Senior Staff Attorney - ACLU

What is the Senior Staff Attorney position at the ACLU of Oregon?

As of the date of this posting (May 5, 2026), we are seeking to fill one Senior Staff Attorney position:

Summary of this position: The team member in this position is:

• A seasoned, experienced civil litigator with strong litigation management, coordination, and implementation abilities;
• Proficient in doing a wide range of legal-related research and writing to support the work of the ACLU of Oregon’s legal, policy, and communications teams;
• Capable of representing the ACLU of Oregon in a wide array of settings, including interviews with journalists and the press, legislative work groups and public hearings, and educational forums.

This position manages our legal cases and related work, including amicus briefs and research, the day-to-day of which is often done by our volunteer cooperating attorneys. As needed, this position will also engage in day-to-day work with our legal cases, amicus briefs, research, and related matters.

This position will also support our ballot measure work, policy work at the local and state levels, and communications and education work as needed. Oftentimes, this work consists of legal-related research and writing as well as other types of technical support.

This position does not supervise any staff positions, although the position may have lead-type responsibilities.

Important information: For this recruitment, we will prioritize candidates at the Senior Staff Attorney level. The required education and legal experience is a J.D., a minimum of 5 years of civil litigation experience, and membership in the Oregon State Bar.

Who this position works with: This position is part of our legal team and works closely, collaboratively, and supportively with all areas of the ACLU of Oregon – especially with our policy and communications & storytelling teams.

What values are important and required: This position requires a strong and continued commitment to diversity, equity, inclusion, belonging, anti-racism, anti-misogyny, anti-transphobia, anti-homophobia, anti-ableism, and all other types of anti-oppression, as well as the proven ability to incorporate these values in work both internal and external to our organization.

Where to get more information: Please review this job description for more information about this position.

Organizational note: The ACLU of Oregon reserves the right to make changes to job duties and responsibilities for positions, consistent with the values and operational needs of the ACLU of Oregon, which may change from time to time.

What are the qualifications required for this position?

We are looking for individuals with the following experience, abilities, and values:

• Required education, legal, and licensure experience: Juris Doctor degree, a minimum of 5 years of civil litigation experience, and member of the Oregon State Bar.
• Required equity & inclusion values and experience: proven significant and continuous prior commitment to and experience with the values of diversity, equity, inclusion, belonging, anti-racism, anti-misogyny, anti-transphobia, anti-homophobia, anti-ableism, and other forms of anti-oppression.
• Strongly preferred – prior experience in ACLU of Oregon issue areas: prior litigation experience in several of the following areas — First Amendment, racial justice, criminal system reform, law enforcement accountability, LGBTQ+ rights, immigrant and refugee rights, and systems change or impact litigation.
• Sincerity: the assessment that you are honest, that you say what you mean and mean what you say. The idea that you can be believed and taken seriously and that your actions are aligned with your words.
• Reliability: the assessment that you meet the commitments you make, and that you…