Colorado Nonprofit Association

Staff Attorney (full-time, remote)

The Civil Rights Education and Enforcement Center (CREEC) is seeking a full-time, experienced Staff Attorney (Senior level preferred), to join us in our practice at the intersection of disability justice and immigrant justice. We also work at other intersections of disability justice, including those involving racial justice and prisoners’ rights, and there may be opportunities for this role to participate in those efforts. This is a remote role; however, if the successful applicant is located near Denver, Colorado, there may be opportunities to work in our Denver office. 

About CREEC: 

CREEC is a national nonprofit legal organization that fights for liberation and equity through the lens of intersectional disability justice. Our work is informed by grassroots movements for systemic change and centers the concerns and goals of people with disabilities who are confronting barriers to access to programs and services and resisting oppressive legal systems across the United States.   

Our legal expertise in the disability-rights frameworks of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and the Rehabilitation Act allows us to move the dial for intersectional disability justice across a variety of systems that are unaccustomed and resistant to the requirements of these laws and that deny the humanity, dignity, and agency of people with disabilities. Applying these and other legal tools, we advance intersectional disability justice in a variety of high-stakes contexts, including the immigration detention-and-deportation system. For people with disabilities navigating that system, we aim to support critical harm reduction that, in turn, supports the long-term movement to abolish the system harming them and everyone subject to it. 

The ideal candidate will understand both the legal and cultural/psycho-social frameworks reflected in the detention-and-deportation system and will approach their work with and for directly impacted people in a trauma-informed way and with cultural humility, sensitivity, and warmth.    

Responsibilities of the Staff Attorney: 

Under supervision, the Staff Attorney will participate in impact litigation, class actions and other systemic and individual advocacy, including: 

• Client contact and maintaining client communications, 
• Legal research and writing, 
• Document management, 
• Written discovery and depositions, 
• Motion practice, 
• Drafting settlement proposals and monitoring compliance with settlement agreements and consent decrees, 
• Participating in oral and written advocacy, 
• Screening intakes, 
• Participating in coalitions, conferences, and educational outreach, 
• Providing technical expertise to myriad partners, 
• Working collaboratively to develop new advocacy and community and client relationships, 
• Developing presentations and trainings, 
• Overseeing interns and fellows, and 
• Overseeing and supervising paralegals, including in the intake and referral process, and helping to develop and refine intake procedures. 

Requirements: 

• Experience: At least 5 years of legal advocacy experience, with at least 3 years of experience advocating for people in the detention-and-deportation system, or commensurate experience working with immigrant populations impacted by systemic oppression in the United States, 
• Sound professional judgment, excellent critical thinking skills, strong oral and written communication skills, and exceptional time management and organizational skills, 
• Ability to effectively work and collaborate remotely with a team, with clients, and with myriad partners and allies, and 
• Adequate space to work from home while maintaining productivity and confidentiality, and a secure, reliable, and private Internet connection. 

Additional Qualifications: 

The ideal candidate will have:  

• Experience litigating in federal court, including in complex civil litigation, 
• Knowledge of and a demonstrated commitment to social justice, including immigrant justice and disability justice, 
• Experience working collaboratively as part of teams and coalitions, 
• An orientation toward movement lawyering and client-centered advocacy through an intersectional lens, 
• Experience with trauma-informed client representation and advocacy, 
• Substantive knowledge of the various immigration laws and policies underpinning the detention-and-deportation system, 
• Substantive knowledge of disability rights law, 
• Commitment to continued learning and cultural humility, 
• Enthusiasm about working collaboratively with CREEC’s staff across varied areas and activities, 
• Openness to performing related tasks consistent with skills and abilities and general responsibilities as may be assigned by a supervisor, 
• Experience with advocacy under the Freedom of Information Act and/or the Federal Tort Claims Act, 
• Experience with advocacy through complaints to the Office of Civil Rights and Civil Liberties within the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, and 
• Fluency in Spanish and/or ASL a strong plus.