Description

Protect Democracy seeks several experienced, mission-driven Paralegal & Litigation Specialists. For these particular roles, we are only considering candidates with three or more years of federal filing experience in civil litigation.

By joining  Protect Democracy as a Paralegal & Litigation Specialist, you’ll support multi-faceted litigation and legal advocacy projects focused on preventing authoritarianism, including work aimed at:

• Pushing back against unlawful executive actions and egregious administrative overreach;
• Defending advocates, journalists, and institutions from government censorship or unlawful discrimination; and/or
• Challenging illegal voter purges, voter intimidation by law enforcement, and unauthorized compilation of voter data.
• This is an excellent opportunity for an experienced paralegal who wishes to hone their skills in all stages of impact litigation, case management, writing and research, and communications—over time, developing expertise in one or more area(s) of our legal work.

An ideal candidate for this role brings a flexible, action-oriented mindset; excellent writing, research, and communication skills with a keen eye for detail; and a collaborative, team-oriented approach. We strongly encourage candidates from diverse backgrounds and from across the political and ideological spectrum to apply. A commitment to our mission and cross-ideological strategy for defending our democracy is essential.

The priority deadline to apply for this role is October 15, 2026; we will review applications received after that date on a rolling basis. 

You can work remotely from nearly any location in the United States*; travel is required and may, at times, be for extended periods.

As Paralegal & Litigation Specialist, your responsibilities are to:

Support litigation by:

• Managing and organizing case files and documents,
• Preparing and finalizing legal memos and pleadings,
• Coordinating court filings, and
• Help lead the discovery process;
• Conduct research, synthesize findings, and draft related memoranda, reports, and other communications;
• Cite-check and Bluebook, fact-check, proofread, and assist with drafting court filings, letters, and other public-facing documents;
• Engage professionally with clients, opposing counsel, partner organizations, and other external stakeholders;
• Draft external-facing communications materials, including press releases, social media, talking points, outreach emails, op-eds, and blog posts;
• Coordinate logistics for calls, including creating agendas, and drafting internal-facing communications (i.e. emails, presentations);
• Project manage components of litigation projects, including developing work plans, tracking and communicating progress toward goals, and offeringand soliciting feedback along the way;
• Maintain and, at times, create information management systems, processes, and tools within and amongst impact teams;
• Strategize with other team members—actively contribute ideas during impact and litigation project brainstorming sessions and propose projects to advance Protect Democracy’s mission;
• Contribute to culture-building initiatives across the organization.

Job requirements
The ideal candidate brings:

A minimum of three years of filing experience in civil litigation, including familiarity with:

• Supporting litigation through preparing, finalizing, and filing pleadings in court, cite checking and Bluebooking documents, drafting discovery materials and correspondence; and preparing administrative documents like pro hac vice applications;
• Navigating federal rules of civil procedure and state/local court rules; 
• ase management/litigation administration (including managing large quantities of documents and case file and folder organization);
• Strong writing, researching, editing, and proofreading skills;
• Experience project managing, ideally in a legal context;
• Excellent interpersonal and communication skills;
• Comfort giving feedback and managing “up, down, and sideways”;
• Nimbleness and an ability to perform well in a rapid-paced environment;
• Eagerness to learn new research, communications, legal and policy skills and processes;
• Ability to foster collaborative relationships and work in a team environment with people with diverse backgrounds, experiences, and perspectives;
• Rigorous attention to detail and the highest standards for excellence in execution;
• Ability to track, prioritize, and balance a diverse set of responsibilities;
• A passionate commitment to the preservation of democratic norms and institutions, and an understanding that our democracy has never fully represented communities of color.

Preferred, but not required:

• Paralegal certification;
• Experience with Filevine;
• Experience with e-Discovery systems (i.e. Everlaw, Relativity).
   

Compensation

• This position is FLSA Non-Exempt and eligible for overtime pay. The starting salary range for this role is $84,300 - $99,200 commensurate with the candidate’s relevant experience, capabilities, and skills, and in alignment with internal equity. 

Requirements

Job requirements
The ideal candidate brings:

A minimum of three years of filing experience in civil litigation, including familiarity with:

• Supporting litigation through preparing, finalizing, and filing pleadings in court, cite checking and Bluebooking documents, drafting discovery materials and correspondence; and preparing administrative documents like pro hac vice applications;
• Navigating federal rules of civil procedure and state/local court rules;
• Case management/litigation administration (including managing large quantities of documents and case file and folder organization);
• Strong writing, researching, editing, and proofreading skills;
• Experience project managing, ideally in a legal context;
• Excellent interpersonal and communication skills;
• Comfort giving feedback and managing “up, down, and sideways”;
• Nimbleness and an ability to perform well in a rapid-paced environment;
• Eagerness to learn new research, communications, legal and policy skills and processes;
• Ability to foster collaborative relationships and work in a team environment with people with diverse backgrounds, experiences, and perspectives;
• Rigorous attention to detail and the highest standards for excellence in execution;
• Ability to track, prioritize, and balance a diverse set of responsibilities;
• A passionate commitment to the preservation of democratic norms and institutions, and an understanding that our democracy has never fully represented communities of color.