Note: We are currently hiring for two separate counsel profiles. This role is for mid-career candidates with 5-10 years of professional legal experience. Please apply only to the position that best reflects your years and depth of experience.
Protect Democracy seeks a highly motivated lawyer with significant legal experience to join our team as counsel. Our organization is focused on protecting the integrity of the electoral process, including protecting electoral infrastructure and processes from interference in the 2026 elections and again in 2028. With the Trump administration turning the full power of the federal government against our own elections, protecting free and fair elections has taken on historic urgency.
In this role, you will develop and drive legal strategies that advance our mission of preventing our democracy from declining toward a more authoritarian form of government. From idea generation through all stages of planning and execution, counsel work on creative impact litigation and other projects that integrate legal, policy, and communications strategies. Counsel also have opportunities to draw on our expert and advisory networks for guidance and support and to supervise and mentor law students.
The ideal candidate brings five to ten years of experience as an attorney (which may include judicial clerkships) along with exceptional legal, analytical, and communications skills applicable to a range of advocacy strategies, including impact litigation, policy and legislative advocacy, coalition building, and strategic communications; entrepreneurial legal instincts and an ability to generate impactful ideas; demonstrated interest in reasoning through novel or complex problems and developing judgment on identifying workable solutions; and the potential for developing strong external relationship skills. We anticipate that the incoming counsel will be initially assigned significant responsibilities in impact litigation to counter federal interference in the midterm elections, and other forms of election subversion, though assignments may shift over time as the mission demands
Candidates must be committed to our mission and passionate about democratic norms. We strongly encourage applicants from diverse backgrounds and from across the political and ideological spectrum. A commitment to our mission and cross-ideological strategy for defending our democracy is essential. The priority application deadline for this role is May 14, 2026. You can work remotely from any location in the United States.* (See details in “Flexible Location” section below.)
At Protect Democracy, we believe that diversity isn’t just a strength — it’s a necessity for tackling the complex challenges facing democracy. A broad range of backgrounds, perspectives, and lived experiences strengthen our ability to analyze problems, craft solutions, and drive meaningful change. We strongly encourage candidates from diverse backgrounds and from across the political and ideological spectrum to apply. If you meet most but not all of the criteria listed below but believe nonetheless you’d be a stellar match for the role and could grow into it, we want to hear from you.
As counsel, you will:
Research and devise innovative legal arguments and potential litigation approaches, managing case or project teams as needed
Recruit and retain clients and plaintiffs engage with outside counsel, co-counsel, and opposition counsel; and represent Protect Democracy in non-litigation external settings (such as coalitions);
Help build our expertise as thought leaders on legal issues within the scope of our mission;
Participate in and manage discovery processes, including informal fact-finding and evidence gathering, document review, witness interviews, written discovery practice, depositions, and expert discovery;
Develop, influence, and drive complex strategies for litigation, policy reform, and other integrated advocacy projects consistent with our mission;
Research, draft, and edit pleadings, motions, and other briefs filed in impact litigation;
Work with the communications team to deliver comms-based strategies to build support for legal theories of change (i.e. including legal memos, primers, editorials, and op-eds);
In coordination with policy advocates, contribute to creative policy solutions and campaigns, working with legislators, agencies, experts, and coalitions to advance them;Contribute to culture-building initiatives across the organization.