Website Lawyering Project
ORGANIZATION OVERVIEW:
Founded in 2017, the Lawyering Project is a legal advocacy organization that blends traditional impact litigation with movement lawyering to promote reproductive health, rights, and justice throughout the United States. We are fiscally sponsored by the Tides Center, a 501(c)(3) organization.
Laws that undermine reproductive health, rights, and justice deprive people of moral agency, rob us of control over our bodies, and compound other forms of oppression like racism, sexism, and poverty. Our mission is to eliminate these laws and the harmful impacts they have on people’s lives. We are especially focused on laws that limit the availability or affordability of abortion care; contribute to disparities in reproductive health outcomes; embody gender-based stereotypes; or discriminate against people based on their reproductive decisions.
We envision a society with laws that enable each of us to make decisions about intensely personal matters like sex, pregnancy, family, and healthcare based on our own beliefs and values, and ensure that we all have access to safe pregnancy care, safe abortion care, and safe communities for our families.
The Lawyering Project has three legal programs: Litigation, Access & Innovation, and Pro Bono Initiatives. Our Litigation Program engages the courts to eliminate barriers to reproductive health services and promote equity in access to care. Our Access & Innovation Program provides legal advice and technical assistance to healthcare providers, researchers, abortion funds, and others who facilitate access to abortion care. Our Pro Bono Initiatives Program operates the Abortion Defense Network, a collaborative effort by nonprofit organizations, private law firms, and government officials aimed at ensuring everyone threatened with liability for providing or supporting abortion care in post-Roe America has access to high-quality, values-aligned lawyers. For further information, visit https://lawyeringproject.org and https://abortiondefensenetwork.org.
In the wake of the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, which overturned nearly fifty years of precedent recognizing abortion access as a fundamental right, the Lawyering Project is committed to supporting all people seeking to obtain, provide, or facilitate abortion access while navigating new obstacles and legal risks. And we will seize this disruption of precedent as an opportunity to reshape reproductive rights jurisprudence, situating it on a stronger and more progressive foundation.
POSITION SUMMARY:
In 2023, the Lawyering Project launched the General Counsel Program. Housed in our Access & Innovation Program, the General Counsel Program provides general counsel services to abortion funds, practical support organizations, and other grassroots organizations working to support abortion access. In the current legal landscape, where many states have banned or severely restricted abortion access, these groups play a huge role in helping people obtain abortion care across state lines. They need legal support to help them meet the evolving needs of abortion patients, but many lack the resources to hire in-house or outside counsel. Our General Counsel Program offers these grassroots organizations the kind of legal advice that an in-house counsel would typically provide. This includes guidance on contracts, grants, employment law, lobbying, and corporate governance. In 2024, the General Counsel Program aims to expand its legal services to include healthcare providers delivering abortion care services.
We are seeking an experienced attorney to join this program who will provide legal advice and technical assistance to the program’s clients.
The Legal Counsel for General Counsel Program is an exempt position. Exempt employees are expected to work the time needed to complete key assignments and related tasks on schedule.
ESSENTIAL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES:
- Provide nonprofit organizations and abortion care providers with legal advice concerning general business and operational matters, including but not limited to contracts, grants, data privacy and security, employment law, lobbying, and corporate governance;
- Conduct legal research, analysis, and writing;
- Stay up-to-date on developments in relevant areas of the law;
- Assist in outreach to clients and maintaining client relationships;
- Cultivate an organizational culture that aligns with the Lawyering Project’s core values; and
- Perform other duties as assigned.
OTHER DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES:
- Conduct intake interviews with prospective clients; and
- Represent the Lawyering Project at conferences, convenings, and speaking engagements.
EDUCATION AND EXPERIENCE:
The Legal Counsel for General Counsel Program must have:
- A J.D. or equivalent degree;
- An active license to practice law and member in good standing in a U.S. jurisdiction;
- At least 3 years of experience serving in a general counsel’s office or comparable role, advising clients on a wide array of legal matters; and
- A commitment to advancing reproductive health, rights, and justice.
- Experience in health law or related area is a plus.
KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS, AND ABILITIES:
The Legal Counsel for General Counsel Program must have:
- Knowledge of federal and state laws governing business organizations, nonprofit corporations, health care, and employment;
- Skill in legal research and drafting contracts and other legal documents for clients; and
- Ability to analyze complex legal issues and write about them succinctly; advise clients on a broad array of legal matters, including corporate governance, nonprofit law and compliance, lobbying, healthcare regulation, and risk management; communicate effectively to diverse audiences; meet deadlines; work well under pressure; cultivate a diverse, equitable, and inclusive work culture that encourages and values differences; and exercise sound judgment in a rapidly evolving legal environment.
ORGANIZATIONAL RELATIONSHIPS:
The Legal Counsel for General Counsel Program reports to the Senior Counsel for the General Counsel Program and works closely with other staff members, clients, pro bono counsel, and allied organizations.
PHYSICAL DEMANDS:
Must be able to travel domestically on an airplane 3-5 times per year.
WORK ENVIRONMENT:
This is a full-time position that sometimes requires work during evenings and weekends. This position may be based anywhere within the United States. The Legal Counsel for General Counsel Program has the option to work from home or from office space provided by the Lawyering Project.
SALARY:
The Lawyering Project has a fixed salary scale based on job responsibilities, education, and experience. For example, the salary for a candidate with 3-4 years of relevant work experience is $116,379. A copy of our complete salary scale is available here.
We offer a robust benefits package that includes: health insurance (medical, dental, and vision); disability and life insurance; flexible spending accounts (FSA) for health, dependent care, and transportation; a retirement savings plan; paid vacation, holiday, and sick days; and paid parental, family, and medical leave. We also provide a professional development stipend and reimbursement for state bar membership fees. For additional information about our benefits, please contact [email protected].
TO APPLY:
Please submit a cover letter, resume, and list of three professional references to [email protected]. Please write “Legal Counsel for General Counsel Program” in the subject line of the email. Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis until the position is filled.
To best achieve our mission, the Lawyering Project is committed to cultivating a diverse, equitable, and inclusive workplace. In a section of your cover letter containing no more than 200 words, please describe the identities, perspectives, and experiences you would bring to the Lawyering Project that are important to you and/or relevant to our work.
EEO NOTE:
The Lawyering Project, a project of Tides Center, is an “at-will” and equal opportunity employer. At the Lawyering Project, we believe that a team with varied perspectives and experiences will best enable our organization to thrive and achieve its mission. We are committed to building and maintaining an inclusive work environment that values individual differences. We welcome and encourage applicants with diverse experiences, identities, and backgrounds to apply. We will not discriminate against applicants and employees because of race, religion, sex, national origin, ethnicity, age, mental or physical disability, sexual orientation, gender (including pregnancy and gender expression), color, marital status, veteran status, medical condition, or any other classification protected by federal, state, or local law or ordinance.
We are committed to providing reasonable accommodations to pregnant people and qualified individuals with disabilities, including in the application process. If you need a reasonable accommodation to participate in the application or interview process, please send an email with the subject line “Reasonable Accommodation Request” to [email protected].