Disability Civil Rights Senior Staff Attorney

Disability Rights Education & Defense Fund (DREDF) in Berkeley, California seeks an attorney with ten or more years of experience to develop and lead cutting edge cases that advance the rights of people with disabilities, and to support DREDF’s advocacy work in advancing civil rights and liberties for disabled people.

DREDF is a leading national disability civil rights law and policy center directed by disabled people and parents who have disabled children. Our mission is to advance the civil and human rights of people with disabilities through legal advocacy including impact litigation, public policy, legislation, training, and education. DREDF’s staff includes lawyers, policy analysts, parent advocates, and additional professionals. Our advocacy priorities include defending and advancing the rights of people with disabilities in: education; access to government programs and services; housing; health care; transportation; technology; parenting and the dependency system; and self-determination and decision-making. We work to enforce the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, the Americans with Disabilities Act, Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act, Section 1557 of the Affordable Care Act, the Fair Housing Act Amendments, and other laws.

In all areas of society, we are committed to the enforcement of Olmstead and its principles, including for people with psychiatric and intellectual disabilities and disabled people with involvement in the criminal legal system.

FTE: Full time

Applicants must have:

• excellent legal research, analysis, and writing skills
• experience litigating complex civil rights cases
• experience developing and leading litigation from investigation through resolution (need not be complex case)
• experience supervising coworkers on projects
• California Bar membership

Additional preferred experiences: litigation of housing cases; litigation of cases on behalf of K-12 students; coordination with co-counsel; supervision of litigation teams; and supervision of staff.

Compensation

DREDF has a salary scale that determines compensation for attorneys. Full-time salary for this position (ten years or more experience) begins at $102,500. DREDF provides increases for additional responsibilities such as supervision.

Benefits

Generous vacation and excellent benefits including health, vision, and dental insurance, 403B retirement plan (with a discretionary match of employee contributions up to 7%), life insurance, and a flexible workplace.

Equal Opportunity Employer

DREDF values diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging, and does not discriminate based on race, color, ethnicity, national origin, age, religion, gender, gender identity, gender expression, sexual orientation, marital status, disability, or weight. We encourage and welcome people of color, people with disabilities, higher weight people, parents of children with disabilities, LGBTQI people, and people with diverse life experiences and backgrounds to apply.

Location

We have an office at the Ed Roberts Campus in Berkeley, California. We use a hybrid work model that includes in-office and remote work for most positions.

How to Apply

To apply, please email a cover letter describing your qualifications for the position, a resume, a list of references, and two writing samples to hmin@dredf.org. Please write Senior Staff Attorney in the subject line.

DREDF does not contact references until the final stages of the selection process following interviews. DREDF will let you know if you reach this stage and we plan to contact your references.

We appreciate your interest. Applications will be accepted until the position is filled. Only candidates selected for an interview will be contacted.