portal resources jobs companies l lawyers' committee for civil rights of the san francisco bay area senior staff attorney or staff attorney - racial and economic justice

Senior Staff Attorney or Staff Attorney - Racial and Economic Justice


We are looking for a skilled attorney with excellent written and oral advocacy skills, someone who is devoted to movement lawyering and dismantling unjust systems, passionate about racial and economic justice, committed to working in a collaborative environment, and eager to train and support junior attorneys. This person will work closely with exceptional program teams of 5-6 people each including the Legal Director, staff and senior attorneys, coordinators, and Fellows.

About LCCRSF

As one of the oldest civil rights institutions on the West Coast, the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights of the San Francisco Bay Area works to dismantle systems of oppression and racism, and to build an equitable and just society. Formed in 1968 to bridge the legal community and the Civil Rights Movement, we’re known for advancing the rights of people of color, immigrants, refugees and low income individuals. Our grounding in community and direct legal services help us identify the most pressing civil rights issues and informs the broader impact litigation and policy advocacy we undertake. Not only do we fight oppression and construct more just systems and institutions, we build the movement by investing in legal fellows and supporting a network of over 1,000 active pro bono attorneys who fight alongside us.

We believe that movement work must center the well-being, health, and joy of the communities. Organizationally, we strive to reflect this value by creating a staff/board culture of taking care of each other and our communities and building an organizational culture that is healthy and supportive.

We are in this work for the long haul. Our goal is to make this work sustainable, to take care of each other and our communities, to mourn together and bring each other joy, and to rest so we can be fierce in the face of power.

Our work includes free legal assistance and representation for clients facing a broad range of inter-related issues, including policing, homeless sweeps, fines and fees, immigration, and education. We learn from and work with our clients to identify larger patterns of injustice, which shapes our precedent-setting litigation and policy advocacy in our core areas of Racial, Economic and Immigrant Justice. 

Some of our recent victories include: achieving a $5.5M settlement from Caltrans for destroying unhoused people’s belongings and modifications to its statewide procedures for “sweeps” of encampments; overturning a 35-year old-loitering ordinance used against Black Housing Authority residents in Oakland; winning a trial against the U.S. government to enforce basic detention conditions for immigrants in border control custody; winning preliminary injunctions to protect immigrants in detention during the COVID-19 pandemic; and co-sponsoring and helping pass California’s historic Public Banking Act to help close the racial wealth gap.

About the Racial Justice Team

As part of our racial and economic justice work, LCCRSF is drawing on its years of experience to meet the demands of a moment defined by COVID-19 and the national reckoning in response to police brutality. LCCRSF provides critical direct legal services in Black and Brown communities, including a police violence/small claims clinic, a bail clinic, and an unconditional legal clinic. We are pursuing impact litigation and advocating for racial justice local/statewide policies. For example, we: 

·        Released a report in September 2020, Cited for Being in Plain Sight, on racism in statewide infraction policing, urging an end to policing infractions. Working on follow-up litigation, local and state advocacy to reduce resources and legal authority for criminal citations.

·        Made California a national model for fines and fees reform, including ending driver’s license suspensions and eliminating dozens of regressive fees. Still advocating for an end to the license suspensions and $300 fee imposed because someone missed a court deadline on a traffic ticket.

·        Got hundreds of curfew citations dismissed in Sacramento and San Jose in the wake of George Floyd protests. Planning litigation for people injured by the violent tactics of law enforcement, to prevent future police violence and get recompense for those harmed. 

·        Sued Bad Boys Bail Bonds for consumer violations, including lack of notice and misleading bail bonds cosigners. Fighting to end consumer bail.

·        Advocate for the dismantling of harmful police and criminal justice systems and reinvestment in alternatives, such as eliminating infraction policing, criminal fees, and failure to appear license suspensions, and investing in community-led mental health emergency response programs.

By being grounded in community, and listening to our clients and grassroots partners across the Bay Area, we are able to identify the greatest needs and how our expertise can best be used to fill critical gaps. We are thinking strategically and creatively about how we can best mobilize pro bono partners, and innovate nimble responses. 

 Learn more at www.lccrsf.org [1].

Essential Duties and Responsibilities

This position will be an integral part of achieving our racial and economic justice goals and will:

·        Identify racial and economic justice issues for impact litigation and policy advocacy, including investigation of cases and strengthening the organization’s ties with community partners and clients who best understand which issues are top priority and the remedies needed.

·        Lead and assist with impact litigation on our civil rights docket, including legal research, drafting and reviewing filings and correspondence, discovery, motion practice, trial advocacy, appellate advocacy and/or other litigation tasks.

·        Engage in legislative and administrative advocacy, such as drafting of regulations and legislation, meetings with client organizations, representation of groups before administrative and legislative bodies, and technical assistance to policy makers.

·        Help supervise staff, fellows, and students, including fellows staffing our client work in our decriminalization of poverty clinic.

·        Seek opportunities to engage in public education and media advocacy consistent with our identified program strategies and in consultation with Communications staff.

·        Assist as necessary to meet program goals with development, program administration, and data management, including timekeeping records.

Minimum Qualifications or Equivalent Experience

·        A minimum of five years of post-graduate legal experience, strong preference for more experience, and for litigation experience

·        California Bar membership

·        Knowledge of and demonstrated leadership in civil rights law advocacy, particularly racial justice

·        Experience working with/ties to low-income communities of color

·        Experience working in legal services or law school direct services clinics preferred

·        Excellent oral and written communication skills

·        Skill at working cooperatively on diverse teams

Compensation

$70,000-$90,000 DOE, plus generous benefits including medical, dental and vision, commute benefits, 403b retirement plan with salary match after one year of employment, and paid Bar dues and continuing education. Time off includes 15 days’ vacation plus one floating holiday, 13 paid office holidays, up to 12 sick days/year, and our office is closed between Christmas and New Year’s (remote working if have deadlines.) We value health, wellness and balance.

We are 100% remote through at least June 30, 2020, and will outfit you to work from home as needed. We offer an LCCRSF laptop, support for your home workstation, and reimbursements towards home cell and internet.

Physical and Environmental Factors

LCCRSF complies with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), as amended by the ADA Amendments Act (ADAAA), and all applicable state and local fair employment practices law. The physical demands and work environment described here are representative of those an employee encounters while performing essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with different abilities to perform the essential functions.

Physical Factors

·        LCCRSF will be remote through at least March 31, 2021. Must be able to participate in on-line virtual communications including email, video conferencing, and other online tools used to facilitate virtual office culture and work sharing.

·        Ability to remain in a stationary position to operate a computer (and other office productivity machinery), and manual dexterity to operate a keyboard, for extended periods of time; Employee is regularly required to talk, hear, see, and communicate effectively via computer.

·        This role requires frequent sitting. 

·        Ability to occasionally lift objects weighing up to 10 pounds.

·        Some work at off-site locations may be required once we return to in-person work, such as at our legal clinics; LCCRSF aims for accessibility in any off-site location that we have control of, but some of them may not be fully accessible

Working Conditions 

·        Moderate noise when back in the office (e.g., business office with computers, phone, and printers; light traffic);

·        Ability to work in a confined area indoors.

To Apply

Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis. Applicants should submit: 1) a cover letter; 2) a resume; 3) contact information for a minimum of three references; and 4) two writing samples (750 words or less) by email to careers@lccrsf.org [2] (w/ “Staff Attorney-Racial Justice” in the subject line).

In your cover letter, please make sure you respond to the following question, or we may choose not to consider your application:

LCCRSF serves highly diverse communities. To ensure that we are best positioned to serve these communities, we strive to promote behaviors, attitudes and policies that help us work effectively in cross-cultural situations with clients, our coworkers, and our communities. We seek to create an inclusive and respectful workplace in which differences are acknowledged and valued. How have your background or experiences, professional or otherwise, prepared you to contribute to our commitment to cultural competency and racial equity? Feel free to think broadly about your response to this question, applying various aspects of your life and personal experiences.

Due to the current COVID 19 pandemic, our office is currently remote and responsive via email. We expect to arrange interviews via Zoom.

Please submit questions about this position to careers@lccrsf.org [3].

Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights of the San Francisco Bay Area is an affirmative action/equal opportunity employer. People of color, LGBTQ candidates, women, persons with disabilities and individuals over 55 are encouraged to apply.


  1. http://www.lccrsf.org/
  2. mailto:careers@lccrsf.org
  3. mailto:careers@lccrsf.org

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