Careers

State Policy Manager

About Pacific Legal Foundation

Pacific Legal Foundation (PLF) identifies and litigates important legal issues to set landmark precedent that will benefit Americans nationwide. Using strategic and principled litigation, communications, and research, we battle for freedom in the nation’s courts and the court of public opinion. Our attorneys have 12 victories before the U.S. Supreme Court—a record unmatched by anyone in the liberty movement. Simply put, we know how to get cases to the Supreme Court and we know how to win.

A national nonprofit organization, PLF has offices in Sacramento, California; Arlington, Virginia; Palm Beach Gardens, Florida; and Seattle, Washington. The State Policy Manager will work from the Arlington, Virginia office when not traveling for the job, but the right candidates will have the ability to work virtually or from another office part of the time.

Position Description

PLF seeks an energetic and experienced state policy and legislative professional to help expand and lead PLF’s influence in state capitals. The State Policy Manager will also assist in policy promotion as part of the legal policy team at the federal level.

The legal policy component at PLF (at the state and federal levels) is a key part of the organization’s strategic plan. The state policy position provides an opportunity to play an important role that will increase PLF’s prominence and expand its success advancing liberty outside the courts. Reporting to the Legal Policy Director, the State Policy Manager will also work with the litigation, research, and communications teams to help develop and execute strategies to secure state legislative and executive reforms to expand individual liberty. The State Policy Manager will need a high degree of entrepreneurship and initiative to execute new projects that are part of the legal policy strategic plan.

Primary Responsibilities

• Develop and strengthen relationships with state policy makers and policy influencers to promote PLF’s policy priorities
• Frequent travel to target states, especially during legislative sessions; we anticipate this role will be traveling at least 30% of the time
• Analyze and track legislation of interest at the state level, and identify opportunities to improve, promote, or oppose legislation to further liberty
• Assist in developing and executing all other aspects of PLF’s state legislative and administrative strategy, and provide assistance at the federal level, including:
  • Communicating accurately and effectively with lawmakers, executive officials, and their staff on complex policy and legal issues
  • Preparing and delivering legislative testimony and agency rulemaking comments, and facilitating the same by others at PLF
  • Writing persuasively on a variety of policy issues for op-eds, website copy, social media, and other venues
  • Attending state-based and national conferences and working group meetings to gather information and further PLF’s goals
  • Working effectively with affinity partners, including preparing talking points and other written material and leading discussions in working group settings
  • Working with the PLF legal team and others to draft model legislation on priority issues and promote it effectively

Additional Skills/Preferred Experience

• 3-10 years of relevant experience executing the key job duties
• Have relationships of value (in the states and the liberty movement), and is a natural at building and strengthening such relationships
• A proven record of impact on policy or legal reform in the political branches.
• Strong written and oral communication skills.
• Adherence to and knowledge of the principles of liberty.
• History of advancement over time in previous roles.
• Work well with every component at PLF, across several offices, and thus, should have a record of working productively and collaboratively in analogous settings
• A legal degree is not required but is desired; must have a demonstrated ability to understand legal nuance.

This is a full-time, permanent position. PLF is committed to recruiting and retaining the highest quality talent available nationwide, and we offer a total compensation package that includes a competitive salary, medical and dental insurance, and employer-paid retirement savings. We take work-life balance seriously through our generous paid leave and flextime policies. We have a flexible, collaborative, positive, and collegial work environment. We take pride in investing in your future and encourage internal advancement. PLF is the place for someone principled, tenacious, and determined to succeed in positively shaping the future of our country and restoring real limits on government power.

To Apply

Qualified candidates should submit the following application materials in one PDF:

• Résumé
• Cover letter detailing your qualifications, your sincere interest in this position and PLF’s mission, and your salary requirements
• 1 writing sample of your choice

Applications should be submitted to Talent Market via this link: talentmarket.org/apply-for-your-dream-job/

Questions can be directed to Katy Gambella, Network Engagement Manager at Talent Market, who is assisting with the search: katy@talentmarket.org.

While we thank all applicants in advance for their interest in this position, we are only able to contact those to whom we can offer an interview. Only direct applications will be considered. No phone calls, please.

Summer 2020 Pacific Legal Foundation’s Liberty Clerkships

As Pacific Legal Foundation marches toward its 50th anniversary, we are redefining what it means to be a public interest law firm. Our attorneys identify and litigate important legal issues to set landmark precedent that will benefit Americans nationwide. Using strategic and principled litigation, communications, and research, we battle for freedom in the nation’s courts and the court of public opinion.

PLF attorneys continue to bring and win cases in the United States Supreme Court, including two victories last term. Simply put, we know how to get cases to the Supreme Court and we know how to win. Sound like the reason you went to law school? Then you ought to apply for our clerkship program.

We seek highly motivated, principled, and liberty-minded law students for paid, full-time summer clerkships, June through August 2020, in three of our offices: Sacramento, California; Palm Beach Gardens, Florida; and Washington, DC.

PLF’s law clerk program encourages and requires active involvement in on-going litigation, provides an introduction into the field of public-interest law, and offers a unique opportunity to study the constitutional and philosophical framework of liberty. Our law clerks receive hands-on training, as they perform legal research and writing projects in PLF’s five litigation areas: property rights, free speech, equality before the law, economic liberty, and separation of powers. Clerks are paid $16/hour.

If you share a passion to use your skills to vindicate the principles of freedom and individual liberty, you should learn what it takes to be a PLF litigator.

Applications are considered in the order received, please submit your application here.

* * *

The Foundation is an equal opportunity employer and is committed to policies to achieve equitable hiring, assignment, and promotion practices. The Foundation encourages applications from all individuals interested in working to promote the principles of free enterprise, private property, limited government, and freedom of the individual.

Government Affairs and Legal Policy Director

Pacific Legal Foundation—the nation’s first and most successful public interest law firm dedicated to vindicating individual liberty—seeks an energetic and experienced legal policy and legislative professional to lead a team to expand PLF’s positive influence on Capitol Hill, the federal executive branch, and in state capitals.

The director will oversee PLF’s legal policy component, a key part of the organization’s strategic plan. This position provides an opportunity to fill a critical role that will increase PLF’s national prominence and expand its success outside the courts in advancing liberty. The director will coordinate with the legal, research, and communications teams to develop and execute strategies to better engage Congress, federal agencies, and state governments. The director will collaborate with others on a strategic plan that will guide the foundation’s efforts to achieve increasing success in the political branches over time. The director will also need a high degree of entrepreneurship and initiative to launch and execute new projects pursuant to the plan.

The role will be based in PLF’s Arlington, VA office, with the director working at least 60-75% of the time from that office or in DC, with the opportunity to work virtually on days and times when meetings and events are not scheduled.

Responsibilities

• Building and strengthening relationships with legislative and executive branch leaders at the federal level and in the states (outreach at the state level will be selective at first).
• Building and managing a team to effectively engage elected leaders and their senior staff concerning PLF ideas to expand liberty and stop serious threats thereto, especially by designing and executing campaigns to increase PLF’s influence in the political branches.
• Presenting PLF’s reform ideas effectively to elected officials and affinity partners in various settings, including facilitating testimony and rulemaking comments by others at PLF, preparing talking points and other written material, and leading discussions in working group settings.
• Developing and successfully executing strategies to increase lawmakers’ oversight and legislative agendas on PLF priority issues and expand PLF’s influence on those matters, while tracking other secondary issues and developments.
• Working with the legal team to draft model legislation on priority issues and promoting it effectively (with other components at PLF) in Congress, state legislatures, and with the public.
• Coordinating with the strategic research team and their engagement of outside scholars to produce and distribute materials that will support positive change in the political branches.

The ideal candidate will have:

• 5 or more years of experience executing key duties (government affairs/outreach or relevant government experience)
• A proven record of managing efforts to change policy or procedures in the political branches
• Natural relationship building with existing relationships of value (both within the political branches and the liberty movement)
• Experience managing a team of professionals
• Tactician with a long-term strategic sense
• Strong coalition partner with the ability to marshal others’ efforts on our priorities
• Ability to work well with every component at PLF, across several offices; a track record of working productively and collaboratively in analogous settings preferred
• Strong written and oral communication skills
• Adherence to and knowledge of the principles of liberty
• History of advancement over time in previous roles
• A law degree or extensive knowledge of legal issues is preferred, but not required

TO APPLY:

Qualified candidates should submit the following in one PDF file:

• Résumé
• A cover letter detailing:
  • your philosophical interest in PLF’s mission (especially as it relates to promoting constitutionally limited government),
  • how your background would translate well for this role,
  • brief explanation of your supervisory or management experience, and
  • your willingness to work primarily in the DC/Arlington area with periodic travel to state capitals.

PDF applications should be submitted to Talent Market via this link:  https://talentmarket.org/candidates/apply-for-your-dream-job/.

Questions can be directed to Lauren Skiver, Talent Manager at Talent Market, who is assisting with the search: lauren@talentmarket.org.

While we thank all applicants in advance for their interest in this position, we are only able to contact those to whom we can offer an interview. Only direct applications will be considered. No phone calls, please.

Talent Market is a nonprofit entity dedicated to promoting liberty by helping free-market nonprofits identify talent for critical roles. We provide free consulting and recruiting services to free-market think tanks, policy organizations, research centers, and capacity-building institutions dedicated to advancing the principles of limited government and free enterprise