Legal Assistant, Affirmative Litigation - Everytown for Gun Safety

EVERYTOWN LAW seeks a talented and creative Legal Assistant or Paralegal for our Affirmative Litigation Team, with an immediate start date. This position can be based out of New York City or Washington D.C.

OUR MISSION AND PRACTICE

Everytown Law is part of Everytown for Gun Safety Support Fund, the education, research, and litigation arm of the nation's leading gun violence prevention organization. We are the largest and most experienced team of impact litigators in the country dedicated to advocating in the courts for gun violence prevention—one of the most pressing issues of our time. We believe every person has the right to live free from gun violence, and it's our mission to make this belief a reality. Everytown Law's clients include students, parents, civil rights organizations, elected officials, domestic violence coalitions, and state and local governments. You can learn about our team and its work at https://everytownlaw.org/.

Everytown Law engages in two primary areas of litigation:

1. Affirmative litigation to seek accountability and reform of the gun industry's dangerous business practices, take on dangerous gun lobby-backed laws that conflict with constitutional protections, and enforce gun violence prevention laws.
2. Defense of common-sense, life-saving gun laws against Second Amendment challenges in the wake of the Supreme Court's decisions in NYSRPA v. Bruen and United States v. Rahimi, under the umbrella of Everytown Center for the Defense of Gun Safety.

We are looking for a Legal Assistant who wants to join our Affirmative Litigation Team. Every day, we take on bad actors in the gun industry in federal and state courts across the country. We represent survivors and families impacted by gun violence, including mass shootings and daily gun violence, and prioritize lawsuits aimed at stemming the flow of illegal weapons into cities where Black and Brown communities too often bear the brunt of the gun violence epidemic. We also represent state and local governments in their efforts to hold members of the gun industry accountable for violating laws and putting profits over community safety – whether it's a lawsuit against a manufacturer for selling and marketing easily modifiable pistols that endanger public safety or against gun stores alleged to have facilitated straw purchasing that leads to illegal guns flooding communities. We also work to seek justice and accountability for gun violence survivors and to stop legislatures from silencing the voices of minority community members.

RESPONSIBILITIES

• Assisting Everytown Law attorneys and case teams in all areas of litigation, including case management, proofreading briefs, preparing documents, filing, preparing binders, drafting form documents, and tracking dockets and cases
• Providing administrative assistance, including scheduling, printing, note-taking, expense reporting/tracking, arranging travel, electronic document management and organization, mailing, client intake tracking and contact, assisting with the hiring and onboarding of interns and attorneys, and assisting with event planning (such as retreats, CLE programs, conferences and webinars)
• Updating our website
• Coordinating with other Everytown departments, as well as external partners and clients
• Conducting research

QUALIFICATIONS

• Bachelor's degree
• Prior relevant work experience a plus
• A commitment to Everytown's mission to end gun violence
• Excellent research, writing, and editing skills
• Strong interpersonal skills and the ability to effectively collaborate with team members
• Ability to manage multiple projects in a fast-moving environment and deliver timely and high-quality work
• A commitment to social justice
• While employment in this position is at-will, we are looking for candidates interested in working at Everytown for at least two years
• Experience working with marginalized communities and survivors of trauma a plus
• Must feel comfortable calling government offices, including courts and police departments
• Outstanding organization, attention to detail, persistence, and ability to follow up
• Strong work ethic, sense of humor, flexibility, creativity, and a professional demeanor
• Ability to work on a hybrid schedule in both an open office as well as from home/remotely

This is a full-time position that can be based in either New York City or Washington, D.C. Currently our team operates on a hybrid work schedule, where we come into the office for 3 days and work remotely for 2 days out of the week.

The starting salary for this position is $56,000-$60,000 per year depending on experience. Everytown offers a generous benefits package including medical, dental, and vision (covered by Everytown with a nominal contribution from the employee), PTO, 401(k) match, education assistance, and more. 

OUR CULTURE

Our team culture values kindness, positive interpersonal skills, collaboration, communication, feedback, professionalism, social consciousness, a continuous-learning mindset, a strong work ethic, readiness to take action, balance, and self-care. Our team provides a supportive environment for its members.

HIRING PROCESS

• Candidates must submit a resume and cover letter to apply. Please specify in your cover letter that you are applying for the Legal Assistant position on the Affirmative Litigation team. Additionally, please state your preference, if any, for New York City or Washington, D.C.
• Resumes will be reviewed and candidates will be contacted on a rolling basis.
• Upon receiving an interview request, candidates should prepare to submit a transcript and three references. Candidates will also be required to complete a proofreading/editing exercise as part of the interview process.
• As part of our standard hiring process, employment with Everytown Law will be contingent upon successful completion of a background check.

DIVERSE WORKFORCE AND OPEN CULTURE

Candidates who identify as members of historically underrepresented groups are highly encouraged to apply to Everytown. A diverse workforce and open culture are at the heart of our organization and vital to our success.

Everytown for Gun Safety Support Fund provides equal employment opportunities (EEO) to all employees and applicants for employment without regard to race, color, religion, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, national origin, age, disability, genetic information, marital status, amnesty, or status as a covered veteran in accordance with applicable federal, state and local laws.

ABOUT EVERYTOWN FOR GUN SAFETY SUPPORT FUND

Everytown for Gun Safety Support Fund (the "Everytown Support Fund") is the education, research and litigation arm of Everytown for Gun Safety, the largest gun violence prevention organization in the country with nearly six million supporters. The Everytown Support Fund seeks to improve our understanding of the causes of gun violence and help to reduce it by conducting groundbreaking original research, developing evidence-based policies, communicating this knowledge to the American public, and advancing gun safety and gun violence prevention in communities and the courts. Learn more at  www.everytownsupportfund.org.