National Center for Youth Law
The National Center for Youth Law (NCYL) is a national nonprofit that puts children — especially those pushed to society’s margins — at the center of every fight for justice. For more than 50 years, we have partnered with young people, families, and communities in efforts to dismantle racism, discrimination, and inequity wherever they appear. We recognize that harmful policies don’t affect children in isolation. Each young person’s well-being depends on their family’s stability, their community’s resources, and the opportunities they can access. By working across all systems that shape young people’s lives in a rapidly evolving society, we advance solutions that are holistic, intersectional, and transformative.
The Litigation Team
NCYL’s Legal Advocacy team engages in impact litigation across all the issues on which NCYL works, including civil rights, youth justice, ensuring equitable education, youth healthcare access, prevention of harms from the family regulation system, access to core public benefits, among other priority areas. The team brings systemic litigation in federal and state courts to reform systems that serve children and youth, often in collaboration with other public interest legal organizations and with support from pro bono law firm partners. A description of our current cases can be found here: https://youthlaw.org/legal-advocacy-impact-litigation.
The Position
The Senior Directing Attorney independently leads and directs the development and execution of complex litigation, from identifying strategic legal opportunities to managing investigations, filings, discovery, negotiations, trials, appeals, and public communications. The role includes strategic case generation, overseeing remedy implementation, supervising legal staff, coordinating with co-counsel, and handling case budgeting and fee recovery. The position also requires identification and promotion of litigation strategy aligned with NCYL’s mission and participation in fundraising, media engagement, and external representation of NCYL. NCYL is actively investigating matters to ensure access to essential public benefits and to defend the civil rights of LGBTQ+ youth and seeks a Senior Directing Attorney who can effectively lead these matters and strategy around other litigation development. The role will report to the co-directors of litigation.
Essential Functions
