A Racial And Economic Justice Staff Attorney

ACLU Foundation of San Diego Imperial Counties



Racial and Economic Justice Staff Attorney (Education)

The ACLU Foundation of San Diego Imperial Counties (ACLUF-SDIC) seeks a Racial and Economic Justice Staff Attorney.


As part of the Advancing Racial and Economic Justice Issue Team, the Racial and Economic Justice Staff Attorney will help to design, coordinate, and implement strategic litigation and integrated advocacy that challenges inequities in the education system and the criminalization of poverty, particularly of unhoused communities. This role is for a self-starter that likes to develop and implement strategy and is comfortable with having management responsibilities.

The ACLUF-SDIC is a nonpartisan, not-for-profit 501(c)(3) civil liberties and civil rights organization working to advance equality, freedom, and justice through public education and litigation. Together with the ACLU of San Diego Imperial Counties, the 501(c)(4) nonprofit organization that does our legislative lobbying work, we are a prominent force for the protection and expansion of fundamental rights in California's second-most populous county (San Diego) and the county with the highest per capita Latina/o population (Imperial).

While there are more than 50 ACLU affiliates nationwide, our work covers the length of California's border with Mexico. We work collaboratively with the National ACLU and with ACLU affiliates in California, on the U.S-Mexico border and throughout the United States. In addition, we value partnerships and collaboration with community organizations and groups across the state and throughout the binational border region.

The ACLU Foundation of San Diego Imperial Counties and ACLU of San Diego Imperial Counties (known collectively as ACLU-SDIC) have a proven track record of success combining impact litigation, policy advocacy, legislation, research and analysis, public education, strategic communications, and community organizing to achieve meaningful social change. We are dedicated to confronting issues that threaten our most cherished civil rights and freedoms and defending the progress the ACLU has made over its 100-year history.

Deciding to apply for any position is an investment of your time and energy. We are providing the detail below to help you decide if exploring this opportunity feels right to you. To learn more about us and have a small peek into our organizational work, please watch the videos linked below.

Videos: Why we do this work Hope for the Future

Position Summary:

The Racial and Economic Justice Staff Attorney will be responsible for participating in the development and management of litigation on equity issues, including educational equity and housing justice, in partnership with the community, as well as supervision of legal fellows and interns as needed.

The Racial and Economic Justice Staff Attorney is responsible for investigating, analyzing, and addressing issues related to education and housing justice in San Diego Imperial Counties that may be caused by violations of legal and policy protections and/or prevented by improvements in those protections. Working within the affiliate's Advancing Racial and Economic Justice Issue Team and in collaboration with the statewide ACLU of California Racial and Economic Justice Issue Teams, the attorney will work to devise and implement strategies to address problems through legal advocacy and litigation, policy reform and implementation, community education, and strategic communications.

The Racial and Economic Justice Staff Attorney will be in the Advocacy and Legal Department and supervised by the Advocacy and Legal Director with the Managing Legal Director providing supervision on litigation matters. Read more