Reports to: Director of Legal Services
Salary: $76,000 annual
Benefits: paid medical, vision, and dental insurance; 13 paid holidays, including 3 floating holidays; paid
office closures the week of the 4th of July and between December 24th and January 1st; 12 vacation
days and 12 Sick and Safe Time days in the first year of employment; access to a 401K retirement plan
(no employer match) and free personalized retirement planning advisors; monthly stipends for remote
work and personal phone expenses; paid professional development expenses, CLE trainings, and
Washington State bar licensing fees.
Start Date: January or February 2022
Hours: Full time (40 hours/week), exempt position. The position will staff monthly virtual (and possibly
in-person in the future) evening events such as our nonprofit clinic.
Location: Due to the pandemic, Communities Rise (CR) staff have been working from home. Once it is
safe to reopen the offices, this position may still do some work from home but will require some physical
presence at the office, as well as an ability to attend required meetings at the office and in the
community.
About Communities Rise
Communities Rise’s mission is to support movements to build power in communities impacted by
systemic oppression. We foster cross-sector collaboration, and provide capacity building and legal
services for community organizations and small businesses. Before we were Communities Rise we were
two organizations working in collaboration that decided to merge, Wayfind and the Nonprofit Assistance
Center (NAC). Wayfind provided the legal services while NAC focused on capacity building. Fast forward
two years through a global pandemic, and we are still learning what it means to be a fully merged
organization. The pandemic has created opportunities for us to get creative with our strategic planning
process and as an organization decide how we are going to participate in rebuilding the world we would
like to leave for future generations.
About the Legal Team
The Legal Team is diverse and is made up of these current roles: Client Services Coordinator, Attorney -
Small Business Lead, Assistant Director of Learning and Engagement, and Director of Legal Services. After two of the most significant years in recent times that we have experienced, we are revisiting our goals and deciding what steps to take to move them forward. We feel the pandemic has called for a new way of being in the world and moving forward we seek someone who is willing and able to join us on this evolving journey. The Legal Team is invested in evolving a collaborative and transparent non-hierarchical structure that allows for the wellness of its individuals in a way that is sustainable for all.
What we value
● Openness, flexibility, and commitment to collaboration and shared leadership.
● Comfort working with a diversity of groups and interests.
● Inclusivity and relationship-focused leadership.
● Recurring and frequent feedback provided amongst all team members.
Summary of Position
CR is searching for a full time attorney to join our Legal Team. This position is well suited for someone
who is community-minded, committed to racial equity and self-reflection and shares experiences similar
to the communities we serve. We are seeking someone dedicated to helping us navigate the harms of
the nonprofit industrial complex while working in collaboration with community organizations to assist
them in reaching their legal goals. This position is best suited for those who are committed to unraveling
the status quo in collaboration with others.
Position Responsibilities
Legal Support for Nonprofits (legal work, relationship-building, administrative tasks)
● Provide direct legal assistance (consultations and direct representation) to nonprofits and
potentially, small businesses.
● Collaborate with the Legal Team on client intake and engage in issue-spotting.
● Review and approve legal applications for services.
● Coordinate legal work under potential government contracts via a relationship-centering
framework.
● Coordinate monthly nonprofit legal clinics and phone consultations.
● Build relationships with volunteer attorneys.
● Work collaboratively on placing direct representation matters with volunteer attorneys.
● Data collection for grant and contract reporting.
Community Education & Legal Trainings (legal-related work, trainings, outreach)
● Use strong and authentic relationship-building skills to engage meaningfully with
community-based organizations.
● Participate in our ongoing work to advance our commitment to racial equity.
● Assist designing and presenting at community education trainings, CLEs & workshops.
● Assist with developing content for community education resources & templates.
● Join and present about our work at community meetings and conferences.
Program Development & Strategic Planning (organizational development)
● Actively participate in program development and strategic planning processes.
● Assist with reimagining and running our attorney mentorship Nonprofit Advocates Program.
Miscellaneous
● Assist with communications, fundraising, and administrative work.
● Other responsibilities as assigned.
What we’re looking for
● JD or equivalent and Washington State Bar Membership.
● Two or more years of experience in business transactional law, or academic equivalent.
● Experience in at least one of the following areas of law preferred: nonprofit or employment law.
● Strong communication, critical thinking and problem-solving skills.
● Ability to collaborate and work in partnership to improve processes and effectiveness of
programs.
● Interest in advocacy work and alternative community organization structures.
● Demonstrated ability to work collaboratively in a multidisciplinary team.
● Commitment to centering our work around communities of color and communities impacted by
structural oppression.
● Proficiency in Microsoft Office Suite and Google Drive. Preferred: experience with Salesforce,
Mailchimp, and WordPress.
● We seek a mix of both developing and more experienced candidates. All interested applicants
who meet the qualifications are encouraged to apply.
● Preferred: bilingual working knowledge of Spanish, Mandarin, Somali, Vietnamese or another
widely used language in Washington State.
To apply
The priority deadline is January 3, 2021. To apply, email your resume, references, and 2-3 paragraphs in
the body of your email telling us why you are interested in joining our team, about your experience in
community, why this work is important to you, and where you learned about the position to
jobs@communities-rise.org.
Timeline
We will review applications on a rolling basis and the priority deadline is January 3, 2021. On a rolling
basis, we will hold first screening interviews of selected candidates by telephone for about 20-30
minutes. There will be a second round of Zoom interviews with final candidates mid- to late-January.
We will be checking references of final candidates prior to the second interview. We would like the
position’s start date to be early-February 2022.
Communities Rise is an Equal Opportunity Employer and welcomes and encourages people from
communities of color, people with disabilities, indigenous, refugee, immigrant, working class, and/or
LGBTQ communities to apply for this position. Communities Rise will provide, excepting any undue
hardship, reasonable accommodations for candidates taking part in all aspects of the hiring process.