Senior or Staff Attorney, Democracy: Voting Rights Litigation Team

The SPLC is seeking a Senior Staff or Staff Attorney committed to voting rights. The Southern Poverty Law Center’s Democracy - Voting Rights Litigation Team (DVR) works across the Deep South in collaboration with community partners and organizers to engage and mobilize voters, restore voting rights to returning citizens, pursue electoral policy reforms, and bring litigation to challenge unconstitutional and discriminatory voting practices.

Our efforts center on expanding access to the ballot; promoting fair redistricting; defending against racial gerrymandering and vote dilution; improving election administration; and community outreach and engagement. DVR’s current work includes a lawsuit challenging multiple provisions of SB 202, Georgia’s sweeping voter disenfranchisement law which threatens to disenfranchise Georgia voters, specifically voters of color; a lawsuit challenging Alabama’s state legislative maps as racial gerrymanders in violation of the U.S. Constitution;

a lawsuit challenging the Mississippi Supreme Court’s 35-year-old districting plan, which denies Black voters a fair opportunity to elect candidate of their choice; and a lawsuit challenging Alabama’s failure to make its absentee ballot system accessible to blind and print-disabled individuals. We also engage regularly in public education, election monitoring, and other legal advocacy work across the Deep South.

What You Are
Like
Experience working with the Deep South, community organizations, grassroots campaigns, and impacted communities, particularly in voting rights, is valued. Demonstrated experience litigating individual and class action civil rights cases in federal and state courts at the trial and appellate levels.

What You’ll Do

• Litigate cases in state and federal courts, primarily across SPLC’s five focus states. This includes working and co-counseling with private attorneys; conducting extensive research and factual investigations; writing motions, briefs, and other court filings; conducting discovery, court appearances; and oral arguments.
• Lead advocacy and litigation, including legal research, factual investigations, drafting memorandum and complaints.
• Identify and develop new cases and new litigation strategies to advance voting rights, including working with community groups, coalitions, and individuals.
• Senior Staff Attorneys will mentor and train legal staff and interns as needed.
• Participate where appropriate on relevant task forces and coalitions.
• Collaborate extensively across departments within SPLC to ensure effective implementation of SPLC’s impact area goals;
• Represent DVR on relevant task forces and coalitions.
• Work closely with SPLC’s Policy Department staff and the SPLC’s Communications and other departments in helping to advance the organization’s policy objectives.
• Engage in public speaking and articulate the SPLC’s policies and programs to the public and the media on voting rights issues.
• Perform other duties as required or assigned which are reasonably within the scope of the duties in this job classification.
• Uphold our JEDI principles by seeking diverse collaborators and partners that can deliver genuine, authentic and impactful work while ensuring their contributions are directed towards the shared mission, vision and values of the Center and Legal Department’s goals.

Minimum Qualifications

• Staff Attorney I-II:
  At least one (1) year of federal court civil litigation or comparable experience post law school;
• Senior Staff Attorney I-IV:
  At least six (6) years of federal court civil litigation or comparable experience post law school;
• Membership in good standing of at least one state bar in the United States, preferably Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, Florida, or Washington, D.C.; and
• J.D. degree from an ABA-accredited law school.

Compensation & Benefits

• This is an exempt role, and the minimum starting salary is $73,832.00 annually. Salary is based on legal experience post law school.
• Staff Attorney I (1-3 years out of law school): $73,832.00.
• Staff Attorney II (4-5 years out of law school): $84,904.00.
• Senior Staff Attorney I (6 & 7 years out of law school): $97,637.00.
• Senior Staff Attorney II (8 & 9…