Local Journalism Project Attorney

Reporting to the Director of the First Amendment Clinic at Cornell Law School, Mark Jackson, and Associate Director, Heather Murray, the Local Journalism Project (LJP) Attorney position is part of an exciting and innovative collaboration among Cornell, The Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press (RCFP), and the nonprofit news site Pittsburgh’s Public Source to help convene journalists and media outlets in the region to discuss challenges, provide trainings on best practices and legal issues and to provide pro bono legal representation to those journalists and media outlets in connection with, and arising out of, their essential newsgathering activity. The LJP Attorney will also work on certain matters under the joint supervision of RCFP’s PA-based Local Legal Initiative Attorney, Paula Knudsen Burke, and will work with Halle Stockton, Executive Director and Editor-In-Chief of Pittsburgh’s Public Source.

The LJP Attorney will have primary responsibility for developing and managing a docket dedicated to providing legal services to support local journalism in the area. The LJP Attorney will work independently to manage a docket of matters and to partner with local law firms and non-profits, including RCFP, to represent the interests of media outlets that could not otherwise afford representation. The LJP Attorney will be tasked with affirmative outreach to media outlets, building and sustaining relationships with these outlets, and providing representation to aid investigative journalists to perform their watchdog function and to provide day-to-day commercial and organizational legal support.

The LJP Attorney will have a working and collaborative relationship with the Ithaca-based Clinic staff attorneys, but will have no formal teaching responsibilities. When appropriate, the LJP Attorney will work with students from the Cornell Law School First Amendment Clinic on active matters, to help these students become familiar with legal issues related to media in the Western Pennsylvania area, and to otherwise aid in their professional development.

This position is ideal for a candidate who is eager to use their prior background as an in-house counsel, a litigator or at a free press organization to help support and sustain local journalism in the Western Pennsylvania area. It calls for someone entrepreneurial, who is interested in both continuing the representation of our current client base and expanding that base.

The successful candidate will be based in Western Pennsylvania. This full-time position is for a two-year term, and is benefits eligible. Employment through the intended term, as well as possible reappointment, is contingent on successful performance and continued funding.

This position is generously funded by the Heinz Endowments and the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation.

Responsibilities

• Help manage and grow a docket of matters based in the Western Pennsylvania area, including by working with local media outlets to identify cases and issues that warrant the Clinic’s attention, collaborating with other attorneys and advocacy groups to enhance the impact of the Clinic work, researching legal and factual questions, drafting legal papers, presenting oral argument and counseling and training media clients.
• Travel as required for litigation, conferences, speaking engagements and trips to Ithaca.

Minimum Qualifications

The LJP Attorney must have a J.D. or equivalent, be admitted to the Pennsylvania bar, and have a minimum of three years of relevant experience as a lawyer. Applicants should have excellent communication skills, both oral and written; excellent analytical skills; and the temperament to develop and work effectively with a network of media clients, outside lawyers and advocacy organizations. Applicants should also have the skills necessary to supervise and mentor law students and work collaboratively in a team-based environment. The applicant must also be a “self-starter” and have the ability to operate on their own, with light supervision.

Preferred Qualifications

Preference will be given to candidates who have experience representing the media; supervising other lawyers or law students; have strong relationships with organizations that the Clinic is likely to partner with—media enterprises, journalists, and free speech and other civil liberties organizations, and who speak a relevant foreign language.

To Apply

Please submit a cover letter explaining your interest in the position (including a description of any relevant life or work experience), curriculum vitae, three references, and two legal writing samples (either an unedited copy of a pre-filing brief or legal memorandum to a client) to https://academicjobsonline.org/ajo/jobs/31274. Additional information may be requested during the application process.

To ensure maximum consideration, please submit all application materials by December 15, 2025. Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis, with priority given to early applicants.

The anticipated starting salary for this position is $120,000 to $128,000.

Pay Range

Refer to posting language.

Job Titles and Pay Ranges

Noted pay ranges reflect the potential pay opportunity for each job profile. The hiring rate of pay for the successful candidate will be determined considering the following criteria:

• Prior relevant work or industry experience.
• Education level to the extent education is relevant to the position.
• Unique applicable skills.
• Academic Discipline

About Us

Founded in 1887, Cornell Law School is a top-tier law school. We offer a 3-year JD program for about 200 students per class, a one-year LLM program for about 90 students from countries throughout the world, and a doctoral (JSD) program for about 2-3 new students per year. Cornell Law School has 41 tenured and tenure-track faculty, including 20 with chaired faculty positions; and 15 clinical professors in the legal research and writing program and in clinics at the local, national, and international level. Our faculty is consistently ranked among the top in the country for scholarly productivity and influence, and has pre-eminence in many areas, including quantitative and qualitative empirical legal studies, international and comparative law, and robust doctrinal scholarship in core fields. Our school is committed to being recognized as the leader among law schools at combining inspiring theoretical, doctrinal, and experiential teaching with cutting-edge scholarship in a supportive, intellectually rich community, so that our graduates can achieve excellence in all facets of the legal profession.

Cornell University is an innovative Ivy League university and a great place to work. Our inclusive community of scholars, students and staff impart an uncommon sense of larger purpose and contribute creative ideas to further the university’s mission of teaching, discovery and engagement. With our main campus located in Ithaca, NY, Cornell’s far-flung global presence includes the medical college’s campuses on the Upper East Side of Manhattan and Doha, Qatar, as well as the Cornell Tech campus located on Roosevelt Island in the heart of New York City. We offer a rich array of services, programs and benefits to help employees advance in their career and enhance the quality of personal life, including: employee wellness, workshops, childcare and adoption assistance, parental leave, flexible work options.

Cornell University’s history of diversity and inclusion encourages all students, faculty and staff to support a diverse and inclusive university in which to work, study, teach, research and serve. No person shall be denied employment on the basis of any legally protected status or subjected to prohibited discrimination involving, but not limited to, such factors as race, ethnic or national origin, citizenship and immigration status, color, sex, pregnancy or pregnancy-related conditions, age, creed, religion, actual or perceived disability (including persons associated with such a person), arrest and/or conviction record, military or veteran status, sexual orientation, gender expression and/or identity, an individual’s genetic information, domestic violence victim status, familial status, marital status, or any other characteristic protected by applicable federal, state, or local law.

Cornell University embraces diversity and seeks candidates who will contribute to a climate that supports students, faculty, and staff of all identities and backgrounds. We strongly encourage individuals from underrepresented and/or marginalized identities to apply. Qualified protected veterans as defined in the Vietnam Era Veterans’ Readjustment Assistance Act (VEVRRA) and qualified disabled individuals with disabilities under Section 503 of the Rehabilitation Act have rights in the application process and in employment under federal law. We also recognize a lawful preference in employment practices for Native Americans living on or near Indian reservations in accordance with applicable law.