Staff Attorney​/Senior Staff Attorney

Staff Attorney/Senior Staff Attorney
* 3+ years of experience

Compensation: $134,055- $265,903, commensurate with experience (see full salary scale below), plus benefits

Location:

Berkeley, CA preferred (remote option subject to negotiation). PLO operates a hybrid workplace with in-office attendance at least two days per full week, including Wednesdays. Candidates who can comply with this practice are strongly preferred.

Final date to receive applications:
November 2, 2026

* Attorneys with 8+ years of experience have the Senior Staff Attorney title. See below for role responsibilities for each.

The Prison Law Office is one of the nation's leading experts in prison conditions litigation, defending the rights of incarcerated people through class action lawsuits, monitoring, and education. In addition to litigation and advocacy, the Prison Law Office works directly with correctional agencies to develop practical, sustainable reforms to improve conditions of confinement for incarcerated people.

Staff Attorneys and Senior Staff Attorneys play a central role in PLO’s litigation and advocacy work on behalf of incarcerated people. Attorneys lead individual and class action litigation from case development through resolution and are deeply involved in post-trial remedial monitoring of long-running institutional reform cases. The work requires excellent legal judgment, strong client-centered advocacy, and a commitment to advancing civil and human rights in carceral settings.

This role requires regular travel to prisons, jails, and immigration detention centers and close collaboration with colleagues, clients, and external stakeholders.

• Serve as counsel on individual and class action litigation on behalf of people in prisons, jails, and immigration detention centers
• Participate in all phases of litigation, including factual investigation, discovery, motion practice, settlement negotiations, trial, and appellate work
• Conduct interviews with incarcerated clients, witnesses, and correctional staff
• Engage in and develop post-trial remedial monitoring and remedial litigation to enforce compliance with court orders and decrees
• Lead tours of correctional facilities to assess conditions of confinement and monitor compliance
• Research and draft high-quality legal pleadings, briefs, motions, and other advocacy materials
• Maintain regular communication with clients and class members with empathy and professionalism and in line with legal strategy
• Collaborate with PLO team members, co-counsel, and partner organizations on litigation and advocacy strategy
• Oversee and direct the work of paraprofessional staff (including investigators, special assistants, and litigation assistants) on assigned matters and provide constructive feedback
• Supervise law student interns, legal fellows, and paraprofessional staff and provide constructive feedback

• Lead complex, high-impact litigation on behalf of incarcerated people and serve as a primary architect of litigation and remedial strategy in individual and class action matters
• Exercise advanced judgment in high-stakes negotiations with state, local, and federal officials and opposing counsel
• Take a lead role in shaping post-trial remedial frameworks and long-term compliance strategies
• Serve as a thought partner to PLO management on litigation priorities, case development, risk assessment, and legal strategy
• Represent PLO in external legal, policy, and advocacy settings as needed as a senior organizational representative
• Manage all phases of litigation, including factual investigation, pleadings, motion practice,…