Staff Attorney

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We are seeking a full-time staff attorney with 2-4 years of applicable litigation experience to join our nationally recognized impact litigation program and support our commitment to government accountability and social justice for children, with a desired start date by September 8, 2026.

 

This is an exceptional opportunity for an early-career litigator to play a meaningful role in complex, high-impact cases from investigation through trial, settlement, monitoring and long-term implementation.  Staff attorneys receive substantial responsibility, close mentorship, and the opportunity to work along with leading advocates, experts, and community partners to achieve lasting change for children and families.

 

About Children’s Rights

 

Children’s Rights is a premier 30+-year-old national children’s advocacy nonprofit organization based in New York City that uses civil rights impact litigation, policy expertise, and public education to hold governments accountable for keeping all kids safe and healthy. Our work addresses a range of historical and emerging social justice issues impacting children. Recent legal and advocacy campaigns have targeted dangerous conditions and the unnecessary placement of youth in congregate care facilities in the foster and juvenile carceral systems the lack of community-based mental health services for Medicaid-eligible children, the unjust treatment of immigrant children and families in federal custody, the unsafe administration of powerful and dangerous psychotropic drugs to children in the foster system without adequate oversight, the unnecessary and devastating surveillance, investigation and separation of Black children from their families, systemic discrimination against LGBTQIA+ youth in custodial settings, and the grave outcomes for older youth “aging” out of child-serving systems. 

Position Summary:

Children’s Rights attorneys, working with local advocates and lived experts, investigate specific problems in failing systems, develop lawsuits or other advocacy campaigns where appropriate, conduct extensive discovery, work with substantive experts, prepare cases for trial or negotiated settlement, and negotiate, and where necessary, enforce implementation of court ordered reforms.

 

Duties/Responsibilities:

• Conduct factual investigations and legal research in support of complex impact litigation.
• Draft pleadings, motions, briefs, discovery requests, and other litigation filings.
• Take and defend depositions and engage in all phases of discovery, with increasing levels of responsibility.
• Participate in witness preparation, evidentiary hearings, trials, settlement negotiations, and appellate litigation, as appropriate.
• Collaborate closely with clients, community partners, impacted youth and families, co-counsel, experts, and government officials.
• Monitor compliance with court orders and negotiated settlements, including reviewing performance data and participating in implementation discussions with government agencies, court-appointed monitors, and other stakeholders.
• Serve as an active member of multiple litigation and advocacy teams.
• Perform other duties as organizational needs require.

Supervisory Responsibilities:

Staff Attorneys may from time to time oversee and/or coordinate the work of one or more of the paralegal staff at Children’s Rights or small groups of attorneys from CR or co-counsel.

Experience and Qualifications:

 

• We are seeking an attorney with 2 to 4 years of applicable litigation experience who is highly motivated and passionate about the work we do, interested in further developing litigation skills, including strategy formulation, under high-quality supervision, and in developing professionally to take on increasing leadership roles in complex impact litigation. The ideal experience may include judicial clerkships, law firm or public interest experience.
  
  
• Applicants must possess outstanding research, writing and analytical skills, fluency with litigation and discovery, technological tools and Microsoft Office Suite, sound strategic judgment and emotional intelligence, strong communication/interpersonal skills and ability to develop relationships, a healthy sense of humor, and a passion for social justice and the broader aspects of systemic reform and its policy implications. The successful candidates will be expected to perform at the highest level of practice, and to take advantage of opportunities to further develop professionally.

 

Experience in one or more of the following areas is welcome but not required: complex federal litigation, class action litigation, civil rights litigation, child welfare, juvenile justice, constitutional law, disability rights, immigration, Medicaid, education, LGBTQIA+ rights, or other areas related to Children's Rights' mission.

 

We strongly encourage applications from individuals whose personal, professional, or

community experiences—including direct or lived experience with the public systems our work seeks to improve—bring valuable perspectives to our advocacy.

 

For more information, please visit our website: www.childrensrights.org.

 

Physical and Travel Requirements:
Prolonged periods sitting and/or standing at a desk and working on a computer.  Travel is required.

Salary and Benefits:

The salary range is from $83,100 to $92,500, depending on years out of law school.  Salary ranges reflect New York City-based positions. For attorneys based outside the New York City metropolitan area, compensation is adjusted based on geographic cost of labor and cost-of-living considerations, consistent with Children's Rights' compensation practices. Children’s Rights offers an excellent benefits package, including generous PTO, medical, dental, flex spending accounts, paid parental leave, and retirement plan.

 

Location:  Hybrid work environment, with a two-day per week in the office policy for those living within 25 miles of the office. Children’s Rights is based in New York City.  The ideal candidate will be located in the NYC area.

 

To Apply:

Please save your cover letter of interest and one recent writing sample as one file and upload to the Cover Letter upload field and upload your resume to the Resume upload field via childrensrights.bamboohr.com/jobs by July 24, 2026.  If you have any additional questions regarding this position, you may send an email to [email protected].  Due to the high volume of submissions, only applicants of interest will be contacted.  No phone calls, please.

Children’s Rights is an equal employment opportunity employer, and women, people of color, LGBTQ and gender non-conforming people, people with disabilities, and people with unique lived experience or diverse professional or personal backgrounds and perspectives, are encouraged to apply.