Company Name
The Forefront Project
Company City
Company State
Job Location
Remote (within United States)
Company Information
The Forefront Project, a charitable project of the Hopewell Fund, provides essential pro bono legal services to nonprofit organizations advancing and defending reproductive rights, health, and justice (RRHJ). From 17 clients in its first year to well over 100 in 2024, Forefront has had the honor of supporting a growing network of advocacy, education, and policy organizations, clinics, abortion funds, and state and regional coalitions. These organizations are at the forefront of the RRHJ movement to ensure access to reproductive healthcare and uphold the rights of individuals to make decisions about their bodies, reproductive health, and family life.
At this critical time, as The Forefront Project is providing essential legal advice and representation to a large and growing number of RRHJ organizations across the country, they are now seeking nominations and applications for a Senior Staff Attorney who brings strong experience advising nonprofit organizations. This Senior Staff Attorney will have the opportunity to increase the capacity of the team’s important work, run point on critical matters with RRHJ organizations, and strengthen the nonprofit law practice The Forefront Project’s team has been building over the past four and a half years.
They will report up to the Executive Director, and they can be based anywhere within the United States.
ORGANIZATIONAL OVERVIEW
The Forefront Project’s mission is to guide, defend, and strengthen the capacity of reproductive rights, health, and justice organizations to promote laws and policies that empower people to have control over their bodies and make decisions on whether or not to have children; access affordable health care, including birth control, abortion, and maternal health services; and parent children in safe, sustainable communities with quality affordable childcare, free of environmental hazards. Among other things, they help organizations craft effective and compliant advocacy campaigns, communications, and events; track and report lobbying and ballot measure activity under laws that require it; and engage in impactful nonpartisan election-related activity.
As a young organization that has been around for under five years, its small but mighty team has developed a strong culture of collaboration, support, and mutual respect. Their partnerships with RRJH organizations are characterized by empathy, clear communication of sometimes complex issues, adaptability, and a client service orientation to their work.
Job Description
OPPORTUNITIES AND CHALLENGES FACING THE NEW SENIOR STAFF ATTORNEY
The new Senior Staff Attorney will engage with the following opportunities and challenges:
• Expanding Impact and Co-Crafting Strategy: As the demand for legal support grows, the Senior Staff Attorney will help guide and support an expanding client base. They will collaborate closely with the Director to assess and prioritize legal compliance needs across RRHJ organizations and strategize how to meet them. Their work will also involve assessing The Forefront Project’s effectiveness and building capacity within the team.
• Providing Legal Assistance to Nonprofit RRHJ Organization Amidst a Changing Legal Landscape: With the ongoing uncertainty surrounding national and state RRHJ policies and challenges, the Senior Staff Attorney will need to stay ahead of evolving legal issues that impact nonprofit RRHJ organizations – particularly on issues of federal tax law for exempt organizations (especially law applicable to advocacy, including lobbying and election-related activity), federal, state, and local campaign finance and lobbying disclosure law, and occasionally other areas of law. This will include:
o Providing legal assistance to client organizations via email, videoconference, and phone.
o Developing and presenting a variety of trainings on legal issues relevant to nonprofit RRHJ organizations.
o Reviewing and responding to emails, drafting and saving notes from calls, scheduling and setting up meetings and webinars, and completing a variety of other administrative tasks.
o Drafting factsheets explaining legal issues in a clear and approachable manner.
• Mentorship and Team Building: As The Forefront Project continues to expand, the Senior Staff Attorney will get the opportunity to help mentor and support more junior attorneys and staff members, ensuring smooth collaboration and knowledge building across the team.
• Supporting the Broader RRHJ Movement: This position provides an exciting opportunity to engage with a range of nonprofit organizations that are working on the front lines of reproductive rights, health, and justice, strengthening their legal foundations, and ensuring that their advocacy is legally sound and effective.
o It will also involve building strong working relationships with RRHJ organizations and other partners, including outside attorneys who specialize in laws not practiced by The Forefront Project’s team.
Job Qualifications
While no one candidate will embody all the qualifications enumerated below, the ideal candidate will possess many of the following professional and personal abilities, attributes, and experiences.
Education & Experience:
• Active Bar membership (any state).
• A minimum of three years of experience as a nonprofit exempt organization’s attorney, with a demonstrated ability to provide legal support for advocacy-focused nonprofits.
• Experience handling complex nonprofit legal issues, particularly related to tax-exempt organizations (501(c)(3) and 501(c)(4)), campaign finance, lobbying, and election-related activity.
• Familiarity with federal and state legal requirements for nonprofits engaging in political activity and public policy advocacy.
Key Skills & Attributes:
• Strong commitment to reproductive rights, health, and justice, with a passion for the mission of The Forefront Project.
• Strong organizational skills and the ability to manage multiple projects and deadlines effectively in a remote work environment.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to simplify complex legal concepts and present them in a manner that is accessible and actionable for clients.
• Ability to collaborate effectively with a small, cohesive team, while also being able to take initiative and work independently.
• Empathetic client service, with the ability to understand and respond to the needs of organizations that may be navigating sensitive or challenging legal situations.
• Public speaking and training experience, including the ability to lead webinars or trainings on complex legal topics for clients.
• A proactive, adaptive approach to learning and staying ahead of new legal developments in nonprofit law and reproductive justice advocacy.
Additional Skills & Experiences:
• Experience with state-level campaign finance reporting, state lobbying disclosure, or other legal issues related to election-related activity.
• Familiarity with nonprofit advocacy within the RRHJ space.
COMPENSATIONS & BENEFITS
The annual salary for the Senior Staff Attorney is $160,000. This is a fully remote role.
Benefits Include: Comprehensive health coverage (medical, dental, vision, and prescription), one month of vacation plus holidays and limited personal leave, short- and long-term disability coverage, and life insurance. Employees also have access to a 401(k) retirement savings plan with a 3% employer contribution match for those who participate and meet the necessary threshold for employee contributions.
How to Apply
More information about The Forefront Project may be found at: www.forefrontproject.org.
This search is being led by Emily Wexler, Rachel Burgoyne and Danielle Higa of NPAG. Due to the pace of this search, candidates are strongly encouraged to apply as soon as possible. We recommend you submit your application by February 7, 2024. Candidates may submit their cover letter, outlining their interest and qualifications, along with their resume via NPAG’s website.
The Forefront Project is a project of Hopewell Fund, a 501(c)(3) public charity that incubates new and innovative public-interest projects and grant-making programs. Hopewell Fund is committed to attracting, developing and retaining exceptional people, and to creating a work environment that is dynamic, rewarding and enables each of us to realize our potential. Hopewell Fund’s work environment is safe and open to all employees and partners, respecting the full spectrum of race, color, religious creed, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, national origin, political affiliation, ancestry, age, disability, genetic information, veteran status, and all other classifications protected by law in the locality and/or state in which you are working.