American Civil Liberties Union

Career Opportunity
CORPORATE COUNSEL [EXEC-09]
AMERICAN CIVIL LIBERTIES UNION
ACLU In-House Counsel Office, NY

OVERVIEW:
The American Civil Liberties Union (“ACLU”) is a nationwide, nonprofit, nonpartisan organization with more than 500,000 members dedicated to the principles of liberty and equality embodied in the U.S. Constitution. The ACLU invites applications for a mid-level to senior attorney to work with the ACLU's In-House Counsel office. The In-House Counsel’s office is responsible for internal legal matters affecting the ACLU’s national offices, which include over 300 employees, primarily in New York and the District of Columbia but also in California, North Carolina and Georgia. The Corporate Counsel will report to the ACLU’s In-house General Counsel.

POSITION OVERVIEW:
As a member of the In-House Counsel’s office, the Corporate Counsel will handle a broad range of matters including:

• Advise with respect to non-profit legal and compliance issues, including:

  o Tax laws applicable to affiliated Section 501(c)(3) and 501(c)(4) organizations;
  o State law governance matters;
  o Federal and state lobbying and campaign finance laws;
  o State charitable solicitation laws; and
  o Nonprofit best practices.

• Negotiate and draft contracts and other agreements, including leases and agreements with coalition partners, consultants and information technology and other vendors;
• Development of and ensure compliance with organizational policy and practice, including privacy and security matters;
• Work with the Communications Department on intellectual property matters, including licensing, trademark protection, film and other media production and copyright law issues;
• Work with the Development Department on grants, bequests and charitable giving programs;
• Monitor and manage corporate litigation matters; and
• Advise with respect to the ethical and procedural rules impacting or relevant to the legal representation of clients in civil liberties matters.

EXPERIENCE AND QUALIFICATIONS:

• J.D. from an accredited law school and admitted (or willing to be admitted) to practice in New York State.
• At least five years of U.S. law firm practice (or equivalent) in general corporate, tax or transaction areas.
• Strong contract drafting/negotiating skills.
• Exempt organization tax, governance and regulatory law experience strongly preferred.
• Demonstrated commitment to civil liberties and civil rights issues.
• Ability to be self-motivated and to work independently as well as within a team.
• Excellent interpersonal skills, as well as verbal and written communication skills.
• Excellent legal research and organizational skills.
• Ability to handle confidential organizational matters.
• Ability to manage workload and meet deadlines under pressure.

COMPENSATION:
The ACLU offers a generous and comprehensive compensation and benefits package, commensurate with experience and within the parameters of the ACLU compensation scale.

APPLICATION PROCEDURE:
Please send cover letter, resume and writing sample, such as a legal research memo or article by email to hrjobs@aclu.org. Reference [EXEC- 09/ACLU-W] in subject line – or by mail to:

Human Resources
Reference: [EXEC- 09/ACLU-W]
American Civil Liberties Union
125 Broad Street, 18^th Floor
New York, NY 10004

Applications will be accepted until the position is filled, which will not be before July 16, 2009. Please indicate where you learned of this job posting.

The ACLU is an equal opportunity/affirmative action employer and encourages applications from women, people of color, persons with disabilities, and lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender individuals.

The ACLU comprises two separate corporate entities, the American Civil Liberties Union and the ACLU Foundation. Both the American Civil Liberties Union and the ACLU Foundation are national organizations with the same overall mission, and share office space and employees. The ACLU has two separate corporate entities in order to do a broad range of work to protect civil liberties. This job posting refers collectively to the two organizations under the name “ACLU.”