Election Protection Attorney

Location: Remote in Texas, with preference for RGV, DFW or El Paso area

TCRP’s Voting Rights team works to make sure every eligible Texan is able to cast a ballot that counts. We use litigation and advocacy to knock down barriers to voter registration, support grassroots voter mobilization efforts, and oppose new attempts to suppress voting. From the courts to the legislature to the polling place, we’re fighting for access to democracy for every one of our Texas neighbors. One of the biggest pieces of that work is our Election Protection Program. 

We work with the other non-profits in the Texas Election Protection Coalition to provide non-partisan customer service to any Texas voter who calls in. No question is too big or too small! Our efforts include operating toll-free hotlines in multiple languages to answer voters’ questions, training and deploying hundreds of legal and grassroots volunteers to spot issues during Early Vote and on Election Day, using digital tools to connect with voters, and having legal counsel on hand to fight for voting rights in court. 

Texas Election Protection is a huge system with a lot of moving parts, and we’re looking for an attorney (or recently graduated law student) who can work on a lot of different parts of it. If you’re looking for hardcore litigation experience or tons of deep dives into case law, this job may not be for you! But if you want to become an expert in Texas election law so you can train other attorneys to do the same, meet and build trust with county election officials, and untangle complex issues for voters, then we want you to join our team! If you don’t mind picking up pizza for trainings, helping pack t-shirts for volunteers, and meeting tons of like-minded Texans, that would be a huge bonus.

This is a temporary position from June 1, 2024 to December 1, 2024 and is excluded from the Bargaining Unit according to TCRP’s Collective Bargaining Agreement with the National Organization of Legal Service Workers (UAW Local 2320).
 

Overview of Key Responsibilities:

Our Election Protection Attorney will be a key part of all Election Protection activities in 2024. The main pieces of this will be:

● Recruit, train, and deploy Election Protection volunteers: 

○ Help develop training materials to teach lawyer volunteers and field volunteers about Texas election law;

○ Recruit and train volunteers;

○ Supervise boiler rooms of attorney volunteers to solve issues during Early Voting and on Election Day; and

○ Problem-solve for voters facing issues during Early Voting and on Election Day.

● Monitor and respond to election administration issues: 

○ Identify and respond to problems affecting the right to vote in different areas of Texas;

○ Use a variety of strategies including demand letters, press strategies, connections, and coalition work to resolve those problems; and

○ Help track, compile, and analyze data for reporting to our coalition, Board of Directors, Leadership, and other stakeholders.

● Problem-solve Election Protection issues as a team:

○ Build relationships and collaborate with partner organizations and county election officials to help elections run smoothly and voters cast their ballots;

○ Work within the Election Protection team and the TCRP team as a whole to provide the best possible legal resolutions to voters’ problems; and 

○ Chase down every avenue of solutions to the problems that Texas voters face.

Characteristics of ideal candidates:

● JD required, though Texas bar certification is not required at the time of hiring;

● Excellent written and verbal communication skills, including willingness and ability to do public speaking and press hits (with press training from TCRP);

● The ability to communicate legal information to non-lawyers;

● Ability to read, write, and speak in a second language is a plus.

● Experience in organizing, managing, and deploying volunteers;

● Ability to take initiative, solve problems, and quickly jump onto urgent matters as they come up;

● Ability to build strong relationships across diverse communities—including in particular communities of color, persons with disabilities, and immigrant communities—and across different teams internally;

● Ability to inspire people to take action, including being able to tell a compelling story about why this work is important;

● Ability to juggle and prioritize across multiple projects without dropping balls, and the willingness to spot opportunities and jump on them;

● An understanding of the voting rights landscape in Texas and a desire to make it better,

● Experience in political campaigns or organizing work is a plus; and

About TCRP 

For more than thirty years, TCRP has been a committed partner to community organizers, families and advocacy groups across the state. TCRP’s lawyers work with coalitions of community-based organizations to identify injustices facing Texas communities and develop systemic solutions using litigation and other legal advocacy tools. TCRP has three regional offices (and many more remote employees) across the state of Texas. We are a unionized workplace. TCRP serves the rising movement for social justice with three key programs: Voting Rights, Criminal Injustice, and Beyond Borders. Learn more about TCRP at www.txcivilrights.org.

Compensation

Like all TCRP salaries, the EP Attorney’s salary will be based on years of experience, from $72,468 for one year of practicing law to $84,348 for five years. TCRP also offers excellent benefits, professional development opportunities and a deep commitment to a meaningful work-life balance. Benefits include: employer-paid health insurance, four weeks paid vacation, eight weeks paid family leave (with avenues to extend leave to 14 weeks in total), a $500 professional development budget annually, and extensive holidays, including a winter break between December 25th and New Year’s Day.

Inclusion & Non-Discrimination at TCRP

TCRP values a diverse workforce and an inclusive culture — women, people of color, individuals with disabilities, veterans, and people from other underrepresented communities are strongly encouraged to apply for this position.

We do not discriminate on the basis of race, ethnicity, national origin, age, creed, religion, physical ability, gender, gender identity or expression, pregnancy, sexual orientation, previous incarceration, veteran status, union membership or activism, or any other characteristic protected by local, state or federal law. TCRP offers competitive salaries, excellent benefits, professional development opportunities, and a deep commitment to a meaningful work-life balance.

Manne Family Legal Fellowship

Overview

Thanks to the generosity of Neal Manne and Nancy McGregor, the Texas Civil Rights Project (TCRP) is accepting applications for the Manne Family Legal Fellowship. This fellowship allows a recent graduate of Harvard Law School, Columbia Law School or the University of Texas School of Law to join TCRP for one year. 

The Texas Civil Rights Project (TCRP) is a community lawyering organization that boldly serves the movement for equality and justice in Texas, working in and out of the courts. Whether through litigation, policy advocacy or campaigns for local reform, TCRP works to reduce over policing and criminalization, reduce the harms of incarceration, fight discrimination in voting and civic participation, and end injustices occurring at the Texas border. For more than thirty years, TCRP has been a committed lawyer and partner to community organizers, Texas families and advocacy groups across the state. Today, we are a household name in Texas, and are viewed as one of the go-to civil rights organizations. 

We are recruiting outstanding candidates who could work in any of our programs: Voting Rights, Beyond Borders, or Criminal Injustice. We also welcome candidates who are interested in focusing on a topic of our cross-programmatic committees: Reproductive Justice or Disability Justice. The cross programmatic committees work to coordinate and expand our work on an issue across our programs.  The final focus of the fellowship will be determined with consideration being given to the strengths and interests of the strongest candidate. Candidates should use their cover letter to express any connection, expertise or interest in these topics, as well as their preference for litigation or policy focused work. Candidates are not expected to design a specific fellowship proposal of any sort and are welcome to express openness to more than one topic or type of work. 

Primary Responsibilities and Duties

The Legal Director, Dustin Rynders, will lead our hiring process for this fellow, who will then be assigned a supervisor depending on the subject area that is determined.  

Primary responsibilities may include:

Impact Litigation & Strategic Advocacy 

• Work alone and with colleagues to devise successful legal and extra-legal advocacy strategies.
• Litigate TCRP cases in federal and state Texas courts. This includes drafting pleadings and affidavits, handling discovery, managing client relationships, preparing depositions, consulting expert witnesses, and engaging in settlement negotiation. Litigation includes appellate work.
• Conduct thorough and efficient investigations. 
• Research and write clear, concise, appropriately framed white papers. 
• Lead public education events, communicating effectively with all audiences.

Legislative Advocacy 

• Provide review and analysis of bills filed in one or more areas in the Texas Legislature 
• Educate policymakers and the public on the impacts of proposed legislation in private meetings, public presentations, media appearances, and legislative testimony.
• Identify litigation opportunities and needs that arise from the legislative session and conduct related research.  

Programmatic, Communications and Development Support 

• Assist with designing and implementing strategic advocacy campaigns throughout Texas for local and statewide policy reform. 
• Serve as a TCRP spokesperson through various communication and media outlets in collaboration with TCRP’s Communications team.
• Assist in TCRP’s fund development efforts, including presentations and speaking engagements as requested.

Minimum Qualifications

• J.D. or anticipated J.D. from Harvard Law School, Columbia Law School or the University of Texas School of Law in 2023 or 2024.
• A current Texas Law license or plans to sit for the Texas Bar in July 2024. 
• Familiarity with constitutional law.
• Track record of working collaboratively with low income, Black, brown and LGBTQ+ individuals.
• Excellent research, writing, and oral communication skills. 
• Well-organized: able to meet deadlines without compromising the quality of work product; ability to multi-task and to prioritize; ability to juggle a heavy meetings calendar with substantive work; willingness to work long hours as necessary. 
• A willingness to travel throughout the state of Texas. 
• A resilient, can-do attitude, with an openness to constructive criticism, evolving responsibilities, and shifting current events. 

Ideal Characteristics 

• Demonstrated interest in some aspect(s) of civil rights law with preference for those with demonstrated knowledge and interest in reform of the criminal legal system, immigrant rights, voting rights, reproductive justice or disability justice.
• Critical, creative, innovative thinker w/ ability to identify nuances, attend to detail, and to get in the weeds.
• Issue spotter; self-starter; trouble shooter; tenacious; flexible. 
• Ability to build and successfully manage coalitions. 
• Lived experiences that inform a complex understanding of the challenges faced by vulnerable communities and of the historical nature of structural power differences. 

Compensation 

Salary will be based on years of experience, with a range starting at $72,468. TCRP also offers excellent benefits, professional development opportunities and a deep commitment to a meaningful work-life balance. We envision and work towards an organization that reflects the communities we serve and a culture of ​radical inclusion, ​continuous growth​, and openness. TCRP benefits include employer-paid health insurance, four weeks paid vacation, 16 weeks of paid family leave, a $500 professional development budget annually, and extensive holidays, including a two week winter break.

This is a temporary position from September 1, 2024 to August 31, 2025 and is excluded from the Bargaining Unit according to TCRP’s Collective Bargaining Agreement with the National Organization of Legal Service Workers (UAW Local 2320).

Location

TCRP is primarily remote but requires all staff to live in Texas. Staff are able to access office space in any of TCRP’s offices, which are located in Austin, Houston, and the Rio Grande Valley (Alamo). Applicants most wanting to work on state policy issues should plan to live in Austin during the legislative session. 

How to Apply 

To apply, please submit the following materials via Submittable. For consideration, the deadline to apply is 11:59PM, Friday April 19, 2024.

1. Cover letter indicating:

-   Why you are interested in working with TCRP

-   Preferred practice group (BB/CI/VR)

-   An idea for a proposed fellowship project

-   Names and deadlines for any particular fellowship applications to which you are applying

-   Interest in working in Texas  

2. Detailed resume

3. Writing sample of no more than 10 pages, preferably related to the subject matter of your proposed project idea.

4. A list of at least 3 references with at least 2 of these being professional references.

Inclusion & Non-Discrimination 

TCRP values a diverse workforce and an inclusive culture — women, Black, indigenous, and other people of color, individuals with disabilities, veterans, and people from other underrepresented communities are strongly encouraged to apply for this position. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, ethnicity, national origin, age, creed, religion, physical ability, gender, gender identity or expression, pregnancy, sexual orientation, previous incarceration, languages spoken, socioeconomic status, veteran status, union membership or activism, or any other characteristic protected by local, state or federal law. Research shows that while men apply for positions when they meet an average of 60% of the requirements, women, Black people, people of color and other historically underrepresented groups only apply when they check every box. 

If you feel like this is the position for you even though you don’t check every box please apply, you could be exactly what we’re looking for!

2024 Summer Legal Intern

Job Description

At TCRP, we are Texas lawyers for Texas communities. We use our unique community lawyering model to empower Texas communities and create the policy changes necessary for a fairer, more just Texas. In our 30+ year history, we have brought thousands of strategic lawsuits, defending voting rights, reforming systems of criminal (in)justice, and fighting for the rights of immigrant families and those in our borderland communities. Our efforts have helped countless low-income and otherwise marginalized Texans and have widely advanced equality and justice. Today—with dozens of high-caliber attorneys and professionals around the state and an extensive network of pro bono counsel and community allies—TCRP is among the most influential civil rights organizations in Texas. We are proud of our work, welcome innovative thinkers, and offer flexibility to different people’s styles and strengths. Learn more at https://txcivilrights.org/.

The Texas Civil Rights Project is seeking optimistic, motivated, balanced, well-organized individuals to serve as law clerks in our programs for the 2024 Summer term to work on our portfolio of immigrant rights litigation, criminal injustice litigation, or voting rights litigation. Our three program areas are as follows:

Our Beyond Borders program is focused on humanitarian and state and local immigration issues, as well as impact litigation. We aim to eliminate policies that perpetuate the harmful effects of militarization, cultural erasure, imprisonment, and exclusion along the Texas-Mexico border. 

Our Criminal Injustice program is focused on challenging the unjust conditions of incarceration, as well as overcriminalization and policing that disproportionately impact Black, Brown, disabled, noncitizen, and LGBTQIA+ communities.

Our Voting Rights Program is focused on protecting and expanding the power of underrepresented communities in Texas—especially communities of color, workers, and people with disabilities. Through grassroots, legislative, and litigation advocacy, our Voting Rights program aims to protect the fundamental right to vote that is essential to democracy.   

TCRP is dedicated to the goal of building a culturally diverse and pluralistic team and women, minorities, individuals with disabilities and veterans are encouraged to apply. Our law clerks are a critical part of the TCRP family and will assist our attorneys with every aspect of our work, from investigating potential cases to crafting strategic advocacy plans and preparing complaints.

This is a remote position with the option to work from one of our offices (Austin, Houston, and Alamo). Preference for bilingual Spanish speakers, organizing experience, and clear dedication to civil rights work. This internship can be for credit. We will work with you to secure funding, either externally or internally. 

TO APPLY

Please apply by sending a resume, cover letter, transcript, and writing sample to daniel@texascivilrightsproject.org. In your cover letter, please specify what TCRP program you are applying to. We will review applications as we receive them.

TCRP is an equal opportunity organization that welcomes all qualified applicants. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, ethnicity, national origin, creed, religion, physical ability, gender, gender identity or expression, pregnancy, sexual orientation, previous incarceration, veteran status, union membership or activism, or any other characteristic protected by local, state or federal law.