Interim Disability & Health Justice Program Director

Legal Aid at Work seeks an Interim Disability & Health Justice Program (DHJP) Director with a deep commitment to advancing disability justice, combating ableism and advocating for the rights of low-income workers. The DHJP's practice is rooted in intersectional, impact, and enforcement driven work that spans litigation, policy advocacy, community education, and direct services. Our work is focused on:

• Defending and expanding protections for workers with disabilities
• Confronting the unequal health risks created by climate change and unsafe workplaces, especially impacting rural and agricultural workers
• Championing the rights of incarcerated workers and immigrant workers who are disproportionately vulnerable to exploitation
• Advancing a vision of justice that puts the voices and needs of workers with disabilities at the center

This is a unique opportunity for a civil rights attorney with significant litigation experience to lead a creative team. The ideal candidate will bring enthusiasm and proven commitment for systems-level impact in the disability rights, employment discrimination, and/or occupational health and safety space.

While experience in employment law is beneficial, broad legal experience across various civil rights and social justice issue areas is preferred. A demonstrated commitment to the principles of movement lawyering is essential.

The Interim Program Director will work within and across teams to further the goals of the Program, with an emphasis on executing against the Program's strategy, managing the litigation docket, and overseeing a team of a Staff Attorney, a Senior Paralegal, a Fellow, and law clerks.

The Interim Program Director is responsible for:

• Implementing the strategy for the program in partnership with the VP of Programs and Litigation, the Director of Litigation, and the other legal staff on the team
• Overseeing the Program's litigation docket, including class actions, representative actions, individual actions, and amicus work and other advocacy efforts
• Identifying areas for collaboration across Program teams
• Overseeing the Program's collaborations with community partners
• Managing the Program administration, including preparing the program budget, coordinating program projects, supervising Program attorneys and staff, timekeeping, and assisting with the preparation of grant applications and reports

The full-time Interim Program Director will join our organization as soon as possible for a minimum of eight months. While not guaranteed, there is the possibility of extension for this temporary position pending organizational needs. Candidates must be active members of the California State Bar and be based in California.

Legal Aid at Work offers employees the flexibility to work primarily from home, contingent on business needs and professional responsibilities. Strong preference will be given to applicants with personal or professional experience working with impacted communities.

• Demonstrated commitment to social justice and civil rights work and movement lawyering
• Passion for Legal Aid at Work's mission of seeking justice for low-wage workers
• 8+ years of litigation experience; demonstrated track record bringing forth impact and class action litigation and a passion for doing so at LAAW
• A minimum of 3 years of supervisory experience strongly preferred
• Demonstrated track record setting and executing against programmatic strategies
• Experience working with people with disabilities (those who are neurodivergent, have mental health disabilities and/or sensory disabilities), people who are low-income, or incarcerated populations
• Experience with investigating, developing, and litigating civil rights cases (including discovery, motion practice, hearings, trials and/or appeals in state and federal court)
• Ability to lead and work collaboratively with a small team of attorneys and paralegals
• Experience managing multiple projects simultaneously, and prioritizing competing deadlines
• Willingness to develop projects on their own initiative
• Strong legal research, writing, and analytical skills
• Demonstrated experience thinking strategically about the role of a legal nonprofit in supporting grassroots organizing efforts
• Deep commitment to racial equity work and incorporating racial equity principles into legal advocacy
• Deep commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion and the ability to hold and foster difficult and necessary conversations about race, color, disability, national origin, sex,…