Civil Rights Legal Fellow - Post Bar

Staff Attorney

Work Location: San Diego, CA

Term: Full-time, occasional evening and weekends required

Position Status: Exempt

Pay Range: $60,000 - $69,000

Reports to: Executive Director

Generous Benefits: 100% employer-paid medical and dental insurance for employees & dependents, 3% employer-matched retirement plan, 12 vacation days, ten sick days and 12 holidays, and temporary hybrid work schedule. Budget for legal association membership fee, bar license renewal fee, CLE funding support, and malpractice insurance.

About Us: Join the largest American Muslim civil rights organization at the frontlines in protecting the rights of free speech, freely practicing one's faith, pursuing employment opportunities without harassment, and living as an active and engaged American without reprisal. The Council on American-Islamic Relations, California (CAIR-CA) is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) grassroots civil rights and advocacy group. We recognize that our employees are passionate and talented and are our most valuable resource. With an important vision to be a leading advocate for justice and mutual understanding, our diverse workforce stands together to demonstrate our values for everyone who joins the efforts.

About the Role: The San Diego office of CAIR (CAIR-SD) is seeking recent law graduates and practicing attorneys with up to three years' experience to apply for a one-year Legal Fellowship to work on priority issues affecting the American Muslim community. Candidate should demonstrate commitment to public interest advocacy and to serving the American Muslim community to fill the Fellowship position. The Fellow must be a motivated individual who will be expected to identify, strategize, and use creative legal and grassroots advocacy solutions to address systematic issues facing the American Muslim community.

Practice Areas: Civil Rights/Civil Liberties (Religious Freedom), Employment Discrimination, Immigrants' Rights, National Security, Open Government, Police Practices, Prisoners' First Amendment Rights

Responsibilities:

• Review and investigate an array of legal claims brought by an incredibly diverse community
• Conduct intakes of legal claims as necessary through effective communication with members of the community
• Manage a considerable caseload (our attorneys currently manage approximately 200+ intakes each per year)
• Provide assistance on assigned litigation efforts, including preparing pleadings, motions, and briefs.
• Depending on experience, identify, develop, lead, and manage assigned litigation efforts, including preparing pleadings, motions, and briefs.
• Perform in-depth legal research.
• Legal writing including, but not limited to, drafting complaints, discovery, briefs, letters, and memos; and non-legal writing, including preparing community advisories, issuing briefings, and reports
• Communicate with outside parties such as attorneys, employers, law enforcement agents, administrative agencies, media contacts, etc.
• Work to educate and empower community members on their rights through community presentations and material distributions.
• Prepare and assist in CAIR-California reports.
• Travel for outreach, including participating in community events and coalition meetings

• Participate in outreach activities through community events and coalition meeting
• Support the Civil Rights Department's advocacy and litigation work
• Conduct intakes and investigate legal claims through effective communication with an incredibly diverse community
• All CAIR staff are required to assist in general duties such as answering phones, weekly outreach, fundraising, and other office tasks as required

Qualifications:

• Law degree from an American Bar Association-accredited school
• California State Bar admission or expecting admission to the California State Bar by August 2024
• Strong time management skills with a demonstrated ability to meet 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 Greater Los Angeles Area
• High degree of self-motivation and creativity
• A strong commitment to civil rights and CAIR's mission
• Basic computer proficiency, including knowledge of Office 365, OneDrive, and WestLaw Next
• Knowledge of cloud applications such as SharePoint, Office365, and social media applications (preferred)
• Conversational proficiency in Arabic, Urdu, Farsi, Spanish, or Somali is preferred but not required

TO APPLY:  Please submit the following: (1) a cover letter and resume, (2) a brief legal writing sample, and (3) your law school transcript. Please attach all documents to your submission.

Equal Employment Opportunity: CAIR-CA is passionately committed to Equal Employment Opportunity and to compliance with all Federal, State, and local laws that prohibit employment discrimination based on age, race, color, gender, religion, national origin, disability, protected veteran status, and other protected classifications