CAIR-CA is a chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), the nation’s largest Muslim civil liberties and advocacy organization.

CAIR-CA's mission is to enhance understanding of Islam, encourage dialogue, protect civil liberties, empower American Muslims, and build coalitions that promote justice and mutual understanding.

CAIR-CA's vision is to be a leading advocate for Justice & Mutual Understanding.

Title: Civil Rights Attorney

Reporting Relationships: Reports to Managing Attorney

Schedule Type: Full-time (Exempt). Occasional evenings and weekends required.

Location: Based in CAIR’s Santa Clara office. CAIR staff are currently working a hybrid schedule, with three days in-person and two days remote. Requires some travel throughout the Bay Area (vehicle and driver’s license required).

Duties and Responsibilities

• Review and investigate an array of legal claims brought by an incredibly diverse community
• Conduct intakes of legal claims as necessary through effective communication with members of the community
• Manage a considerable caseload (our attorneys currently manage approximately 200+ intakes each per year)
• Provide assistance on assigned litigation efforts, including preparing pleadings, motions and briefs
• Depending on experience, identify, develop, lead and manage assigned litigation efforts, including, preparing pleadings, motions, and briefs
• Perform in-depth legal research
• Legal writing including, but not limited to, drafting complaints, discovery, briefs, letters, and memos; and non-legal writing including drafting community advisories, issuing briefings, and reports
• Communicate with outside parties such as attorneys, employers, law enforcement agents, administrative agencies, media contacts, etc.
• Work to educate and empower community members on their rights through community presentations and material distributions
• Prepare and assist in CAIR-California reports
• Travel for outreach including participating in community events and coalition meetings
• Other duties as assigned, dependent on organizational needs and employee skills. All CAIR staff are required to assist in general duties such as answering phones, weekly outreach, fundraising, and other office tasks.

Required Qualifications

• Law degree from an American Bar Association-accredited school
• California State Bar admission
• 1-3+ years of experience advocating for, representing and/or litigating on behalf of clients in areas such as employment law, religious discrimination, public accommodation, denial of benefits by governmental and private actors in courts and administrative agencies
• Strong time management skills with a demonstrated ability to meet deadlines
• Demonstrated problem-solving skills with outstanding attention to detail
• Comfort working productively in a fast-paced, team-oriented environment
• Excellent oral and written communication skills including public speaking experience
• Experience working with people from diverse cultural and socio-economic backgrounds
• High degree of self-motivation and creativity
• A strong commitment to civil rights and CAIR’s mission
• Basic computer proficiency including knowledge of Office 365, OneDrive, and WestLaw Next
• Knowledge of cloud applications such as SharePoint, Office365

Preferred Qualifications

• Conversational proficiency in Arabic, Farsi, or Urdu

Compensation

• Compensation in the range of $85,479-$96,153 annually, commensurate with experience
• Fully paid Kaiser Health Insurance and Blue Cross PPO Dental Plan for employee and dependents
• 3% retirement matching contribution
• 10 paid holidays, 10 sick days, and 12 vacation days
• Bar license renewal fee, CLE funding support, and malpractice insurance

To Apply

• Please provide your information and answer the six questions on the following pages. By completing all the questions, you will have finished the first step in the interview process. Applicants coming through the Rapha portal are guaranteed to hear back from us regarding the next steps.
• As the interview process progresses, we may request additional materials such as a cover letter, writing sample, or other relevant work samples. Thank you for your interest!
• Use the link below to begin your application. 

CAIR-CA is an equal opportunity employer.