Civil Rights Senior Attorney (Hybrid)

About the Legal Aid Justice Center:
 

The Legal Aid Justice Center is a nationally recognized, non-profit organization that partners with low-income clients and communities of color in Virginia to fight for racial, social, and economic justice. We understand that the harms our clients endure are inextricably linked to overarching systems of injustice. Together we are dismantling those systems through a combination of community organizing, litigation, policy advocacy, public relations, and individual legal services.  

Founded in 1967, LAJC has offices in Charlottesville, Richmond, Petersburg, and Falls Church and provides services under six key program areas: Civil Rights & Racial Justice (focuses on the criminal legal system), Housing & Consumer Justice, Youth Justice, Health Justice & Public Benefits, Immigrant Justice, and Worker Justice. As examples of LAJC’s recent work, our lawsuit and organizing against the state forced reform of Virginia’s unemployment insurance system, including advocacy that resulted in the distribution of over $1 billion in illegally withheld payments to over 160,000 Virginians. During the pandemic, we demanded and secured a statewide eviction moratorium and emergency pandemic protections that helped hundreds of families avoid eviction. We reduced incarceration across the state, including reducing the population of a local immigration detention center down to historically low levels through a coordinated effort of organizing paired with impact and individual litigation.  Our staff are on the front lines of some of the most important anti-poverty fights happening today.  

With a staff of over 90, the past few years have been a time of exciting growth and opportunity for the organization. In addition to the growth of programmatic efforts including increased organizing capacity, LAJC has expanded its operations and administrative capacity, created new opportunities for professional growth and leadership among staff, engaged in ongoing race equity work, and explored changes to organizational structure to deepen its efforts to create long-term, sustainable, community-driven change. 
    

About the Position:

This position will work closely with the CRRJ Legal Director and the CRRJ team to dismantle the power and reach of the criminal legal system in Virginia. 

While the work in this position will exist on a statewide level, the Senior Attorney is expected to build community and focus organizing and advocacy efforts in the Charlottesville and surrounding areas. 

The Senior Attorney will work closely with organizers, families, community members, local organizations, statewide partners, and other LAJC advocates to advance systemic change in CRRJ's priority areas through a combination of individual representation; impact litigation; community outreach; and state and local policy advocacy.

Working on an interdisciplinary team, the Senior Attorney utilizes an integrated advocacy approach to support grassroots, community-led campaigns to advance decarceration and decriminalization, build the power and leadership of directly impacted people, challenge the ways in which the criminal legal system creates and exacerbates poverty and create community-led and community-centered safety. This position has the potential to incorporate cross-program work as needed. 

Job Duties:

• Provide legal advice and counsel to community groups in Charlottesville working on campaigns to challenge mass incarceration.
• Provide individual representation as needed on collateral consequences of the criminal legal system, such as expungement and fines and fees for criminal court debt.
• Work alongside organizers and community members to build and implement impact advocacy campaigns in alignment with the CRRJ's Program's core priorities to challenge the reach of the criminal legal system in Virginia with a community-driven advocacy approach. 
• Co-teach and provide supervision in the UVA Law School's Civil Rights and Racial Justice clinic. Supervise students in individual representation and work with co-instructor on curriculum and instruction on civil rights topics. 
• Strategize with CRRJ team on campaigns and assist team members as needed to advance CRRJ's work.
• Advocate for legislation, regulations, and policies that support decarceration and decriminalization locally and statewide.
• Participate in various work groups, coalitions, etc., and attend community events.
• Assist with advocacy community efforts, e.g., drafting press releases, responding to media inquiries, and drafting content for social media. As needed, produce publications including fact sheets, issue briefs, reports, and op-eds.
• When appropriate, support and/or lead impact litigation in state and federal court. 
• Provide subject matter expertise technical assistance as needed to CRRJ Program and Legal Aid Justice Center policy advocates and organizers.
• Racial Equity: Promote racial equity across all dimensions, including within LAJC, by doing the following: 
  • Helping to recruit, retain, and support both staff and leadership that reflect the racial composition of our community.
  • Cultivating respect for the work of and expanding resources for non-attorney staff that are disproportionately people of color.
  • Creating spaces for staff to discuss issues of racial, gender, and all other issues of marginalization.
  • Pushing for institutional and cultural changes by management, the board, and staff to further promote racial equity. 

Required Qualifications:

• Strong commitment to social, economic, and racial justice.
• Membership in the Virginia State Bar, or eligibility and willingness to become a member of the VSB promptly – either by passing the bar exam in February 2026, or meeting requirements to “waive” into bar membership without taking the bar exam. (Note: this position is to be eligible for the newly enacted Virginia Supreme Court rule allowing for any attorney working exclusively for a legal aid organization to practice without examination as long as they are in good standing in another state). 
• Willingness to work to decrease the scope and power of the criminal legal system.
• Professional or lived experience advocating in low wealth communities.
• Commitment to movement lawyering (building the power and leadership of directly impacted people and taking leadership from them)
• Outstanding oral advocacy, research, writing, and leadership skills
• Ability to work effectively across multiple teams.
• Ability to communicate effectively across lines of identity.
• Willingness to travel statewide occasionally.
• Desire to seek out feedback and learn from it.
• At least three years of relevant experience working on criminal justice. 

Preferred Qualifications:

• Experience with community lawyering approaches and/or organizing around criminal legal reform
• Expertise in one or more of the CRRJ’s core issue areas, including fines and fees, police oversight, expungement, and prisoner rights issues.
• Familiarity with Virginia state and/or federal court practice.
• Experience with impact advocacy
• Experience working in or building coalitions. 

Location: This role will be based in our Charlottesville office. Occasional travel between offices will be required. Although a regular presence in the office is required, LAJC offers a remote work policy to support employees in co-creating schedules and arrangements that allow us all to do our best work.

A Note to Potential Candidates: Studies have shown that women, trans, non-binary folks, and BIPOC are less likely to apply for jobs unless they believe they meet every single one of the qualifications as described in a job description. We are committed to building a diverse and inclusive organization, and strongly encourage you to apply, even if you don't believe you meet every one of the qualifications described.

Application Review Date: We'll start reviewing applications after August 29, 2025. While our review process can take some time, this doesn't mean you're not being considered—please be patient as we carefully evaluate each candidate. We'll continue to accept and review applications until the position is filled. 

Salary: The salary scale for this position is $76,521.70 - $99,478.21 based on the LAJC salary scale. To allow for salary growth within the position over time, the anticipated hiring range for this position is between $76,521.70 - $87,999.96.  

Benefits: Our mission is compelling, and our team members are passionate about their work, and so we recognize the need to provide generous benefits and encourage rest and a healthy work environment. For example, we provide: 
 

• Generous paid time off every year, including 3 to 6 weeks of vacation, 12 days of health leave, 6 weeks parental leave, and 14 holidays (not including bonus holidays/rest days allocated as needed) 
• 100% employer paid health, dental, and vision insurance, plus excellent family insurance with annual max of $2,400 premium contribution to LAJC-sponsored health plan 
• 403(b) retirement plan with 4% employer contribution (no required match) 
• Strong commitment to professional development 
• Relocation package 
• $5,000 Signing Bonus

Application Instructions: Complete the online application. This position requires a cover letter, resume, and contact information for three references. Please address the cover letter to the hiring manager, Anna Kurien, but submit all materials through the online application system. We will not contact references without advance consent from candidates.

Vaccination Requirement: The Legal Aid Justice Center requires all employees to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 or have an approved medical or religious exemption as a qualification of employment. Proof of vaccination or accommodation request must be provided within one day of employment.

The Legal Aid Justice Center is an equal opportunity employer, committed to inclusive hiring and dedicated to diversity in our work and staff. We strongly encourage candidates of all identities, experiences, and communities to apply. The Legal Aid Justice Center is committed to strengthening the voices of our low-income clients, working in collaboration with community partners, and rooting out the inequities that keep people in poverty. We strive to take on the issues that have broad impact on our client communities and to be responsive to client input. Recognizing the particular impact of racism on our clients and staff, we devote special attention to dismantling racial injustice. All applicants must be dedicated to working in and sustaining an environment that enables staff and clients to feel empowered, valued, respected, and safe. In reviewing applications, we look for evidence that applicants have experience and/or thoughtfulness in working with traditionally marginalized populations.