About the Role:

Reporting to the Chief Counsel, American Oversight is seeking a Senior Counsel to join its team. The Senior Counsel plays a key role in advancing American Oversight’s (AO) mission through managing a diverse caseload under different state and federal law jurisdictions around the country. The Senior Counsel handles all aspects of federal and state open records litigation, including research, drafting, discovery, negotiation, and oral argument. This role requires the individual to skillfully craft and execute legal strategies to attacks on democratic institutions, threats to civil rights and liberties, abuses of power, and erosion of government transparency at the state and federal levels.  

Through this work, the Senior Counsel will become an open records law expert and advise and collaborate with AO researchers and other cross functional colleagues, outside counsels, and organizational partners to create effective and targeted record requests that support our investigations. The Senior Counsel is responsible for leading cases, proceedings, projects, or matters that arise in the course of their work. 

What You Will Do:

• Litigate Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests in federal court, state open records law requests in state court (pro hac vice), and other litigation matters as assigned, on behalf of American Oversight and other clients, with the highest standards of legal skills. This includes:
  • Serve as lead counsel across an active, diverse caseload of federal and state open records and other litigation in diverse courtrooms across the country, helping to propose cases, setting litigation strategy, and handling day-to-day case management.
  • Oversee, project manage, and partner with local counsel for open records, open meetings, or similar lawsuits in state courts.
  • Research, draft, and edit court pleadings, including complaints, motions, and briefs at the trial and appellate levels, including amicus briefs.
  • Conduct discovery where permitted, including written discovery and depositions, as well as participate in evidentiary hearings.
  • Conduct oral arguments in federal and state courts at the trial or appellate level.
  • Draft, as needed, non-legal advocacy materials, e.g., demand letters, administrative complaints, and other tools for demanding accountability. 
  • Mentor and support more junior attorneys in their own litigation, including reviewing drafts, advising on legal or evidentiary issues, guiding or assisting them in filings and litigation practices, and helping them prepare for depositions or court appearances.
  • Proactively, creatively, and independently develop future cases selected from a collaboratively defined list of assigned litigation candidates. Propose ideas or candidates for future cases, including novel or creative litigation and non-litigation strategies for accountability and transparency. Develop litigation strategies to support AO’s mission and/or work with partners in assigned states.
• Work with AO’s research team to research and develop investigation strategies and opportunities consistent with relevant federal and state open records laws. Review investigative plans and public records request drafts and advise on FOIA and state open records laws as well as best practices for evidentiary development and reasonable request drafting.
• Negotiate with the federal executive branch and state or local open records officials in connection with a high volume of pending open records requests. Maintain active communication and follow up with FOIA or open records officers in federal and state government agencies as AO’s point of contact for assigned active open records requests.
• Acquire and maintain an up-to-date working knowledge of FOIA and state open records and open meetings law to advise internal and external stakeholders, brief and argue legal issues, and fulfill other job responsibilities. Develop and maintain expertise in FOIA and the open records and open meetings laws of assigned states by monitoring legal developments and through targeted research projects.
• Partner with AO’s communications and research teams to develop messaging materials, blog posts, or other non-legal advocacy materials, as needed.
• Represent American Oversight in meetings with partners, coalitions, presentations, training, and meetings with congressional committees, consistent with American Oversight’s 501(c)(3) status. 
• On a rotating basis, manage AO’s legal intern program (during intern season(s)), and postgraduate legal fellows, including hiring, supervision, and enrichment opportunities. 
• Lead or participate in internal organizational development initiatives, events, and/or committees.
• Support organizational interests as needed, being prepared to step into the shoes of Legal Team management if chief counsel and deputy chief counsel are unavailable. 

What You Will Bring:

• Juris Doctor degree and admission to practice in at least one state (with eligibility to join District of Columbia bar).
• Minimum years of experience: 
  • External Candidates: 10+ years of relevant legal experience, including 2+ years leading civil litigation in federal and/or state court (including determining case strategy; writing briefs on contested procedural and/or substantive motions; examining witnesses in trial and/or depositions; and/or oral arguments on motions and/or appeals).
  • Internal Candidates or Former AO Employees: 7+ years of relevant legal experience, including 2+ years leading civil litigation in federal and/or state court (including determining case strategy; writing briefs on contested procedural and/or substantive motions; examining witnesses in trial and/or depositions; and/or oral arguments on motions and/or appeals) and 3+ years at AO.
• Experience with civil and appellate practice and procedure. 
• A keen interest in American Oversight’s mission of government accountability and transparency; commitment to public interest advocacy.
• Demonstrated commitment to public interest work.
• Strong skills in the following areas:
  • Litigation and Case Management: Demonstrated ability to handle fast-moving litigation caseload within healthy and regular hours, with effective management of varied litigation demands and minimal supervision, including the ability to ask for and accept help and to collaborate productively where needed, all while contributing to other organizational initiatives and projects. 
  • Legal Research: Demonstrated ability to efficiently identify relevant legal authorities, accurately distill and effectively convey relevant and complex legal principles, and appropriately analogize to and distinguish from relevant facts. High legal acumen and the knowledge of, or ability to learn very quickly, federal and state open records laws and related civil procedure.
  • Negotiation: Effectively represent AO’s interests—e.g., in connection with pending records requests, coalition working groups, litigation settlement discussions—to achieve the organization’s goals while fostering our reputation for professionalism and integrity.
  • Communication:
    • Written: Superb legal writing skills with exceptional attention to detail, quickly producing high level legal analysis in a persuasive, concise and impactful manner. Demonstrated ability to produce high-quality, public-facing work with limited supervision; adapt language or style to target audiences; and convey information with clarity and accuracy that is free from grammatical or spelling errors.
    • Oral: Confident; ability to synthesize persuasive and authoritative information efficiently and in a manner likely to further the goals of the communication; highly professional, courteous, and effective interpersonal communications, including with internal staff, opposing counsel, or government officials. 
  • Project Management: Drives, tracks, and proactively reports on the status of projects; understands and engages the necessary stakeholders, tools, resources, and information to produce desired results; is responsive and able to move nimbly among a variety of projects with varying timelines; is proactive and has independent organizational skills, sets realistic timelines for task achievement and makes steady progress towards each milestone; effectively manages high volume of correspondence with internal and external parties; manages expectations; is curious, asks questions early; anticipates and prepares next steps and outcomes. 
  • Judgment and Decision Making: Makes sound, well-reasoned decisions that support highly impactful outcomes in litigation, investigation, or communication targets. Escalates and addresses concerns or challenges appropriately and in a timely manner.   
  • Problem Solving & Critical Thinking: Identifies issues and surfaces creative solutions to achieve desired outcomes; scans the landscape and connects dots among many disparate data points and situations.
  • Collaboration: Is an inclusive, enthusiastic, highly engaged team player; proactively seeks and provides thought partnership, assistance, and/or resources with/to colleagues; shows respect for all team members and others, including effective project and case management that fosters trust.
• Self-starter who excels at identifying opportunities, taking ownership, and delivering results with minimal supervision.
• Experience working in and/or desire to contribute to workplaces with a commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion. 
• Excellent confidentiality, judgment, discretion, professionalism, integrity, diplomacy, and ethics. 
• Position is located in the United States; must be available to work East Coast business hours with occasional evening and weekend hours, as needed.

Desired Qualifications:

• Experience in a nonprofit environment.
• Experience mentoring and/or supervising junior attorneys, student interns, or postgraduate fellows.
• Familiarity with pro-democracy issues, including but not limited to voting rights, election administration, civil rights and civil liberties, or threats like abuse of power, corruption or indue influence.
• Knowledge of FOIA, state open records or open meeting laws, or government ethics laws.

We encourage individuals to apply even if they do not have any of the desired qualifications. 

What We Offer:

American Oversight offers its employees a generous and comprehensive benefits package that includes 80% of health, dental, and vision premiums paid by the organization, a retirement plan with a matching contribution, and remote office reimbursements for personal devices and wireless connectivity.

Location:

American Oversight is a remote-first location. Our office in Washington, DC is an optional workspace.

Salary Range:

$130,000 to $142,000 (commensurate to experience)

Application Deadline:

Interested applicants are encouraged to apply by December 3rd to ensure consideration of your application. Following this deadline, we will continue to review applications on a rolling basis until the position is filled.

Our Commitment to an Inclusive Workplace:

At American Oversight, we value and strive to hire, develop, and grow a diverse and inclusive team. We are an equal opportunity employer, and encourage applications from all individuals without regard to an individual’s race, color, sex, gender identity, gender expression, religion, age, national origin or ancestry, physical or mental disability, medical condition, family care status, marital status, domestic partner status, sexual orientation, genetic information, military or veteran status, or any other basis protected by federal, state, or local laws. We strongly encourage individuals to apply for opportunities at American Oversight even if they do not have any of the desired qualifications.