The Litigation Team

NCYL’s Legal Advocacy team engages in impact litigation across all the issues on which NCYL works, including civil rights, youth justice, ensuring equitable education, youth healthcare access, prevention of harms from the family regulation system, access to core public benefits, among other priority areas. The team brings systemic litigation in federal and state courts to reform systems that serve children and youth, often in collaboration with other public interest legal organizations and with support from pro bono law firm partners. A description of our current cases can be found here: https://youthlaw.org/legal-advocacy-impact-litigation.

The Position

The Senior Directing Attorney independently leads and directs the development and execution of complex litigation, from identifying strategic legal opportunities to managing investigations, filings, discovery, negotiations, trials, appeals, and public communications. The role includes strategic case generation, overseeing remedy implementation, supervising legal staff, coordinating with co-counsel, and handling case budgeting and fee recovery. The position also requires identification and promotion of litigation strategy aligned with NCYL’s mission and participation in fundraising, media engagement, and external representation of NCYL. NCYL is actively investigating matters to ensure access to essential public benefits and to defend the civil rights of LGBTQ+ youth and seeks a Senior Directing Attorney who can effectively lead these matters and strategy around other litigation development. The role will report to the co-directors of litigation.

Essential Functions

• Partner with NCYL Co-Directors of Litigation and other NCYL staff to develop litigation strategy aligned with NCYL's mission and strategic plan to promote and defend youth rights.
• Generate new litigation opportunities challenging emerging harms to children and youth including but not limited to: litigation to ensure that children and families maintain access to essential public benefits; and/or litigation on behalf of LGBTQ+ youth.
• Lead all aspects of complex litigation, representing plaintiffs and clients across multiple jurisdictions, including staffing plans; fact investigation; legal research; client engagement; drafting and filing pleadings, motions, memoranda, and briefs; written and oral discovery; expert retention and development; negotiating with opposing counsel; settlement negotiation and drafting; narrative development; court appearances and oral arguments; trial and appellate work; and media work.
• Lead all aspects of remedy and settlement implementation in litigation such as tracking compliance, communicating with clients and monitors, negotiating with opposing counsel and filing related motions and declarations.
• Manage case budgets, including litigation cost and fee recovery.
• Manage all aspects of relationships with external litigation partners including recruiting co-counsel and pro bono counsel; negotiating co-counsel and retainer agreements; leading legal practice oversight for cases; supervising staff from co-counsel firms on case-related responsibilities as appropriate.
• Represent NCYL's litigation externally in a variety of forums, including at national conferences and with media outlets; support development of strategic and effective communications to further NCYL’s goals.
• Participates in fundraising and development efforts to support NCYL's litigation.
• Supervise NCYL staff, including directing attorneys, senior attorneys, staff attorneys, paralegals, fellows, and law clerks, including assigning and directing work, and using independent judgment.
• Assist with other duties as assigned.

Required Qualifications

• Minimum of a degree in law (JD).
• Member in good standing of the bar of at least one state. 
• A minimum of 16 years of relevant experience since law school graduation, including demonstrated success in leading relevant impact litigation from inception to reform implementation.

Other Qualifications

• Demonstrated expertise in impact litigation involving children’s civil rights and public systems affecting children and youth, with a preference for expertise in litigation to ensure access to public benefits or litigation on behalf of LGBTQ+ youth.
• Demonstrated ability to apply legal knowledge to complex situations and achieve systemic reform.
• Strong leadership, organizational and project management skills for complex projects, including prioritizing and delegating tasks, organizing and tracking information, interfacing with team members of different levels about tasks, and holding responsibility for team decisions.
• Experience and ability to supervise, lead and mentor staff, including assigning work, and evaluating performance. 
• Demonstrated understanding of the role of structural racism and bias in public systems.
• Deep subject matter expertise in at least one of NCYL’s issue areas and understanding of intersectionality between NCYL’s issues areas. 
• Demonstrated generation and leadership of complex civil litigation on behalf of youth with significant impact in multiple jurisdictions/forums. 
• Experience building rapport and respect with diverse youth and their families.
• Excellent research, writing, and analytical and creative problem-solving skills, including drafting complex motions and briefs.
• Strong, clear, and persuasive oral communication skills.
• Organized, self-motivated, and detail-oriented.
• Ability to work both independently and collaboratively as part of a team.
• Ability to coordinate litigation development with other advocacy strategies.
• Ability to collaborate with other NCYL staff to ensure our litigation is informed by and advancing organizational goals.
• Ability to manage, deepen, and broaden NCYL’s relationships with external partners.
• Ability to develop new legal theories or extend existing precedent to new issues.  
• Strong commitment to equity, diversity, and inclusion, with the ability to apply a racial and social justice lens to advocacy while centering on the marginalized voices of children, youth, and their families.
• Commitment to NCYL’s mission and goals.
• In addition to English, oral and written fluency in another language (e.g., Spanish, Hmong, Arabic, Somali) is preferred.

Physical Requirements 

Prolonged periods of sitting at a desk and working on a computer. Some travel will be required.

Salary, Benefits and Location

This is a full-time, exempt position with a competitive hiring range of $151,500.00 to $179,400.00 annually. Once an offer is made, the salary is not open to negotiation.

A geographic salary differential may be applied if the candidate resides somewhere other than the Oakland, CA, Los Angeles, CA, Boston, MA, New York City, Washington, DC or equivalent metro areas. This means that the salary would be reduced if the candidate resides in an area where the cost of labor is less than that of the San Francisco Bay Area.

NCYL provides a robust benefits package including health, dental, vision, life, generous vacation and sick benefits, flexible spending account, commuter benefits, employer contribution to a retirement plan and short-term and long-term disability insurance.

NCYL is registered to do business in the following locations: California, Colorado, Illinois, Massachusetts, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, Texas, Virginia, Washington, Washington DC, and Wisconsin. If a candidate is hired but lives in a location where NCYL is not currently registered to do business, their start date may need to be delayed until registration can be completed in the new state. This process may take a few weeks to complete. 

All positions at NCYL are at-will and paid for by grants and donations, thus employment with NCYL will be contingent upon continued receipt of funding. Nothing in this posting changes the at-will employment relationship.

How to Apply 

Please submit the following:

• cover letter 
• resume, and  
• litigation-based writing sample (click on “Upload Additional Files” to submit) 

Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis, but preference will be given to those submitted by Friday, Nov. 20, 2026. 

We do not use AI to auto-reject resumes. A human is always involved in decision-making. We ask that candidates submit original, personally-written resumes, cover letters and writings samples.

Please, no emails or calls.

If you are selected to move forward, you will be contacted for an initial phone screening.

We welcome applications from individuals with different ideas, experiences, and perspectives.

It is the policy of NCYL to provide equal employment opportunities to all Applicants (including Employees) regardless of race, ethnicity, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, pregnancy, reproductive health decision-making, breastfeeding, national origin, age, abilities/disabilities, neurotypicality, socioeconomic status, veteran status, marital status, prior convictions, or any other protected classifications under federal, state, or local law. NCYL makes all employment decisions based on job-related factors.