Staff Attorney
About the National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation
The National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation is a nonprofit, charitable organization whose mission is to eliminate compulsory unionism abuses through strategic litigation and public information programs.
The Right to Work principle affirms the right of every American to earn a living without being forced to belong to a union. Despite this principle, millions of workers are compelled to associate with unions to keep their jobs.
Since 1968, the Foundation has provided free legal aid to individual workers to enforce and expand their rights against compulsory unionism. To this end, Foundation attorneys have long been at the forefront of litigating key cases involving the First Amendment, labor law, administrative law, and religious liberties. This includes litigating nearly every major Supreme Court case on compulsory unionism.
Position Overview
Foundation staff attorneys represent individual workers in cases against governments, unions, and employers that concern compulsory unionism. The role primarily involves acting as a litigator in federal courts and before administrative agencies like the National Labor Relations Board and Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. The practice areas of Foundation attorneys include, but are not limited to, labor law, administrative law, constitutional law, and religious liberty law.
Given the Foundation’s mission to expand workers’ rights to not associate with unions, Foundation staff attorneys are expected to be innovative in crafting legal theories and advancing cutting edge cases for workers. While the Foundation’s legal staff of over 15 attorneys and considerable institutional knowledge provides a robust network of support to each staff attorney, the role is best suited to self-motivated attorneys who can independently manage the responsibility of acting as legal counsel in litigation.
The Attorney will be based out of the Foundation’s office in Springfield, Virginia, which is in the Washington D.C. metro area. This is a full-time, in-person position; remote work is not offered.
Qualifications
- Experience: The right candidate is likely an attorney with several years’ experience as a litigator. Experience with labor law is a strong plus. At a minimum, an applicant must be a bar-licensed attorney with at least one year of experience as an attorney or as a clerk at a federal or state court.
- Skills: Excellent writing ability is a must.
- Alignment: Support for the Right to Work principle that workers should be able to earn a living without being forced to associate with a union.
How to Apply
To apply, qualified individuals should submit a cover letter, resume, and legal writing sample to Legal Director William Messenger at legal@nrtw.org.
There is no application deadline for this position. Applications are accepted on a rolling basis.
