Senior Staff Attorney – Economic Justice (Dignity for All)

The ACLU Foundation of Southern California (ACLU SoCal) seeks a Senior Staff Attorney or experienced Staff Attorney to work on the Economic Justice Project's Dignity for All Project to build and lead litigation, legal, and policy advocacy needed to end homelessness, protect the rights and human dignity of people who are unhoused, and advance housing justice in Southern California communities and beyond. The attorney will also provide technical assistance to impacted individuals and community groups, develop advocacy strategies, and equip community members and ACLU supporters with knowledge and narrative change tools to build power and advance the affirmative right to housing.

California is ground-zero for the nation's homelessness crisis. With over 150,000 of its residents experiencing homelessness, the state is by far the largest contributor to the increase in homelessness across the nation. The Attorney position provides a unique and exciting opportunity to make a real impact on the many facets of this crisis. The attorney will develop and litigate state and federal cases; create, implement, and participate in campaigns that protect and expand the civil and human rights of people experiencing homelessness and advance the human right to housing and basic human needs; engage in public education; and provide technical assistance on housing justice issues to coalitions, community partners, government officials, and government bodies.

While the position is based in Orange County, the attorney will advocate on the full range of homelessness justice issues on which the ACLU SoCal engages locally and statewide. Litigation, advocacy, and public education campaigns might include: protecting unhoused people's rights to exist; defending and expanding the rights of people who are unhoused; holding government accountable for the provision of their basic human needs and well-being; addressing the criminalization of poverty and homelessness with humane and effective policies that prioritize housing and healthcare access, including challenging the unconstitutional municipal policies and laws that obstruct unhoused individuals' paths to achieving economic security and stable housing; helping to lead statewide work to advance the affirmative right to housing through litigation and/or policy advocacy; and shifting attitudes and the dominant narrative regarding people experiencing homelessness, centering and lifting up the voices of people impacted by homelessness and unaffordable housing, to educate our community and advance a "Housing First" policy solution. The attorney will also work on other economic justice team priorities, as needed.