Civil Rights Attorney
OVERVIEW:
Title: Civil Rights Attorney
Job Type: Attorney
Schedule Type: Full-Time
Practice Areas: Civil Rights/Civil Liberties (Religious Freedom), Employment, National Security, Open Government, and Police Practices, Corrections
Location: Dallas, TX or Austin, TX
The Position/Role: We seek a full-time Civil Rights Attorney with a demonstrated commitment to public interest advocacy and serving diverse communities. We are looking for a motivated individual with a strong passion for public interest law and experience in representing discriminated individuals in front of administrative bodies/tribunals and courts. The candidate will be expected to identify, strategize, and use creative legal and grassroots advocacy solutions to address systematic issues facing the American Muslim community.
Time Commitment: Full-time with occasional evenings and weekends required
DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES INCLUDE:
- Conduct intakes and investigate legal claims through effective communication with an incredibly diverse community
- Manage a considerable caseload (our attorneys currently manage 100-150 intakes per year)
- Perform in-depth legal research
- Legal writing including, but not limited to, drafting complaints, letters, and memos; and non-legal writing including drafting community advisories, issue briefings, and reports
- Communicate with outside parties such as attorneys, employers, law enforcement agents, administrative agencies, etc.
- Work to educate and empower diverse community members on their rights through community presentations and material distributions
- Travel for outreach including participating in community events and coalition meetings
- Other duties as assigned
All CAIR staff are required to assist in general duties such as answering phones, weekly outreach, fundraising, and other office tasks.
REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS:
- Law degree from an American Bar Association accredited school
- Texas State Bar admission
- 2-3 years of experience advocating for, representing and/or litigating on behalf of clients in areas such as employment, religious discrimination, public accommodation, denial of benefits by governmental and private actors in courts and administrative agencies
- Strong time management skills with a demonstrated ability for meeting deadlines
- Demonstrated problem-solving skills with outstanding attention to detail
- Comfort working productively in a fast-paced, team-oriented environment
- Excellent oral and written communication skills including public speaking experience
- Experience working with people from diverse cultural and socio-economic backgrounds
- Access to a working vehicle and the ability to drive throughout the North-Central Texas.
- High degree of self-motivation and creativity
- A strong commitment to civil rights and CAIR’s mission
- Basic computer proficiency including knowledge of MS Office, MS Outlook, and WestLaw Next
- Knowledge of cloud applications such as SharePoint, Office365, and social media applications (preferred)
- Conversational proficiency in Arabic, Farsi or Urdu (preferred)
This position reports to the Executive Director.
COMPENSATION:
- Compensation commensurate with skills and experience
- Benefits package includes medical and dental insurance, holidays, vacation, and sick leave
- BAR membership, CLE funding support, and malpractice insurance
TO APPLY:
Please send (1) a cover letter discussing your interest in the position, (2) your resume, (3) a brief example of your legal writing, and (4) the names and contact information of three references, to:
APPLICATION DEADLINE:
Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis
CAIR-TX Austin & DFW is an equal opportunity employer.