Job Opportunities
Paralegal
The American Humanist Association’s Appignani Humanist Legal Center (AHLC) seeks an experienced Paralegal to support its busy, two-lawyer staff with litigation and other legal work focused on church-state separation and defending the rights of atheists, humanists, and other religious minorities. This position is based at the AHA’s main offices in Washington, DC.
Principal Duties and Responsibilities
- Manage legal calendar including filing deadlines, discovery deadlines, depositions, appearances, etc.
- Handle intakes and inquiries regarding possible church-state violations and other issues relating to the work of the AHLC.
- Assist in drafting pleadings, discovery motions, discovery requests and responses, complaint letters, and other documents.
- Assist attorneys with compliance with local rules, legal research, and filings.
- Prepare document production and exhibits for briefs, including sorting, labeling, and stamping (BATES).
- Finalize legal briefs including creating tables of contents and authorities, index of exhibits, Bluebook editing, ensuring compliance with local rules.
- File court documents on ECF.
- Assist in other ways as needed.
Requirements:
- Three years experience as a litigation oriented legal secretary or paralegal
- Experienced with filing / E-filing procedures.
- Superb organization skills with strong follow-through and the ability to prioritize workload and meet tight deadlines.
- Paralegal certificate or equivalent experience.
- Meticulous attention to detail while multi-tasking.
- Strong communication skills and ability to write without grammatical errors.
- Willingness to work outside 9-5 workday when necessary, with occasional work on weekends.
- Interest church-state separation and the mission and goals of the American Humanist Association.
Starting salary will be $40-50K. The AHA offers good benefits, including full health insurance, a generous leave program, and a 403(b) retirement savings plan that includes a partial match. This position is based at the AHA’s main offices in Washington, DC.
To Apply:
Send resume and cover letter to: jobs@americanhumanist.org.
We encourage you to visit our website, www.americanhumanist.org, for more information about our work. The American Humanist Association advocates progressive values and equality for humanists. Our motto is: Good Without A God.
Internship Opportunities
The American Humanist Association has internships available year-round for students, recent grads, and volunteers in Washington, DC. Interns will develop a more comprehensive understanding of how a progressive, national nonprofit organization works, while gaining valuable skills for the future.
An internship at the AHA will provide an opportunity to support the organization’s current work: advancing humanist values and progressive issue advocacy, focusing on church-state separation, civil liberties, reproductive freedom, human rights, and equality.
The AHA is currently seeking applicants for its Summer Internship Program from May 15, 2017 to August 18, 2017.
Internships are currently available in following areas:
Communications: The intern will assist in implementing our organization’s media strategy. Specific duties include drafting press releases, letters to the editor, and opinion pieces, along with maintaining a media contact list and communicating AHA’s message to the press. The intern will also participate in editorial meetings and write weekly articles for the AHA’s online magazine, TheHumanist.com.
Editorial: The intern will assist the editorial staff of our national award-winning magazine, the Humanist, and online website TheHumanist.com. Tasks include reviewing submissions, fact-checking manuscripts and magazine articles, proofreading, assisting in managing the online magazine, and potentially writing editorials, book reviews, or articles.
Graphic Design and Social Media: The intern will develop, design, and produce graphics and promotional materials for our online presence including infographics, memes, and advertisements; stay up-to-date on current design trends for both print and online media; provide design assistance to the graphic designer as needed; and monitor and schedule social media postings as needed.
Legal: The AHA’s legal project, the Appignani Humanist Legal Center, handles constitutional litigation and separation of church and state cases pro bono, with clients range from parents and students to federal inmates. The legal intern is primarily responsible for researching and writing legal memoranda and assisting in litigation under the supervision of the legal center’s attorneys. The intern may also be assigned the task of investigating new complaints, maintaining case files and submitting public records requests. Preference is given to second- and third-year law students who have completed course work in legal research and writing.
Library Science: The intern will review the current status of the AHA’s library and archives, make recommendations as to better organizing or reorganizing of materials, use and improve the cataloging process, and carry out the physical work of handling the materials. Such handling will include book and media repair and preservation, shelving, transport, and digitizing. The intern may also be called upon to communicate with outside resources, vendors, organizations, and donors of materials.
Qualifications: Applicants must be organized, self-motivated, reliable, and demonstrate an understanding of humanism and interest in progressive issues. Interns are expected to work at the American Humanist Association National Office, located at 1821 Jefferson Place NW, Washington, DC 20036, though the option to work remotely can be considered for certain internship positions. Internships are unpaid positions.
To Apply: Send a cover letter with your area(s) of interest and availability, current resume, at least two professional references, and 2-3 recent writing or design samples to intern@americanhumanist.org (note in the subject line which area you are interested in).