Legal Director

Local Progress

3d • $124,200 - $145,800 • Remote

About The Position

Working as part of a national Legal and Policy team, the Legal Director will provide legal, policy, research, and strategy support to local elected officials in a variety of geographies, with particular emphasis on the organization’s priority issue areas, which include immigrant justice, economic justice and worker power, reimagining public safety, home rule and local democracy, and advancing housing justice for all. The Legal Director will be tasked with leading and supporting our work to protect local communities on the front lines of authoritarianism, empower our network of local elected officials to dissent and self-govern, and devise creative legal and policy solutions to the challenges facing local governance.
This is an exciting opportunity for someone who is eager to build the legal and policy capacity of the Local Progress network, which is comprised of elected officials serving in cities, counties, and school boards. This role will provide timely resources, strategy, and collaboration to Local Progress members on the forefront of efforts to work hand-in-hand with impacted communities to win transformational local policy on some of the most pressing issues facing communities today. Moreover, in light of growing state and federal authoritarianism, this role will also play a pivotal role in supporting and developing local, state, and national strategies to defend democracy. The Legal Director will also supervise staff, develop and anchor partnerships with national, state, and local legal partners to advance shared goals, and work closely with the Managing Director, Legal and Policy, to grow the organization’s legal and policy capacity and vision.

Requirements

• A juris doctor degree and admission to a state bar.
• 10+ years of relevant policy or legal experience.
• 3+ years of demonstrated success in supervising staff.
• 3+ years of litigation experience (including, for example, providing relevant direct legal services).
• 3+ years of experience fundraising
• Demonstrated ability to initiate, develop, and execute national legal and policy strategies.
• Strong attention to detail and excellent written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to convey and translate complex information for a variety of audiences.
• Ability to manage multiple projects, create and execute work plans, anticipate obstacles and identify ways to navigate challenges, and identify and involve stakeholders appropriately.
• Awareness of and ability to address issues of power, race, class, gender, and other forms of privilege within the internal dynamics and culture of a workplace.
• A demonstrated commitment to social, racial, and economic justice and a deep interest in local policy, politics, and government.
• Ability to take initiative, use good judgment, willingness to learn, and ask questions as needed.
• Ability to travel up to six days a month.

Nice To Haves

• Experience working for a local elected official.
• Familiarity and experience with First Amendment claims.
• Familiarity and experience with municipal land use law (zoning, permitting, planning).
• Experience with “inside/outside” strategies and governance that features deep partnership between “outside” organizing and “inside” elected officials.

Responsibilities

• Provide and oversee the provision of legal and policy advice to LP members and campaign coalitions.
• Oversee the development of policy templates and tools, scalable across the Local Progress network, including policy toolkits, template ordinances, policy briefs, and frameworks/guidance for equitable policymaking.
• Engage with LP staff, members, and partners to assess policy and legal questions, and perform research and policy analysis to respond to those questions, sometimes in rapid response situations.
• Deepen LP’s expertise on core municipal authorities like procurement, permitting, and zoning.
• Maintain and grow relationships with legal organizations using impact litigation as a tool to protect progressive local elected officials and local democracy.
• Engage LP members and their jurisdictions in relevant impact litigation and support the development of new litigation theories.
• Edit and review legal memos, amicus briefs, and other legal documents; also oversee the production of such documents.
• Envision, plan, and implement program offerings to fight state and federal authoritarianism and other relevant issues
• LP and the Impact Lab programs include webinars, interactive meetings, virtual working groups, in-person gatherings, site visits, and large-scale conferences involving anywhere from a few to several hundred elected officials, government staffers, and allies.
• Convene local elected officials in working groups or other formations on relevant issues as needed.
• Collaborate across Local Progress teams to support organizational activities and infrastructure including caucus work, state chapter activities, Progressive Governance Academy trainings, reports, convenings, web products, etc.
• Help develop a culture of excellent supervision and staff development within LP and the Impact Lab.
• Play a supporting role in maintaining funder relationships and identifying new opportunities for expanding support.
• Represent LP and the Impact Lab’s interests and perspectives externally, especially to legal audiences.

Benefits

• We operate on a four day workweek with a default schedule of Monday through Thursday.
• We have a generous benefits package, including health insurance, dental insurance, vision insurance, five weeks of vacation per year, 20 sick days per year, paid holidays, and contributions to individuals’ 403(b) plans.
• The Local Progress office is closed between December 24 and January 1 annually.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Director
• Education Level: Ph.D. or professional degree