Senior Attorney, Democracy 2025

Position Summary:

Democracy Forward Foundation ("Democracy Forward") seeks a highly collaborative, strategic, and experienced Senior Attorney to join its Democracy 2025 team. Democracy 2025 serves as Democracy Forward's infrastructure to support and strengthen the pro-democracy legal movement by coordinating legal analysis, strategic planning, coalition support, and rapid response efforts to emerging threats to democratic governance.

The Senior Attorney will play a leadership role in advancing Democracy 2025's efforts to monitor, analyze, and respond to abuses of government power, increasing authoritarianism, threats to civil rights, and the politicization of government institutions. This position sits at the intersection of legal strategy, coalition leadership, legal analysis, and movement infrastructure, serving as a key resource for Democracy Forward and its extensive network of partner organizations.

The ideal candidate will bring 5-7+ years of legal experience, exceptional judgment, strong legal, analytical, and writing skills, and demonstrated success managing complex projects and relationships across diverse stakeholders. The Senior Attorney will help shape strategic priorities, help lead issue-area workstreams, produce sophisticated legal analysis, and serve as a trusted advisor to coalition partners and internal teams.

This position is full-time. Democracy Forward's office is located in Washington, DC, and employees are expected to be in the office an average of two days per week. While candidates in the DC area are preferred, exceptional fully remote candidates will also be considered. Occasional travel, including to conferences, convenings, and partner meetings, is expected.

The Senior Attorney will report to the Deputy Director of Democracy 2025 and work closely with the Democracy 2025 Director, colleagues across Democracy Forward, and partners throughout the pro-democracy legal movement.

Key Responsibilities:

Below are the key areas of responsibility for this role. The specifics of each responsibility may vary based on the needs of the organization and department.

Strategic Legal Research & Analysis 

• Lead legal research and analysis on emerging threats to democratic governance, including abuses of government power, weaponization of government institutions, threats to civil society, attacks on civil rights, politicized investigations and enforcement actions, agency leadership issues, and related constitutional and administrative law matters.
• Support systems for tracking litigation, legal developments, administrative actions, and emerging trends affecting democratic governance and civil rights.
• Produce high-quality written work product, including legal memoranda, issue-area guides, litigation analyses, strategic assessments, briefing materials, and public-facing resources.
• Translate complex legal developments into clear, actionable guidance for diverse audiences, including coalition partners, advocates, policymakers, communications teams, and the public.

Coalition Leadership & Partner Engagement

• Lead and support Democracy 2025 working groups and cross-organizational initiatives focused on responding to anti-democratic threats and protecting democratic institutions.
• Build and maintain strong relationships with partner organizations, legal advocates, policy experts, and movement stakeholders across the Democracy 2025 network.
• Convene and facilitate meetings, strategy discussions, trainings, and briefings with coalition partners and internal stakeholders.
• Regularly brief coalition partners and Democracy Forward staff on significant legal, policy, and litigation developments.
• Identify opportunities for collaboration and alignment across partner organizations and issue areas.
• Represent Democracy 2025 in external meetings, conferences, convenings, and public-facing engagements, as appropriate.

Cross-Functional Collaboration & Organizational Leadership

• Partner closely with litigation, policy, communications, research, and campaign teams to ensure coordinated responses to emerging threats and opportunities.
• Contribute to organizational planning, priority-setting, and cross-departmental initiatives.
• Support the development of strategic goals, work plans, and coalition engagement strategies.
• Mentor and provide guidance to junior staff, fellows, interns, or project teams as appropriate.
• Foster a collaborative, inclusive, and mission-driven team culture.

Note: This position is not a litigation role.

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.

Required 

• J.D. required and active bar admission, or ability to become admitted to the appropriate bar.
• 5-7+ years of legal experience, including experience in government, nonprofit advocacy, litigation, policy, congressional, regulatory, or related legal settings.
• Knowledge of and demonstrated interest in democratic governance, constitutional law, administrative law, civil rights, government accountability, abuses of government power, or related subject areas.
• Actively seeks feedback from peers and stakeholders, thoughtfully incorporates that feedback into their work, and uses it as an opportunity for continuous improvement.
• Exceptional legal research, analytical, writing, and strategic thinking skills.
• Demonstrated ability to assess complex legal and policy developments and translate them into actionable guidance for varied audiences.
• Experience managing complex projects and multiple workstreams in a fast-paced and evolving environment.
• Strong relationship-building, coalition management, and stakeholder engagement skills.
• Excellent verbal communication and presentation skills, including experience briefing senior leaders, partners, or external stakeholders.
• Proven ability to collaborate effectively across teams and functions within complex organizations.
• Sound judgment, discretion, and professionalism in managing sensitive issues and partner relationships.
• Commitment to Democracy Forward's mission and to fostering an equitable, inclusive, and collaborative workplace culture.

Preferred 

• Experience supporting coalitions or multi-organizational initiatives.
• Experience working in a nonprofit, advocacy, policy, government, or mission-driven organization.
• Familiarity with litigation tracking tools, legal databases, Airtable, CourtListener, PACER, or similar platforms.
• Familiarity with Democracy 2025 partner organizations and the broader pro-democracy legal ecosystem.

Work Environment & Physical Demands:

• This role may require occasional travel for team retreats, conferences, or organizational meetings.
• This role may involve sitting for extended periods and working on a computer. Reasonable accommodations will be provided as needed.

The salary range for this position is $145,000 - $170,000 plus excellent benefits. Compensation is commensurate with experience.

Democracy Forward Foundation 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; LGBTQIA+ 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. 

Democracy Forward is committed to providing equal employment opportunities for all, including those with disabilities. If you require a reasonable accommodation to complete this application, interview, or otherwise participate in the hiring process, please direct your inquiries to recruiting@democracyforward.org or 833-391-4732.