Supervising Senior Attorney

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The Disability Rights Education and Defense Fund (“DREDF”) is seeking a Supervising Senior Attorney to play a key leadership role in shaping and advancing our litigation and advocacy strategy. This position is ideal for an experienced civil rights litigator who is passionate about mentoring others, building collaborative legal strategies, and using the law as a tool to advance disability justice and systemic change.

Location: Must live in California. DREDF maintains a physical office space at the Ed Roberts Campus in Berkeley, California. This position is hybrid for candidates based in the Bay Area (2–3 days per week in office) and fully remote for those outside the Bay Area.

Status: This is a full-time, exempt position. 

Union Notice: DREDF is a unionized workplace. This supervisory position is not part of DREDF’s bargaining unit. 

The Disability Rights Education & Defense Fund (DREDF) is a leading national civil rights law and policy center led by individuals with disabilities and parents of children with disabilities. Our mission is to advance the civil and human rights of people with disabilities through legal advocacy, training, education, public policy, and legislative development.

For over 45 years, DREDF has been at the forefront of disability rights advocacy, working to advance disability justice and challenge systemic ableism nationwide.

The Supervising Senior Attorney is a senior leader within DREDF’s legal team, responsible for shaping and advancing high-impact litigation and advocacy strategies to challenge systemic ableism and advance disability justice.

This role combines strategic litigation, team leadership, and cross-movement advocacy. The Supervising Senior Attorney will develop and lead complex cases, mentor and support attorneys and fellows, and collaborate across DREDF’s legal and policy work to drive meaningful structural change.

The position reports to the Legal Director or designee.

Primary Responsibilities

• Supervise, mentor, and support the professional growth of staff attorneys and fellows, fostering an inclusive, collaborative, and values-aligned team culture
• Help set and execute DREDF’s litigation and advocacy priorities
• Develop and lead high-impact litigation, including serving as lead counsel where appropriate
• Represent individuals and groups in complex civil rights litigation at the trial and appellate levels
• Collaborate across teams to integrate litigation with policy advocacy, community engagement, and movement-building strategies
• Provide legal support to partner organizations and legal services programs statewide, consistent with DREDF’s role as an IOLTA-funded Support Center
• Support tracking and reporting for grants and other funding sources, including documenting work, outcomes, and required data for reports

Other Duties and Responsibilities

• Monitor and analyze legislative and regulatory developments affecting disability rights
• Mentor law students and emerging advocates in disability rights law and movement lawyering
• Contribute to media strategy and public communications related to litigation and advocacy efforts
• Represent DREDF in public forums, including speaking engagements, writing, and coalition spaces

Minimum Qualifications

• At least ten years of public interest litigation experience, including significant work in disability rights or related civil rights fields
• Demonstrated experience developing and leading complex litigation and advocacy strategies
• Experience supervising, mentoring, or managing attorneys or legal teams
• Excellent legal analysis, research, and writing skills
• Strong project management and organizational skills
• Admission to the California State Bar

Preferred Qualifications

• Appellate or class action experience
• Experience integrating litigation with policy advocacy or community-based strategies
• Proficiency in Spanish or American Sign Language (ASL)
• Lived experience with disability

The salary range for this position is 137k to 162k per year depending on experience.

We take care of our team. Benefits include health, vision, and dental insurance; a 403(b) retirement plan with a discretionary employer match of up to 7% after your first year; a flexible spending account; paid vacation, sick leave, and holidays (including floating and birthday holidays); and support for your professional growth.

DREDF values diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging, and does not discriminate based on race, color, ethnicity, national origin, age, religion, gender, gender identity, gender expression, sexual orientation, marital status, disability, or weight. We encourage and welcome people of color, people with disabilities, higher weight people, parents of children with disabilities, LGBTQI+ people, and people with diverse life experiences and backgrounds to apply.

DREDF is led by people with disabilities and values lived experience, cross-disability solidarity, and intersectional approaches to civil rights advocacy.

To apply, please send a resume, letter of interest, writing sample and 3 professional references to apply@dredf.org

We want the application process to work for everyone. If you need reasonable accommodations at any stage of the application process, please let us know.

To be considered in the first, and potentially final round of review, please submit your application materials by no later than April 30, 2026. Only candidates selected for an interview will be contacted.

Thank you for your interest.