Senior Counsel or Senior Staff Attorney, Litigation

Position location - Washington, DC; San Francisco, CA; or Northeast Corridor between New York, NY metropolitan area and Washington DC metropolitan area (Hybrid or Remote)

About ERA

Equal Rights Advocates (ERA) is a national civil rights organization founded in 1974 to expand economic and educational access and opportunities for women and girls. Since its inception, ERA has been on the front lines of advancing gender justice through a combination of impact litigation, policy advocacy, public education, and direct legal services, bringing visibility to the experiences and voices of the people we represent.

Our talented team includes litigators, policy reformers, and movement builders working at the state, multi-state, and national levels to promote gender equity and racial justice, expand economic security, and grow community power. ERA’s legal initiatives include several campaigns chaired by ERA and led in partnership with hundreds of partner organizations across the country, including the Equal Pay Today campaign, the Women’s Agenda Initiative, the Stop Harassment State Network, and the Stronger California Women’s Economic Security Campaign, and ERA’s initiative to End Sexual Violence in Education.

ERA’s home base is in San Francisco, California, with team members also located in Washington D.C. and other locations. For more information on Equal Rights Advocates, please visit our website.

The Opportunity

ERA is looking for an Attorney/Counsel with proven litigation experience in employment law and in the civil rights space.

As a Senior Counsel or Senior Staff Attorney, you will be responsible for engaging in all aspects of impact and individual litigation, developing new cases for litigation, assisting in crafting litigation strategy, drafting and reviewing amicus briefs, and developing and maintaining litigation relationships to advance ERA’s mission. You may also be involved in defending against threats to the civil rights of workers and students. This position offers a unique opportunity to develop and engage in high-impact litigation on key civil rights, economic security, and gender justice issues in a thriving organization with creative and dedicated staff and a supportive work environment.

The Senior Counsel or Senior Staff Attorney will report to ERA’s Director of Litigation.

Primary Responsibilities:

• Conduct cutting-edge impact and individual litigation, including conducting legal research; investigating facts, working with clients; drafting pleadings, briefs and legal memoranda; engaging in discovery and motion practice; and conducting evidentiary hearings and oral arguments in court;
• Identify and develop new matters for litigation by conducting factual, legal and strategic analyses and formulating relevant theories and materials;
• Draft amicus briefs and review amicus briefs drafted by others for possible ERA involvement;
• Develop collaborative partnerships with other advocacy groups, legal services providers, plaintiffs’ attorneys, law firms, and other partners by participating in task forces and coalitions, attending conferences, and co-counseling lawsuits;
• Provide legal and strategy analysis, technical assistance, and thought leadership on substantive issues related to ERA’s mission to attorneys, government agencies, officials and staff, the media, worker and student organizations, and grassroots advocates when called upon by ERA leadership, departments, and programs;
• Assist in supervision of law student interns and provide occasional assistance to attorney fellow, as needed;
• Review public-facing legal training materials, resources, self-help tools, and “Know Your Rights” materials;
• Work closely with ERA’s legal and non-legal program staff to develop and implement communication strategies that promote and magnify the impact of ERA’s legal work;
• Assist ERA’s development team in drafting applications or reporting on grants that support the organization’s legal work, as needed;
• Occasional travel, as needed, for litigation, meetings, conferences, and other advocacy or professional development activities;
• Engage in special projects and other duties as assigned by ERA supervisory staff.

Candidate Profile

Required Qualifications:

• J.D. and at least one active bar membership;
• A minimum of four (4) years of post-J.D. litigation experience, including drafting case documents and engaging in discovery and motions practice, including at least 3 years of experience litigating employment discrimination cases;
• Demonstrated commitment to social, gender, and racial justice with a passion for achieving equity and economic justice for women, girls, and/or LGBTQI+ people;
• Outstanding research, writing, and analytical skills;
• Proven ability to work independently as well as within a team;
• Excellent verbal communication skills and interpersonal skills, including the ability to give and receive feedback and resolve conflicts constructively;
• Ability to travel to ERA’s headquarters in San Francisco three or four time per year, if working remotely, and to travel occasionally as needed for litigation, meetings or conferences.

The ideal candidate will have most, if not all, of the following professional and personal skills and attributes:

• Experience engaging in legal advocacy on subjects related to ERA’s mission, such as defending and expanding employment and education-related civil rights, protecting and advancing women’s economic security, racial justice or immigrant rights, and/or combating gender-based violence;

• Experience collaborating with progressive nonprofit organizations and/or plaintiff-side employment lawyers;

• Experience working directly with clients from diverse backgrounds and populations, including communities of color, low-wage workers, immigrants, and/or LGBTQI+ individuals;
• A high degree of self-motivation and initiative, with the ability to juggle multiple projects and meet deadlines under time pressure;
• Experience working on a team and setting and fostering a collaborative approach to case work and other advocacy efforts;
• Experience with policy advocacy and/or communications work related to litigation preferred but not required.

The Candidate must have a valid authorization to work in the United States. ERA is unable to sponsor work visas. ERA does not provide relocation assistance.

Compensation & Benefits

This position has a salary range of $85,000 – $125,000. The salary and job title (Senior Staff Attorney vs. Senior Counsel) will be determined based on years of experience and expertise.

ERA offers a comprehensive benefits package that includes medical and dental plan options and employer-paid life and disability insurance benefits. Voluntary benefits include vision insurance, life and accidental insurance, critical illness and pre-tax flexible spending plans. ERA also offers a generous 403b match with 100% vesting from the first day of participation.

Employees also receive a generous amount of sick and vacation leave, plus, additional seniority-based leave after every 5 years of employment.

ERA has a flexible work environment. For attorneys based in the DC area, the position is currently fully remote but may become a hybrid position in the future. (The attorney would work in-office some days of the week and could work either in-office or remotely on others.) For attorneys located in the Bay Area in California, the position is a hybrid position, requiring 2 days per week in the San Francisco office. For attorneys in other areas, the position is fully remote.

How to Apply

Please submit the following to the Hiring Manager (1) a cover letter describing your interest in this particular position and your connection to ERA’s mission, (2) a current résumé, (3) a legal writing sample of no longer than 10 (double spaced) pages that has not been significantly edited by others. For consideration, applications must be submitted by clicking HERE. Applications are reviewed on a rolling basis and candidates will be contacted based on the decision. Please note that final round candidates will be asked to provide professional references. We look forward to hearing from you!

EEOC Statement

ERA is proud to be an equal opportunity employer that will consider all applications equally without regard to sex, gender, gender identity, race, ethnicity, national origin, age, medical condition, religion, sexual orientation, differing ability, veteran status, marital status, arrest or conviction record, a combination of two or more protected traits or any other characteristic protected by law. Applicants with differing abilities will be reasonably accommodated during the hiring process. Pursuant to the San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance, we will consider for employment qualified applicants with arrest and conviction records.

ERA’s Equal Opportunity Employer Policy applies to all aspects and phases of employment. Through this commitment, ERA strives daily to maintain an equitable and accessible work environment that is supportive to all and free from discrimination. Applicants who need assistance or accommodation due to a disability may contact us at jobapplicants@equalrights.org.