Staff Attorney

Knight First Amendment Institute at Columbia University
Published
December 8, 2016
Location
New York City, New York, United States
Category
Job Type

Description

The newly established Knight First Amendment Institute at Columbia University will work to preserve and expand the freedoms of speech and the press in the digital age through strategic litigation, research, and public education. Columbia University and the Knight Foundation have committed $60 million to the Institute in endowment and operational funds.

Reporting to the Institute's Director and Senior Staff Attorney, the Staff Attorney will help conceive of and develop the Institute's litigation docket, including by researching legal and factual questions, drafting research memos, working with clients and witnesses, drafting legal papers, and presenting oral argument. The Staff Attorney will also contribute to the Institute's strategic planning, help develop and administer the Institute's research and public education programs, speak on behalf of the Institute to professional and academic audiences, and represent the Institute in the media. The Staff Attorney will have significant experience litigating cases involving the freedoms of speech and the press, government transparency, and new technology. The Staff Attorney must also have the judgment, initiative, creativity, flexibility, energy, and diplomatic skills required to help launch a high-profile and multi-faceted initiative at one of the world's leading universities and to help ensure that the Institute operates efficiently and the highest level of professionalism.

Responsibilities:

1. Help conceive of and develop the Institute's litigation docket, including by identifying cases and issues that warrant the Institute's attention, researching legal and factual questions, drafting research memos, working with clients and witnesses, drafting legal papers, and presenting oral argument.

2. Assist the Director and other staff of the Institute in setting the Institute's strategic direction, including by helping the Director determine the Institute's substantive priorities and design and implement the Institute's research and public education programs.

3. Speak on behalf of the Institute to professional and academic audiences; write in a variety of formats (including in blog posts, op-eds, white papers) for both legal and non-legal audiences about issues relating to the Institute's work; and represent the Institute in the media.

4. Supervise legal fellows and interns.

5. Cultivate and manage relationships with the Institute's partners inside and outside the Columbia University community.

6. Travel as required for litigation, conferences, and client development.  

The Staff Attorney must have a J.D. , be admitted to the New York bar (or be in a position to gain admission to the New York bar quickly), and have at least three years of relevant experience as a lawyer, including experience in cases involving the freedoms of speech and the press, government transparency, and new technology. The successful candidate will have excellent communication skills, both oral and written; excellent analytical skills; the ability to work calmly and efficiently under pressure; and the temperament and skills necessary to supervise other lawyers.  

Preference will be given to candidates who have experience dealing with the media; to candidates who have experience presenting oral argument; to candidates who have experience supervising other lawyers; and to candidates who have strong relationships with organizations that the Institute is likely to partner with (media organizations, technology companies, and civil liberties organizations will be given preference).  

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