Jan 6, 2012
The ACLU Foundation of Texas seeks a visionary leader to take charge of its statewide legal program. The ACLU of Texas, headquartered in Houston with offices in Austin and Brownsville, is the state affiliate of the American Civil Liberties Union, the nation?s largest civil liberties and civil rights organization. The ACLU of Texas, founded in 1938, is a private, non-profit, non-partisan organization that works to promote and defend civil rights and civil liberties through legal, legislative and public education initiatives.
The Legal Director is a member of the ACLU of Texas?s leadership team and is, under the direction of the Executive Director, primarily responsible for managing and coordinating the organization?s legal program. This includes supervising the legal department, working with a board-appointed Legal Committee, and utilizing cooperating attorneys from across the state to pursue impact litigation in state and federal courts and to develop non-litigation strategies for advancing civil liberties
Job Description
The Legal Director will, under the Executive Director?s supervision, perform the following duties:
Legal Program Responsibilities
- Litigate complex civil rights and constitutional cases, including overseeing all aspects of discovery, motion practice, and trial, appellate, and amicus briefing;
- Working with the board of directors? Vice President for Legal, convene regular Legal Panel committee meetings to present? cases for evaluation; serve as the legal department staff liaison to the board;
- Develop programs that will attract and engage ACLU volunteer attorneys and law students, such as reviewing, evaluating, and responding to telephone and mail intake.
- Supervise legal department?s work on the ACLU?s priority campaigns, including developing concrete legal strategies that advance campaign objectives, monitoring and measuring progress toward campaign goals, and participating in interdisciplinary teams to manage campaigns.
- Maintain the legal docket and monitor the progress of all cases undertaken by the ACLU Foundation of Texas;
- Recruit and supervise staff attorneys, paralegals, law clerks and student interns; ensure legal staff are well trained in substantive areas of the law, sound legal practice, and organizational operations; help staff attorneys develop comprehensive programs and strategies for assigned priority issues;
- Ensure that legal program adheres to highest standards of legal and professional ethics;
- Create and oversee systems to record staff and volunteer attorney time spent on ACLU cases and provide reports, as necessary, to the organization?s auditors and for fee petitions;
- Develop and maintain relationships with legal staff at the National ACLU, its projects, and other affiliates and participate in National ACLU legal conferences;
- Develop and maintain relationships with legal services agencies, law firms, and other public interest attorneys in Texas;
- Prepare regular reports to the Executive Director of all significant legal department activities; consult with the Executive Director on priority and complex issues; keep the Executive Director and the Board of Directors informed of significant legal developments and controversies.
Public Education Responsibilities
- Engage in public speaking, articulating the ACLU?s views to the public on a broad range of issues;
- Work with communication specialists to ensure maximum media exposure for ACLU of Texas issues, particularly litigation and other legal department activities;
- Draft content for the ACLU of Texas website and other sites as necessary.
Public Policy Responsibilities
- Work closely with public policy staff to monitor legislative initiatives for constitutional implications;
- Respond as appropriate to staff?s and volunteers? legal questions to support advocacy at county, city and school board level on matters of potential broad significance;
- Coordinate with public policy staff to support and assist Community Activist Network as appropriate;
- Work collaboratively with other non-profits and advocacy organizations on matters of common concern.
Development Responsibilities
- Accompanied by Development Department staff, visit with targeted donors to discuss the legal work of the ACLU Foundation of Texas;
- Draft fundraising solicitation letters;
- Working with the Development Director and other staff, create a vehicle (donor circle, advisory board, etc.) for bringing those interested in legal department work closer to the organization;
Organizational Leadership Responsibilities
- Collaborate with other staff directors within the ACLU of Texas to ensure the success of all integrated issue advocacy campaigns;
- As part of senior leadership team, work with other staff directors to promote collaborative, integrated work products throughout the organization; to develop and promote work-place policies that build esprit d?corps, create professional growth opportunities and foster a work environment that encourages independent judgment and values self-starters;
- Draft and prepare annual budgets for board approval; monitor expenses throughout the year, adjusting as needs change, ensuring bottom-line budget?to-actual performance;
- Respectful of the organization?s limited financial resources; provide good stewardship of donors? gifts.
The duties of the Legal Director also include other tasks as assigned by the Executive Director.
Qualifications
- JD from an accredited law school; at least 8 years practice as a litigator, with first-chair trial and appellate experience in federal courts, particularly complex litigation of constitutional issues.? Experience in non-profit advocacy or other community-based groups is also valuable.
- Licensed to practice law in the state of Texas (or licensed in another state and qualified to apply for admission in Texas);
- Exceptional analytical, writing, and speaking skills.
- Substantive knowledge of constitutional law and civil liberties issues.
- Demonstrated commitment to the preservation and vigorous enforcement of civil liberties.? Firm commitment to the mission and principles of the ACLU.
- Experience managing in a nonprofit environment, including supervising legal staff and coordinating with both internal and external partners.
- Superb organization skills with strong follow-through and the ability to meet tight deadlines.
- Demonstrated leadership skills and ability to motivate others; experience in successfully directing volunteers, including cooperating attorneys.
- Ability to think creatively and to use non-litigation strategies to promote objectives, including building coalitions with ally organizations and developing public education programs;
- A commitment to diversity; a personal approach that values the individual and respects differences of race, ethnicity, age, gender, sexual orientation, religion, ability? and socio-economic circumstance.
- In addition to travel necessitated by litigation demands, other occasional travel is required for such things as board of directors? meetings, conferences, public education events, etc..
- Fluency in Spanish strongly preferred.
Personal Characteristics
- Personally committed to advancing the ACLU?s values, mission, goals and programs, with an understanding of the range of civil liberties issues and their implications.
- An energetic person who can handle and prioritize multiple activities and responsibilities; a self-starter and finisher.
- A team player who inspires, and embraces collaboration; acts decisively; is flexible and organized.
- Emotionally mature and confident, with a sense of humor in order to maintain balance and perspective.
To Apply:
All applications will be treated confidentially. Applicants should send the following by Feb. 15: 1) letter describing interest in the position; 2) resum?; and 3) a writing sample. Send all three to bmoon@aclutx.org or to Legal Director Position, ACLU of Texas, P.O. Box 8306, Houston, Texas 77288. No phone calls please. Start date no later than April 16.
The ACLU of Texas is an equal opportunity/affirmative action employer and encourages applications from all qualified individuals including women, people of color, persons with disabilities, and lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender individuals.
Source: http://www.aclutx.org/2012/01/06/legal-director-of-aclu-foundation-of-texas/
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