Staff Attorney, Post Conviction Litigation

The Innocence Project works to free the innocent, prevent wrongful convictions, and create fair, compassionate, and equitable systems of justice for everyone. Our work is guided by science and grounded in anti-racism. Since our inception, the Innocence Project has used DNA and other scientific advancements to prove wrongful conviction. To date, we have helped to free or exonerate more than 200 people who, collectively, spent more than 3,600 years behind bars.

Our efforts have led to the passage of more than 200 transformative state laws and federal reforms. Today, the Innocence Project continues to fight for freedom, drive structural change, and advance the innocence movement. To learn more, please visit (Use the "Apply for this Job" box below)..

Innocence Project Staff Attorneys represent clients around the nation seeking to prove their innocence and obtain relief from wrongful conviction through post-conviction DNA testing and other new non-DNA evidence of innocence. Staff Attorneys reinvestigate actual innocence, working with a wide range of forensic and other experts and investigators, and litigate at trial and appellate levels in state and federal courts around the country.

The claims raised by Innocence Project Staff Attorneys include, but are not limited to, ineffective assistance of counsel, prosecutorial misconduct, false evidence, incentivized testimony, and newly discovered evidence.

Beyond litigating cases on behalf of individual clients, Staff Attorneys also help teach the Innocence Project's legal clinic and supervise PCL fellows and law school clinic students; support the Innocence Project's initiatives to improve the criminal legal system through policy and litigation; work collaboratively with other attorneys and with other programmatic departments at the Innocence Project; engage in public education regarding wrongful conviction;

write amicus curie briefs; and provide resources and support to attorneys nationwide who challenge the inequities of our criminal legal system.

Staff Attorneys reinvestigate cases where there is a claim of actual innocence, working with a wide range of forensic and other experts and investigators. Primarily, our dockets focus on using DNA technology to prove innocence, and include cases with claims based on newly discovered evidence, ineffective assistance of counsel, prosecutorial misconduct, false evidence, and incentivized testimony (among others). Staff Attorneys litigate at trial and appellate levels, in state and federal courts around the country.

Our representation is client-centered.

Clinical education is an important dimension of the Post-Conviction Litigation Department. In this capacity, Staff Attorneys help train and supervise law students in the Innocence Project's year-long legal clinic and co-teach seminars.

Senior Staff Attorneys maintain all of the responsibilities of Staff Attorneys as well as the following: collaborating with other departments on projects and work that enhance the overall exoneration practice as well as the IP's clinical program, and helping to train, supervise and mentor Innocence Project Staff Attorneys, fellows, paralegals, interns, and other volunteers.

Senior Staff Attorneys work under the supervision of the Director of Post-Conviction Litigation and directly supervise or co-supervise one paralegal and four to six 2L students

We are interested in every qualified candidate who is eligible to work in the United States. However, we are not able to sponsor visas and we are not an e-verify employer.

The duties of this position require approximately 40 hours of work per week to be performed virtually/in-office. We currently have a hybrid in-office model, with all employees in the office three days per week and the remainder of the week remotely. Wednesday is our organization's "anchor day" where all staff works in the office. The number of required in-office days is subject to change.

The Innocence Project seeks a Staff Attorney with superlative legal writing and research skills. Our docket is dynamic and requires extensive motions practice and appellate briefing. Candidates must have strong advocacy skills and be well equipped to handle court appearances for everything from evidentiary hearings to oral arguments. The Senior Staff Attorney will showcase demonstrated expertise in DNA and other forensic sciences, with the ability to critically assess complex scientific evidence, collaborate with forensic experts, and develop litigation strategies to challenge wrongful convictions based on flawed or outdated forensic practices and/or other factors that frequently contribute to wrongful convictions (ie.

mistaken eyewitness identification, false confessions, jailhouse informant testimony and prosecutorial/police misconduct).

In addition, Staff Attorneys must possess strong interpersonal and communication skills, enthusiasm for working collaboratively, and must embrace the Innocence Project's…