Staff Attorney - LGBTQ, Gender, & Reproductive Justice Project

The ACLU Foundation of Southern California (ACLU SoCal) seeks a Staff Attorney to protect and expand reproductive justice, lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (“LGBTQ”) rights, and gender equity in Southern California and throughout the state.

Founded in 1923, the ACLU SoCal has been at the forefront of many major efforts to protect civil liberties, civil rights, and equal justice in California. Principled and nonpartisan, the ACLU SoCal has offices in Los Angeles, Orange County (Orange), the Inland Empire (San Bernardino), and Kern County (Bakersfield). The ACLU SoCal tackles a vast array of issues, including police practices, criminal justice, First Amendment rights, voting rights, gender equity, reproductive justice, LGBTQ rights, immigrants' rights, education equity, and economic justice. 

OVERVIEW

The Staff Attorney will work on the full range of LGBTQ rights, reproductive justice, and gender equity issues on which the ACLU of Southern California engages locally, statewide, and nationally. The Staff Attorney will be supervised by the Director of the LGBTQ, Gender & Reproductive Justice Project, and could be based in ACLU SoCal’s Los Angeles, San Bernardino, or Orange offices. We anticipate hiring an attorney with four to eight years of relevant experience for this position.

The ACLU of Southern California operates on a model of integrated advocacy, using litigation, legislation, policy advocacy with government agencies and private actors, community engagement, and organizing as mutually supportive tactics to advance civil rights. The staff attorney will not only develop and litigate cases in state and federal court, but also serve as an expert and advocate on reproductive justice, gender equity, and LGBTQ rights issues in support of lawsuits, policy reform, legislation, coalition-building, and other types of advocacy. 

ACLU SoCal is a local affiliate of the national American Civil Liberties Union, serving an eight-county area of Southern California. The Staff Attorney will be part of the ACLU’s statewide Gender, Sexuality, and Reproductive Justice issue team, working closely with advocates at the ACLU of Northern California, the ACLU of San Diego and Imperial Counties, ACLU California Action, and the national ACLU to secure large-scale change.

ACLU SoCal’s recent priority campaigns in the areas of gender equity, reproductive justice, and LGBTQ rights have included:

• Reducing police profiling and arrest for women and LGBTQ people, primarily through supporting the movement toward decriminalization of voluntary sex work in California;
• investigating, exposing, and addressing structural racism and other harms associated with the family regulation system, also known as the “child welfare” system; 
• Protecting and expanding access to reproductive and gender-affirming health care and helping make California a “haven state” for people who need abortion care;
• Protecting and advancing the rights of LGBTQ students, expanding all students’ access to LGBTQ-inclusive social studies curriculum, and supporting students’ ability to learn and participate at school while pregnant, parenting, or menstruating;
• Increasing the ability of women and LGBTQ people to safely and authentically access housing and public accommodations;
• Improving conditions of incarceration for LGBTQ people and women, and improving access to reproductive health care and lactation accommodations in carceral settings;
• Creating workplace equity for workers of all genders, with a focus on expanding supports for workers with family caregiving responsibilities;
• Supporting intersectional aspects of ACLU campaigns in other issue areas, including criminal legal system reform, immigrants’ rights, education equity, economic justice, First Amendment rights, and government transparency. 

CLASSIFICATION  

Fulltime, Exempt             

JOB RESPONSIBILITIES

• Develop and litigate impact cases, at the trial and appellate levels and in state and federal courts, and pursue administrative complaints, with support and guidance from more senior attorneys;
• Create, implement, and participate in legal and advocacy campaigns;
• Serve as a policy expert and advocate on gender equity, LGBTQ rights, and reproductive justice issues.
• Discuss law and policy issues persuasively in media interviews, testimony before state and local legislative bodies, correspondence and meetings with government decisionmakers, and Know-Your-Rights presentations and other community gatherings.
• Develop relationships with, and provide technical support and strategic leadership to, community groups, advocates and organizers around the region and state, and participate in coalition spaces.
• Organize and lead community and stakeholder education projects including trainings for activists.
• Conduct outreach and advocacy to government officials and decisionmakers. 
• Establish and cultivate collaborative relationships with community partners, coalitions, ACLU members/supporters, and other stakeholders.
• Support the organization’s base building and volunteer leadership development work, as needed.
• Contribute to strategic planning and communicate work updates to internal audiences and funders.
• Supervise the work of interns and participate in intern recruitment and hiring.
• Other duties as assigned.

QUALIFICATIONS: 

Required:

• Law degree.
• California bar membership or willingness/ability to take the next California bar exam.
• Four to eight years of legal and/or advocacy experience.
• Hands-on experience with litigation and with policy advocacy and analysis.
• Demonstrated commitment to civil and human rights, including gender and racial justice.
• Familiarity with reproductive justice, gender equity, and/or LGBTQ rights advocacy. 
• Excellent research and analytical skills.
• Excellent communication skills: written and verbal English. 
• Excellent time-management and project management skills, including a high level of organization, attention to detail and follow-through, and ability to balance and prioritize multiple activities and responsibilities.
• Flexible team player and also comfortable working independently and taking initiative.
• Demonstrated success in building and maintaining relationships with people from a variety of backgrounds, including those most impacted by the work of the ACLU and its allies. Ability to participate in, create, and sustain inclusive and engaging spaces for people of all races/ethnicities, genders, ages, classes, abilities, and geographies.
• Ability to work occasional evenings and weekends. 
• Willingness to engage in occasional travel throughout Southern California, to other regions of California, and beyond.   

Desired:

• Familiarity with or experience working on social justice issues in Southern California.
• A demonstrated commitment and track record of doing intersectional advocacy.
• Experience planning and facilitating workshops, trainings, meetings, and other community events.
• Spanish language fluency.

RACIAL EQUITY COMPETENCIES

• Understanding and Applying Racial Equity (0-17 months)
  • Demonstrate commitment to building or deepening understand of racial equity:
    • Core terms and concepts such as structural racism, white privilege, and anti-Blackness.
    • The role that racial inequity has played and continues to play in our society.
    • How race impacts supervisory relationships, team dynamics, and organizational culture.
    • Personal/implicit/unconscious bias.
• Working for Racial Equity (18+ months)
  • Consistently assess structural implications and racially disproportionate impacts of policies, activities, and decisions within the context of their job responsibilities; race/ethnicity, intersection of race/ethnicity, gender, identity, and/or sexual orientation.
  • Consistently adhere to organization’s racial equity policies and procedures, including those that relate to hiring, retention, and promotion.
  • Consistently identify and disrupt ways in which bias plays out in work and/or team.

COMPENSATION & BENEFITS

The salary range for this position is $71,500-$87,500. Benefits include medical, vision, and dental insurance for staff members and their eligible dependents; life and long- term disability insurance; 401(k) plan with employer match; ample vacation and sick leave and fifteen paid holidays.

TO APPLY

Please submit a resume, cover letter, a writing sample, and three references to our online recruitment portal: https://secure.onehcm.com/ta/ACLUSC.careers?ShowJob=486692292

COVID vaccination and proof of being fully vaccinated (includes booster) is a condition of employment.
The ACLU of Southern California is committed to developing a culture of diversity, equity, respect, and inclusion and to strive to maintain a workforce that reflects the communities that we serve. The ACLU SoCal is an equal opportunity employer that does not unlawfully discriminate on the basis of any status or condition protected by applicable law. We encourage all qualified individuals to apply and value people of all races, genders (including gender identity or expression), sexual orientations, disabilities, citizenships, ages, religions, and national origins and who have different marital statuses, family caregiving responsibilities, lived experiences with the criminal justice systems, and genetic information. The ACLU SoCal does not tolerate discrimination or harassment on the basis of any of these characteristics.

The ACLU SoCal is committed to providing reasonable accommodation to individuals with disabilities. If you are a qualified individual with a disability and need assistance applying online, please e-mail tgarcia@aclusocal.org. If you are selected for an interview, you will receive additional information regarding how to request an accommodation for the interview process.