other learning disabilities
  • Partial or complete paralysis (any cause)
  • Pulmonary or respiratory conditions, for example, tuberculosis, asthma, emphysema
  • Short stature (dwarfism)
  • Traumatic brain injury
Select...

PUBLIC BURDEN STATEMENT: According to the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 no persons are required to respond to a collection of information unless such collection displays a valid OMB control number. This survey should take about 5 minutes to complete.