Muslim Advocates’ mission is to promote equality, liberty, and justice for all through legal advocacy, policy engagement, and civic education, and by serving as a legal resource to promote the full and meaningful participation of Muslims in American public life.

Muslim Advocates is a national legal advocacy and educational organization based in Oakland, California. We are seeking an exceptional attorney to join our team either in Oakland or Washington, DC. The position will be focused on impact litigation in Muslim Advocates’ three program areas: Ending Racial and Religious Profiling, Countering Anti-Muslim Hate, and Strengthening Muslim Charities. In addition to litigation, the staff attorney will be expected to engage in other forms of legal advocacy, as described below.

Roles & Responsibilities

• Work on all phases of litigation, including case development, client interviews, drafting pleadings and discovery, taking and defending depositions, briefing and arguing motions, trial, and appeals.
• Use state and federal freedom of information laws to collect information about government programs and practices affecting Muslim civil rights.
• Collaborate with outside counsel and other legal advocacy organizations.
• Monitor legal developments and policies that impact Muslim civil rights.
• Develop and write advocacy materials for lawyer and non-lawyer audiences.
• Speak and otherwise represent Muslim Advocates at community events.

Desired skills

• Outstanding legal research and writing, analytical, and problem-solving skills.
• Excellent oral advocacy and communication skills, including the ability to translate complex legal information into easily understandable concepts and messages.
• Ability and desire to work cooperatively with coalition partners and diverse constituencies.
• Strong interpersonal skills and demonstrated ability to work both independently and as part of a team.
• Leadership, good judgment, and a high level of initiative, reliability and strategic thinking.
• Familiarity with the human rights impact of national security policies and practices.
• Strong organizational and time-management skills and a proven ability and desire to work efficiently and effectively to deliver high quality results in a demanding, fast-paced, multi-tasking professional environment.
• Demonstrated commitment to public interest law and to our mission and values.
• Willingness to travel, as work requires.

Qualifications

• The ideal candidate will have at least three to five years of litigation experience, although exceptional candidates outside of that range may be considered.
• Admission in good standing to the California bar, or to another bar and willingness to sit for the next California bar exam.
• Litigation experience in state or federal court.
• Demonstrated commitment to civil rights.
• Strong interest in addressing the needs of underserved Muslim communities.

Compensation & Benefits

Muslim Advocates offers a generous and competitive salary and benefits package, commensurate with experience.

How to Apply

Muslim Advocates is proud to be an equal opportunity employer. To apply, candidates should submit a cover letter describing their interest, skills and experience, a resume, three writing samples (at least one of which should be a legal brief, memo or article demonstrating excellence in legal and policy analysis), and three references. Please email your application to Administrative Assistant Fatima Ali Azam at fatima@muslimadvocates.org.