Senior Staff Attorneyor Senior Counsel

TLDEF seeks a Senior Staff Attorney to join its growing Legal Program. The Senior Staff Attorney (or Senior Counsel, depending on experience) will develop and litigate cases designed to defend our communities where it matters most. This position also involves opportunities to participate in other forms of advocacy.

About Us

Founded in 2003, the Transgender Legal Defense & Educational Fund (TLDEF) is a national organization committed to advancing justice and equity for transgender and nonbinary people through impact litigation, direct legal services, advocacy, and public education. TLDEF’s Legal Programs Department currently includes the Impact Litigation Project, Name Change Project, and Trans Health Project. TLDEF has sued counties in New York and Florida for violence against trans people in jails. We’ve won federal lawsuits in Georgia and North Carolina seeking the removal of transgender-related exclusions in employee health care plans. We partner with grassroots leaders and organizations in Texas and other states to push back against the attacks on transgender young people. Last year alone, we assisted over 500 low-income trans people in name changes.

TLDEF has announced a merger with the NCTE and the NCTE Action Fund to form a larger and stronger combined organization, Advocates for Transgender Equality (A4TE) and Advocates for Transgender Equality Education Fund (A4TE Education Fund). Advocates for Trans Equality and Advocates for Trans Equality Education Fund will be incorporated in Washington, DC with offices in DC and New York and employ more than 40 dedicated staff who will share office space and work across the country.

TLDEF is the current hiring entity and the Staff Attorney will continue employment with A4TE and A4TE Education Fund with no disruption to their position or union eligibility as the organization changes its name.

Areas of Responsibility:

Primary Responsibilities

1. Developing legal strategy. Selecting and developing new cases, anticipating and resolving strategic decisions in ongoing cases, participating in long-term planning.
2. Leading and participating in all phases of impact litigation. Pre-litigation administrative advocacy, investigation, pleadings, motion practice, discovery, trials, appeals, settlement negotiations, and mediations.
3. Writing amicus briefs.
4. Training and mentoring staff and recruiting and supervising legal interns.
5. Consulting and collaborating with state and local partners.
6. In collaboration with colleagues in Communications, State Policy, Federal Policy, Public Education, Research, and Mobilization departments, use holistic strategies to achieve the goals of our clients and communities. Drafting know-your-rights materials, participating in coalitions, and participating in events.
7. Serving as a TLDEF spokesperson to both expert and lay audiences as needed by the Strategic Communications and Public Education Departments. Interacting with reporters and journalists and presenting at conferences, CLEs, and other public forums.
8. In collaboration with Litigation and Legal Team colleagues, supporting the work of the team overall. Maintaining detailed case and client records, serving on hiring committees, and thinking proactively about how to improve internal systems, policies, goals, and approaches.
9. In collaboration with all colleagues, helping to make TLDEF’s work equitable, sustainable, and excellent. Participating in planning processes, team building, anti-racist organizational development, documentation and compliance duties, and fundraising.
10. Other duties as assigned.

Educational Background:

Juris Doctorate

Skills/Experience:

Required Qualifications

1. Admitted to practice law in a U.S. jurisdiction.
2. Excellent legal research, writing, and analysis skills.
3. 8 to 12 years of federal civil litigation experience, preferably involving both statutory and constitutional issues at both trial and appellate levels. At least 6 of those years should be after law school and in a U.S. jurisdiction.
4. Experience using litigation as a tool to benefit large numbers of people, advance a cause, support a movement, or change the law.
5. Experience as lead counsel or the only lawyer for your clients.
6. Substantial experience in most of these areas:
   1. Using negotiation or mediation to resolve disputes
   2. Taking and defending depositions
   3. Briefing and arguing motions and appeals
   4. Mentoring junior attorneys and legal workers
   5. Conducting and managing discovery
   6. Leading a team of co-counsel
7. Strong grasp of federal procedure, rules of professional conduct, and at least some of the key causes of action used in trans rights cases, such as Title VII, Title IX, Fair Housing Act, § 1557 of the Affordable Care Act, 42 U.S.C. §1983, the Americans with Disabilities Act, the Fourteenth Amendment, the First Amendment, and the Eighth Amendment.
8. Demonstrated interest in and commitment to issues impacting trans and nonbinary people.
9. Awareness of the current legal and political climate for trans and nonbinary communities.
10. Capacity to think creatively and strategically about how to use litigation and alternative dispute resolution to advance equity for trans and nonbinary communities.
11. Competency at working respectfully and effectively with trans and nonbinary people who are BIPOC, people with disabilities, incarcerated or formerly incarcerated, and low or no income.
12. Strong interpersonal communication skills that enable you to develop positive relationships with clients, pro bono partners, and movement leaders. Commitment to resolve conflict from a place of integrity, humility, and compassion.
13. A keen understanding of power and privilege and a willingness to accept input and feedback, especially from clients, colleagues, community members, and those impacted by TLDEF’s work.
14. Ability to think critically about intersectional and systemic issues, including but not limited to transphobia, sexism, racism, classism, ableism, and xenophobia, and translate those thoughts into action.
15. Ability to set priorities and juggle multiple deadlines.
16. Proficient in Microsoft applications, legal research tools, and Internet research.
17. Ability to occasionally travel in the U.S.

Preferred Qualifications and Skills

1. Litigation experience in trans rights, civil rights, civil liberties, discrimination, police misconduct, prisoners’ rights, healthcare access, voting rights, environmental justice, reproductive rights, disability rights, or LGBTQI+ rights.
2. Trial advocacy experience.
3. Experience communicating about trans and nonbinary communities and issues to diverse audiences.
4. Experience collaborating with community-based organizations and/or litigating or providing services in the U.S. South or Midwest.
5. Fluency or proficiency in one or more languages in addition to English.
6. Proficiency with case management and discovery software.
7. Experience working with medical experts or reviewing medical literature or records.

Compensation

TLDEF is a unionized office and this position will be part of the bargaining unit; salary range is dependent on years worked post-law school and subject to our collectively-bargained salary scale. TLDEF offers a robust benefits package that includes 100% employer-paid medical, vision, dental, and life insurance; employer contributions to spousal and dependent healthcare; employer contributions to 401(k) retirement plan; monthly remote work stipends; access to gender-affirming healthcare pool; name change support; and generous holidays, sick, and vacation time.

For detailed information about our salary philosophy, offered benefits, and the terms of collective bargaining agreement, please visit our website.

TLDEF is an equal opportunity employer. Black people, Indigenous people, people of color (BIPOC); lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, and intersex people; women; immigrants; people with disabilities, including those living with HIV; formerly incarcerated people; and people with lived experiences of poverty are all strongly encouraged to apply.

Application Requirements
Only applications that are submitted through BambooHR will be considered. Please include the following:

1. A resume or C.V.;
2. A cover letter explaining why you are interested in working at TLDEF and what from your past work, volunteer, or lived experience makes you a good fit for this role;
3. Two legal writing samples. At least one writing sample should demonstrate your ability to research and analyze law in the context of litigation (e.g., a memo or brief of which you are the exclusive or primary author). If it doesn’t cite law or doesn’t apply law to facts, it’s not a great sample. The other can be any of your own law-related writing that shows relevant skills (memo, brief, demand letter, know-your-rights publication, law review article, pleading, public comment, etc.) Neither writing sample should exceed 5,000 words; excerpts okay.

Submissions without all required materials will not be considered.

Advocates for Trans Equality fights for the legal and political rights of transgender people in America. Leveraging decades of experience on the frontlines of power, we shift government and society towards a future where we are no less than equal.

Programs:

A4TE was founded in 2024 as the National Center for Transgender Equality (NCTE) and Transgender Legal Defense and Education Fund (TLDEF), two long-time champions for the trans community, merged together as one organization. A4TE builds on their successes to boldly imagine a world where trans people live our lives joyfully and without barriers.

Our policy experts, litigators, and community organizers work at all levels of government to ensure trans voices are not only heard, but embraced in rooms where they've long been ignored. As a trans-led nonprofit, we also help our community navigate the realities of law and policy through vital tools, knowledge, and services.