Staff Attorney

CAIR-Chicago is seeking a Staff Attorney to join our Civil Rights Department and help fight against discrimination and hate crimes.

To apply please send a Cover Letter, Writing Samples (limited to 15 pages), and Resume to Deputy Director, Sufyan Sohel at ssohel@cair.com. Please write ‘Staff Attorney” in the Subject heading.  Applications will be accepted on a rolling basis.

Description

CAIR-Chicago is a local office of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR). CAIR is the nation’s largest Muslim civil rights organization and was established to promote an accurate image of Islam and Muslims in America. CAIR-Chicago’s mission is to defend civil rights, fight bigotry, and promote tolerance. The Civil Rights Department counsels, mediates, and advocates on behalf of Muslims and others who have experienced religious discrimination, defamation, or hate crimes. The Department works to protect and defend the constitutional rights of Muslims to freely practice their religion and be treated in a non-discriminatory manner.

The Staff Attorney in CAIR-Chicago’s Civil Rights Department develops strategies for cases reported to the Department, represents complainants who have experienced discrimination, and facilitates resolutions ranging from proactive measures to full litigation of complaints in court. Litigation of CAIR-Chicago’s cases entails filing complaints, engaging in written and oral discovery (occasionally expert discovery), briefing summary judgment motions, and presenting cases at administrative hearings and court trials (including jury trials). The Staff Attorney also assists in the general management and supervision of the Department when necessary, including overseeing interns and externs.

Examples of the matters litigated by CAIR-Chicago include employment discrimination, denials of public accommodations, discrimination against students, mosque zoning disputes, travel ban issues, and delays in immigration benefits for Muslim immigrants.

In addition to pursuing individual complaints of religious discrimination, the Department has implemented several ongoing special projects that target important issues in the diverse Muslim communities:

• Citizenship Delay Project – works to end the lengthy delays in the citizenship process for Muslims applying for U.S. citizenship.

• Asylum Project – seeks to protect refugees from Middle Eastern countries who are unwilling or unable to return to their home country due to past persecution or a well-founded fear of persecution based on race, religion, nationality, membership in a particular social group, or political opinion.

• Employment Discrimination Project – assists Muslims facing religious discrimination in the workplace.

• Travel Free Project – addresses complaints of Muslims encountering problems while traveling.

• Police Misconduct Project – advocates and represents clients in cases of discriminatory treatment by law enforcement.

• FBI Project – assists individuals contacted by FBI agents, fully protecting their constitutional rights when being questioned.

• Prison Project – secures the rights of Muslim inmates to practice their religion freely as well as seeks to ensure that inmates are treated humanely.

The Staff Attorney assists on working with staff members and interns/externs on all of these projects.

Requirements

• At least one year of litigation experience, preferably in Federal Court, and admitted to the Illinois State Bar and the U.S. District Court, Northern District of Illinois.

• Self-motivated, well-organized, and demonstrated ability to multi-task.

• Ability to participate in all stages of complex litigation and to formulate and implement sophisticated legal strategies.

• Excellent writing and analytical skills.

• Ability to work cooperatively on a variety of projects with attorneys, other staff members, and diverse community organizations and coalitions.

• Ability to communicate effectively in legal and non-legal settings with a wide range of individuals and organizations.

• Interest in protecting civil liberties in the United States.

To apply please send a Cover Letter, Writing Samples (limited to 15 pages), and Resume to Deputy Director, Sufyan Sohel at ssohel@cair.com. Please write ‘Staff Attorney” in the Subject heading.  Applications will be accepted on a rolling basis.

For any questions please contact Deputy Director Sufyan Sohel at 312-212-1520 or ssohel@cair.com