Civil Rights Attorney

CAIR San Francisco Bay Area•Santa Clara, CA

3d•$92,888 - $116,086•Hybrid

About The Position

The Civil Rights Attorney works in CAIR-CA’s Civil Rights Department to protect the civil rights of American Muslims and other marginalized communities through direct legal services, litigation, and advocacy. The role addresses systemic barriers and advances civil rights through legal advocacy and social justice work, including collaboration with coalition partners, movement lawyering, litigation strategy, and creative legal and grassroots advocacy solutions. The attorney reviews and investigates legal claims, manages a substantial caseload, conducts client intakes, and works on assigned litigation. Depending on experience, the attorney may identify, develop, lead, and manage litigation efforts. The role also includes legal research and writing, client representation and communication, community education and outreach, partnership building, organizational reporting, and assisting with the supervision of interns and law clerks. The position is based in Santa Clara, California, reports to the Civil Rights Managing Attorney, and is full-time with occasional evening and weekend work. Hybrid work schedules are offered depending on eligibility.

Requirements

Strong commitment to civil rights and CAIR’s mission.
Law degree from an American Bar Association-accredited law school.
Admission to the California State Bar in good standing.
At least 2 years of experience practicing law; experience in civil rights, religious discrimination, employment law, national security, constitutional law, public accommodation, or public interest is preferred.
Strong time-management skills and demonstrated ability to meet deadlines.
Demonstrated problem-solving skills and outstanding attention to detail.
Ability to work productively in a fast-paced, team-oriented environment.
Excellent legal research, legal writing, and oral advocacy skills.
Access to a working vehicle and ability to drive throughout the San Francisco Bay Area.
High degree of self-motivation and creativity.
Cultural competence and sensitivity when working with people from diverse cultural, religious, and socioeconomic backgrounds.
Basic computer proficiency, including Office 365, OneDrive, and WestLaw Next.
Ability to handle average-weight objects up to 25 pounds or to stand and/or walk, as the position involves moderate physical activity.

Nice To Haves

Knowledge of cloud applications such as SharePoint and social media applications.
Conversational proficiency in Arabic, Spanish, Farsi, or Urdu.

Responsibilities

Review and investigate a range of legal claims brought by a diverse community.
Manage and work on assigned litigation, including preparing pleadings, motions, discovery, and briefs.
Conduct legal claim intakes as needed and communicate effectively with community members.
Independently manage a considerable caseload; attorneys currently manage approximately 150 or more intakes per year.
Depending on experience, identify, develop, lead, and manage assigned litigation efforts.
Maintain the legal calendaring system for statutes of limitations and deadlines, and ensure timely filings of extensions, pleadings, petitions, and applications for assigned cases.
Draft legal documents and communications, including complaints, discovery, briefs, letters, and memoranda, as well as community advisories, briefings, and reports.
Perform in-depth legal research.
Communicate with outside parties, including attorneys, employers, law enforcement agents, administrative agencies, and media contacts.
Provide effective and zealous client representation, communication, and management.
Educate and empower community members through presentations, know-your-rights workshops, and educational materials.
Organize and participate in civil rights events, forums, community outreach, and trainings.
Travel for outreach, including participation in community events and coalition meetings.
Support partnership and network building by attending meetings and identifying and developing relationships with partners and networks.
Prepare and assist with CAIR-San Francisco Bay Area reports.
Assist in supervising interns and law clerks as assigned, including scheduling check-ins and reviewing or assigning work product.
Assist with general staff duties, such as answering phones, weekly outreach, and other office tasks.
Perform other duties as assigned based on organizational needs and employee skills.